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We don't give personal advice. What we aim to do is bring together, and share, trustworthy information and practical ideas on topics that interest and concern families with school-aged and younger children.

Dyslexia: Some Signs and Suggestions.

Dyslexia makes it harder for children to learn reading, spelling and sometimes writing skills. It makes reading especially difficult.

Dyslexia affects how a child’s brain processes and remembers some language information. It is not an intelligence issue. It can be inherited but genetics is not the only explanation.

Dyslexia can have mild through to severe impacts. It is called a specific learning disorder and is classed as a learning disability because the impacts are life-long.

This does not mean that children with dyslexia can’t succeed in school, or that adults with dyslexia don’t succeed in work and life.

I’m not sure – What am I looking for?

In the first two years of school, you might notice that your child is:

Having trouble learning and remembering the names of some alphabet letters.
Writing b and d and p and q back to front, or whole words like on and no or saw and was.
Having trouble sounding out new words.
Confusing small words like this and that, from and for, them and there.
Having trouble reading their own writing.
Reading well below the expected level for their age.

I’m concerned – What should I do?

Early readers often struggle with some letters, sounds and words so dyslexia may not be the reason.

If you are worried, talk to your child’s teacher. If there is something to be concerned about, they most likely have their eye on it already.

They will explain how they are teaching literacy skills and suggest some things you can do at home to help.

They may suggest getting your child’s eyes and ears tested to make sure their learning isn’t being affected by any vision or hearing problems.

If your child’s progress continues to worry you, consider doing a screening check to see if they are at risk of dyslexia. You might decide to do this even if the teacher says, “let’s just wait and see”.

Screening checks are suitable for children as young as 4 – 5 years old. They give parents and teachers lots of useful information, including about the best ways for a child to learn. They can be done through:

Auspeld’s free online screening tool for school-aged children: Parent Support - Online Screening for School-Age Children.
The Australian Dyslexia Association’s pre-assessment service ($145) which has a waiting list of up to six months.

A full assessment for dyslexia is not usually done until children are at least 7 years old and only after they have participated in a specialised literacy program. It is expensive ($1000 - $2000) and assistance for financial hardship is not always available.

What now?

Finding out that your child has a risk of dyslexia – or has dyslexia - may come as a shock and fill you heart with fear. This can be a natural reaction even if someone else in the family has it.

SO, FIRSTLY…BREATHE.

Spend time thinking about what you’ve been told, how you feel and why. Also, what you are going to say to your child and to other family members.

It’s okay to have your own meltdown - just not in front of your child.

It is natural to worry that your child will have a negative label put on them. Have confidence that teachers won’t do this and will stop other children from being mean.

Remind yourself – often - that children with dyslexia can and do succeed.

Ask for help. Find out what help is available.

Helpful hints from parents of children with dyslexia and their teachers

Build great relationships with your child’s teacher and school support staff. They are in partnership with you and will give you information, resources and encouragement.
Dealing with dyslexia can be physically and emotionally draining. Be nice to yourself and your child.
Help them with reading and spelling but don’t push them too hard. Their brains have been busy at school. They have good reason to be tired.
More work doesn’t make the difference. Work in some very specific areas does.
Children with dyslexia need lots of patience and praise to boost their confidence and self-esteem.
Giving them one instruction at a time, and letting them do one task at a time, can help them to manage and not feel overwhelmed.
Pictures, flash cards, diagrams and videos can help them to ‘see’ information and make it easier for them to understand and remember it.
SPELD organisations have resources and services that can be a great support.
Learn about dyslexia so you can help your child with their challenges and advocate for their needs at school.

What else?

Reading difficulties can surprise parents and teachers When children are doing well in other areas, we don’t expect reading will be a problem. As well, even young children can become very clever at covering up the fact that they are struggling.

Many primary schools now use well-designed (‘evidence-based’) phonics programs to help all their students learn literacy skills and provide extra help in small groups or one-on-one for struggling students.

You will find plenty of programs and resources on the internet BUT not all are good quality (evidence-based), and many are not free. Your child’s school and SPELD will give you good advice.

There is a chance that children with dyslexia may also have another specific learning disorder. Dysgraphia mainly affects writing. Dyscalculia affects the ability to do maths.

If you think there might be a problem with your child’s progress in reading, spelling, writing or maths, this chart can help you decide what to do.