Each week we will be sharing a tip from our school psychologist, Mrs. Rollins.

This week we are talking about – What is dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a disorder of reading and is actually very common. People often think of dyslexia as struggling with letter reversals, however, letter reversals are actually part of typical reading/writing development until the age of 7. If they continue to have significant difficulty with that after age 7, then it may be a sign of dyslexia.

Other common forms of dyslexia are difficulties with the sounds in words, matching those sounds to letters, identifying letters correctly, eye tracking along a page of text, understanding what is read and remembering vocabulary.

Reading and writing are parts of our brain that developed from our language centers. While humans have been using spoken language for the last 200,000 years, we have only been reading and writing for the last 5000 years. It’s no wonder that reading disorders are still very common as it is still a developing part of our ever-evolving human brains.

Since reading comes from the language part of our brains, it makes sense that the earliest warning signs can be noticed in early language skills. The signs listed below can be a normal part of development, so if you see your child do these things, it might not be related to dyslexia. However, if you see them do these things and there is no change after repeated attempts over a long period of time trying to correct or build this skill, then it might be related to dyslexia.

Preschool signs of dyslexia:

• Mispronouncing words, like saying beddy tear instead of teddy bear.
• Struggling to name familiar objects and using general words like thing and stuff instead.
• Having a hard time learning nursery rhymes or song lyrics that rhyme.
• Having trouble remembering sequences, like signing letters of the alphabet.
• Telling stories that are hard to follow or having trouble talking about an event in logical order.
• Having difficulty remembering and following directions with multiple steps

Ways to intervene or help with these skills:

• Reading to your child and talking about the text.
• Singing songs or nursery rhymes with them (even if they/you can’t carry a tune.)
• Point out letters in books, on food packages, on toys, or on signs.
• Talk about a shared experience like going to the store, the park, or cooking a meal so you can fill in the story together.
• Ask them to do simple chores and support them in learning and accomplishing that sequence.

If you have concerns about your child’s development here are some good places to start:

• If your child is younger than 3, Contact the Provo Early Intervention Program (PEIP) at 801-852-4525.
• If your child is aged 3-5, an evaluation can be done through Sunrise Preschool. More information can be found on their website.  

More information can be found by studying letter reversals, signs of dyslexia at different ages, the reading evolution, and human language.

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