Discovering Dyslexia
Dyslexia can be very difficult to spot, and many dyslexic people go through life not knowing they have it. However, there are certain signs to look out for:
- Difficulty in telling left from right
- Confusion in map reading or following directions
- A dislike of reading aloud
- Taking longer than average to read a page of a book
- Difficulty in reading comprehension (making sense of what you have just read)
- A dislike of reading books
- Poor spelling, especially if it persists
- Poor writing that is difficult to read
- Confusion during public speaking
- Difficulty in taking messages on the telephone
- Difficulty in getting all the sounds in a long word in the correct order
- Difficulty in doing sums mentally without using fingers or paper
- Getting numbers mixed up when dialing on the telephone
- Difficulty in saying the months of the year forwards in a fluent manner
- Difficulty in saying the months of the year backwards
- Mixing up dates, times and missing appointments
- Making mistakes when writing cheques
- Confusion and difficulty when filling in forms
- Mixing up similar numbers (e.g. 59 and 95)
- Difficulty in learning multiplication tables in school
These are some of the more common traits of dyslexic individuals. If you or your child, or indeed anyone you know, suffers from 25% or more of these, we would strongly advise you to take it further.
If you think there is a possibility that you or anyone you know might be dyslexic, it is a good idea to have an assessment carried out by a professional educational psychologist, who will be able to confirm or deny the presence of dyslexia.
Once dyslexia has been diagnosed, there are many support options available, both to adults and children, which will enable them to overcome the specific difficulties dyslexia can give them.