DYSLEXIA

Dyslexia is a learning problem that makes it hard to read, write and spell. It occurs because the brain jumbles or mixes up letters and words. Children with dyslexia often have a poor memory of written and spoken words.

Sign of dyslexia in children:

• Talking later than expected
• Being slow to learn new words
• Have difficulty pronouncing words
• Be slow to add new vocabulary word and unable to recall the right word
• Have trouble learning the alphabet, numbers, days of the week, colours, shapes
• Problems following directions that have many steps
• Problems reading a single word such as a word on a flash card
• Problems linking letters with sounds
• Reversing the shapes of written letters, such as "d" for"b"
• Writing words backward such as "homd" for "mohd"
• Inversion of letters such as "m" for "w", "n" for "u"
• Develop fine motor skills more slowly than in other children. For example your child may take longer than others of the same age to hold a pencil in the writing position, use button and zippers, and brush his or her teeth.

If your child has one of these signs, it does not mean that she or he has dyslexia. Many children reverse letters before 7. BUT if you child has several signs of reading problems or if you have a family history of dyslexia, you may want to have your child checked for the problem.