Dyslexia | How do I know if my child is dyslexic?

What is dyslexia?

Is my child dyslexic? How can you identify dyslexia in children and what are the signs of dyslexia? A parent may be asking ‘how can I tell if my child has dyslexia?’ Dyslexia affects how the brain handles information it sees and hears. For example, a child with dyslexia may see letters on a page moving around in a story book. A dyslexic child may do things differently to how others would.

Dyslexia is a specific difficulty in learning, in reading, spelling and written language which may be accompanied by difficulty in number work, short-term memory, sequencing, auditory and/or visual perception and motor skills.

Everyone with dyslexia is different. A person with dyslexia may be excellent at seeing patterns and solving problems by imagining and rotating objects in their heads.

A person with dyslexia may be a ‘quick thinker’ and get things done. But they do not do this in response to instruction.

They may be good at taking things apart and figuring out how to put them back together again and excel at inventing and making things. They may be very good at using toys such as bricks, puzzles, Lego, blocks. 

A dyslexic child could also be great at drawing, painting. telling stories and making people laugh.

10% of the UK population are believed to be dyslexic, according to the British Dyslexia Association.

A child with dyslexia can thrive

Albert Einstein was dyslexic, according to the Commonwealth Learning Center which states: “Albert Einstein, the most influential physicist of the 20th century, was dyslexic. He loved mathematics and science, but he disliked grammar and always had problems with spelling.”

British Olympic rower Sir Steven Redgrave and US basketball star Magic Johnson are dyslexic. Actors Anthony Hopkins, Whoopi Goldberg, John Travolta and film producer Spike Lee also have this learning difficulty.

Dyslexic actor Alyssa Milano, told Wonderwall she struggled with her scripts. When asked how she manages her dyslexia by a fan on Twitter (now known as X), she said: “By accepting it’s a learning difference, not a learning disability and… spell check”.

Is my child dyslexic?

What are the signs of dyslexia in a child? There are numerous signs to look out for that may indicate your child has dyslexia.

Young children may demonstrate the behaviour shown below but it is the severity and the length of time it goes on which identifies a child as dyslexic.

What are the symptoms of a dyslexic child?

According to the British Dyslexia Association there are a number of signs that you can look out for in a child’s early years that could indicate that your child is dyslexic.

Signs of dyslexia in children

A child may hint at how they see the world and tell an adult ‘the word’s near the front of my mouth’, ‘where does the book start’, ‘which way does it go?’, ‘what’s that word again?’

• Child may have walked early but did not crawl and was a bottom shuffler.
• Trouble paying attention and sitting still.
• Difficulty keeping simple rhythm when, for example, clapping.
• Diffuculty remembering two or more instructions.
• Appears to be not listening or not paying attention.
• Excessive tripping, bumping into things, and falling over.
• Finds it hard to catch, kick or throw a ball.
• An early lisp e.g. ‘duckth’ for ducks.
• Difficulty matching letters to sounds e.g. b,d,p,g,q.
• Forgets names of friends, teacher, colours etc. Knows colours but incorrectly identifies them e.g. ‘blue’ instead ‘brown’.
• Repeatedly searches for the right word to use.
• Inability to remember the name for objects they know.
• Trouble remembering how to spell words.
• Jumbled phrases and muddled words e.g. flutterby, tebby-dare instead of ‘teddy-bear’ and substitutes words such as ‘lampshade’ instead of ‘lamppost’.
• Issues learning nursery rhymes; e.g. difficulty rhyming words, e.g. cat, mat.
• Likes listening to stories but shows no interest in letters or words.
• Finds it hard to sing or recite the alphabet.
• Confused between directional words such as up/down, in/out, left/right.
• Has problems issue sequencing e.g. coloured beads, classroom routines, days of the week, numbers.
• A history of slow speech development.
• Family history of dyslexia or reading difficulties.

How is dyslexia diagnosed in my child?

In the past, it was thought that the earliest a child could be identified as having dyslexia is at the age of six. This was believed because concerns are often raised at school, particularly with the child’s reading, writing and spelling.

Your child can be diagnosed with dyslexia through a Diagnostic Assessment. Diagnostic Assessments are usually only conducted when your child reaches the age of seven.

However, research studies have discovered there are many signs well before your child’s school age that may suggest they have dyslexia.

How can I help my dyslexic child?

A dyslexic child requires more thinking time to remember the correct word and memorise sequences.

Activities to support your young child with dyslexia 

Jean Auger’s ‘A Guide to the Early Recognition of Dyslexia’ has tips for parents and early years staff in nurseries, with a variety of activities suggested to support children with dyslexia.

• Language games

– Hunt the thimble. Encourage the children to use prepositions. “Is the thimble inside the pot, under the pot, on the box?”

– ‘I went to market and I bought…’ (Pick a particular group of items e.g.fruit. Later, shop for random items, e.g. a piano, a coat.)

– Show pictures and ask questions – the child to notice the details using prepositions.

“Is the boy climbing under or over the gate?” Is the bus going up or down the hill?

• Playground games

– Follow My Leader, In and Out among the Bluebells, the Hokey-Cokey helps involve different parts of the child’s body to develop awareness of where different parts of their body are located.

• Listening activities

– Put objects in different containers e.g. pennies or buttons. Shake the containers one at a time and ask the child to say what he thinks might be inside and to describe the sound. Ask “Is there one penny in here or more than one?”

– Sound lotto. Ask a child to close his eyes and guess who is speaking.

Record and listen to everyday sounds, e.g. tap dripping, car engine, toilet flushing, phone ringing.

Play them to the child and see if they can recognise them. Is it the telephone ringing? Voices?

– Play ‘I Spy’ but you can alter it so that tricky letter names are not used. Instead say the sound of the first letter,

e.g. ‘I spy with my little eye something beginning with …’Sssss’.  

• Rhyming games

– Say pairs of words which rhyme e.g. ‘cat’, ‘bat’ – and ask do they rhyme?

Say pairs of words which do not rhyme ‘dog’, ‘cat’ and ask ‘do they rhyme?’

–Songs and rhymes involving memory and sequencing e.g. Old Macdonald had a farm, The twelve days of

Christmas. Say nursery rhymes together to reinforce rhythm and rhyming skills.

-Read poetry to child, especially funny or nonsense poems.

• Rhythm exercises  

-Tap or clap a simple rhythm for the child to repeat. Clap words of one syllable.

Then move on to two syllable words. Say the words as you clap them i.e. cat, dog, ap-ple.

• Following instructions

-Start with one or two only: e.g. “Please pick up the pencil and put it in the box”. Encourage the child to repeat the instruction before carrying it out, to help them remember.

– Household activities. Give them household tasks to do -e.g. picking up and putting away toys. 

• Visual Sequencing

– Snap. Use card to make up games. Use pictures only at first, then introduce letters and simple words.

–Sort objects into colours, shapes and sizes.

–Sorting pictures. Ask the child to ‘Put all the pictures that start with the same sound in one pile e.g. ‘cat’.

– Jigsaw puzzles. 

– Show a tray of objects to the child to look at.

After a few seconds, cover the tray and ask the child to name all the objects they saw. You can ask your child to shut their eyes and remove one object from the tray. Then ask your child to open their eyes and say which objects were removed.

• Letter and shape games

– Make big letters with plasticine, pipe cleaners, chalk, paint or sand, to write very large letters.

• Writing

– Large writing movements can be made by using the forefinger and tactile materials such as sand.

– Put objects, letters or shapes in a bag and ask the child to name the object or letter.

• Books 

-Talk about books, use the language of books e.g. pictures, words and letters.

-Repeatedly teach a child how to hold a book, to know which way it opens,

  where the story starts, where the top of the page is or in which direction the

  words flow.

• Physical skills

  – Practice throwing, catching, kicking balls, hopping, jumping and balancing.

What should I do if I think my child is dyslexic?  

• Research has found speech and language difficulties in early years can result in literacy issues later in life.
• Identifying potential speech and language problems early is crucial. There is a lot of support that can be given to your child to build their language skills before they start school.
• Dyslexia is known as a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD).
• If you think your child may be dyslexic, talk to the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) at your child’s early years setting.
• If you are worried about your child’s speech and language development, speak to your GP or health visitor.

How can nursery help my dyslexic child?

You as a parent as well as nursery staff are well-placed to recognise signs of dyslexia in early years. You can provide appropriate early years activities to support your child. Training in these activities is important.

The observations and record keeping of parents and early years professionals helps support a child’s learning.

You as a parent know your own child and your comments should always be listened to and your concerns taken seriously.

Early years providers (including registered childminders, nurseries and other early years settings) must conduct a review of the development and progress of two-year-olds in their care. 

The two year progress check involves early years practitioners making an assessment of a child’s development in three key areas of learning: 

• communication and language
• personal, social and emotional development 
• physical development 

These three areas are detailed in the EYFS framework. This is the standard childcare providers must meet for the learning, development and care of children aged from birth to five-years-old.  

For early years development checks, a doctor or health visitor can identify children with development needs and indicate areas requiring attention with help from a speech or language therapist, an occupational therapist to look at fine motor co-ordination problems, and/or a paediatric physiotherapist for gross motor issues.

Observations from your child’s nursery, and specialists (highlighted above) as well as you as a parent should be given to the headteacher when your child first starts school. Early years support prevents late identification of dyslexia and limits the chance of frustration, low self-esteem, low confidence and behavioural issues.