Even the most observant parents can have trouble recognizing the signs of dyslexia. Certainly, there are some children who are just not ready to read yet, but how do you know the difference?
Meghan, a speech language pathologist, asked herself many times if her son Jackson was only struggling with reading and writing or whether there could be something else going on. When trying to write birthday cards to his friends, there were many tears and breakdowns; a simple card could take up to an hour to complete. When he would read he would frequently switch up letters in his words (eg, bat and tab) and would often skip over words when reading out loud. Meghan sought out an evaluation for dyslexia and the assessment showed that Jackson was struggling with a severe phonological processing delay, as well as significant delays in his reading and writing skills.
Jackson's therapist used a multisensory approach and he made incredible progress! Within two years of therapy, he learned to spell, read, and write at an age appropriate level.
What are the symptoms of dyslexia?
The symptoms of dyslexia vary by age. Early detection and intervention can make a big difference in how quickly a child is able to progress and reach their age appropriate levels. Additionally, research estimates that dyslexia is genetic between 40% - 70% of the time.
Age 3-5:
Difficulty learning and remembering the alphabet
Difficulty recognizing rhyming patterns
Age 5-7:
Difficulty sounding out simple words
Complaining that reading is difficult
Age 7-15:
Slow and awkward reading skills
Avoiding reading out loud
Difficulty finishing tests on time
Poor spelling
Messy handwriting
How can a speech language pathologist help?
Dyslexia is a brain and language based disorder that impacts a person’s ability to read, write and spell words. Phonological awareness is an umbrella term regarding the ability to be aware of the sounds in spoken and written language. Under this umbrella of language lies phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the ability to substitute, delete, segment, add and isolate individual phonemes in a word. Phonemic awareness requires a reader to be consciously aware of the sounds they hear/see in words and is best addressed in the context of learning about sounds in written words. All of these skills work together to translate printed words into meaningful information.
What makes Therapy Tree Services approach to dyslexia different from other places?
Our speech language pathologists receive extensive, specialized training that allows them to approach dyslexia in a “big picture” way. Our evaluation and treatment process goes beyond the basic and more traditional phonics programs used at most reading and tutoring programs. Our therapists will work on not only reading and writing but the child’s receptive and expressive language skills; phonological awareness, memory and naming skills;, reading comprehension; written expression and functional reading and writing skills. Evaluations are thorough and usually take several hours to complete due to the number of skills being assessed.
How can I have my child evaluated for dyslexia?
To schedule an evaluation for your child to be tested for dyslexia, contact our office at 919.238.9088 or go to our website www.therapytreeservices.com and click on the “Contact” link at the top of the page.
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