Diagnosing Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a medical condition that refers to the inability of an individual to read normally. It is more prevalent in children, but some adults may also suffer from serious reading and comprehending disability. Although, reading appears to be a simple task for most of us, it is actually a complex task which requires you to do several things at one time. When kids begin to read, they try to associate the sounds of words with the spellings. This process is called phonetic awareness, and is a major tool of diagnosing dyslexia.

Eventually, kids begin to identify the words that repetitively appear before them. Thus, the task of reading is simplified and the focus is shifted to understanding the meaning of the words or comprehending the text. This phonetic awareness is absent in the kids with dyslexia, which results in inability to read words. As reading becomes challenging itself, the ability to understand the meaning diminishes even more. As a result, there is a lot of frustration, confusion at the kid-parent level.

Signs to Look For

Dyslexia diagnosis often comes later when the child struggles with his academics. If the child is found to be brilliant in other fields, worried parents might take him to a therapist, where the diagnosis of the problem can be easily done. However, if the child is generally found to be a slow learner, then the diagnosis may take some time. Most children outgrow this childhood condition with some therapeutic help. However, some adults may also face similar problems. Thus, it is necessary to look out for some sure shot signs and symptoms of dyslexia.

• Delayed speech development.
• Difficulty in following multiple instructions.
• Confusion between left and right.
• Difficulty in dressing (buttons and laces).
• Struggled reading with several problems such as difficulty in pronunciation, reading same line twice, skipping a line or two etc.
• Problems in blending letters e.g. s-p-l = spl.
• Difficulty in memorizing sequential information e.g. a telephone number, multiplication tables, the days of the week or the months of the year.
• Difficulty associating objects with their names.
• Confusion with similar letters or words - m/w, n/u, p/q, b/d, off/of, bread/beard.
• Failure to recognize familiar, often repeating words.
• Indiscriminate use of capital letters especially 'b'.
• Difficulty in splitting longer words.
• Poor comprehension skills.
• Poor handwriting with letter reversal or mirror images of letters or numbers.
• Failure to discriminate between similar sounds.
• Cluttered work with several cross outs.
• Fatigue due to too much concentration and effort on a single task.

Although, these signs are definitely indicative of dyslexia, their presence does not necessarily affirm the possibility of dyslexia.

Diagnosing Dyslexia

Diagnosis of dyslexia in children is a bit different from diagnosing it in adults. In children academic performance mostly determines the possibility of dyslexia, whereas in adults the degree of efficiency or the ability to perform daily tasks is the measure of dyslexia. There are several forms of dyslexia and the degree of severity varies for every individual. Though, the above mentioned signs may give you an idea about the presence of dyslexia, they cannot determine the severity of the disorder.

Special clinical tests may be required to confirm the disorder and identify its type and severity. Adults may take several online tests for dyslexia which promise to accurately affirm the presence or absence of dyslexia. A medical history of dyslexia elevates your chances of acquiring one. Thus, if your parents had a reading disability during their childhood, you are likely to inherit it. Thus, a medical history in conjunction with the above signs and symptoms can be a crucial factor in diagnosing dyslexia.

Although, it is obvious to be panic and concerned about your child, if he shows signs of dyslexia, but one must understand that this may be a temporary condition, that can be overcome with certain therapies. Thus, diagnosis of dyslexia as early as possible is essential to ensure normal reading and learning of your child.