The Dyslexia Shop Limited

Here we describe the typical behaviours of a Dyslexic child at various ages. It may make for depressingly familiar reading, but click on the blue lightbulb icons for some positive ideas.

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Preschool

Dyslexia is not obvious from birth. Dyslexic signs may not be apparent in the young child, as children grow and mature at different rates. As the child develops, he may be slower to reach developmental milestones. The child may not crawl; he may bottom-shuffle and then walk.

If you are at all worried about your child's speech, ask your GP to have your child referred to a Speech and Language Therapist.

The pre-school child may have difficulty with naming items, learning nursery rhymes and pronouncing words, especially those with multiple syllables.

How to help your child- A non-dyslexic child needs a word repeated approximately 600 times before he will associate the name with the object. A dyslexic child needs many more repetitions.

Every time you are doing something with your child, name the objects you are using. For example, when shopping name the items and count them going into the bag or trolley. Name the colours of the objects. When dressing your child, name the items of clothing and their colours; count the numbers of buttons. As you set the table, name the cutlery, plates, glasses. Speak slowly and clearly so your child hears the names.

Your child will learn best in a relaxed, comfortable situation. At bed-time, have your child sit on your knee, let him cuddle-in whilst looking at picture books and naming the objects in the pictures. Try to find books that will reinforce what he saw and did during the day.

Listening skills can be helped by sitting cuddling your child and reading him a story or nursery rhymes. You could both listen to a story tape. Discuss the story and ask questions about the story to ensure you child is understanding what he has listened to. Encourage you child to guess the last word in a nursery rhyme. Use 'voices' and facial expressions when reading a story. For example, use a deeper voice for a male character. Demonstrate a happy or sad face to help your child learn abstract concepts.

Before Alpha. Learning Games for the Under Fives by Bevé Hornsby (available from our online store) is an excellent book. It is a carefully structured programme for parents and teachers, which develops the skills a child needs to acquire before he starts school. The book is full of ideas for games and stories.

Handedness may not be established and dexterity may be poor. The child may be clumsy, badly coordinated and have a poor sense of space. He may have difficulty dressing- either putting clothes on in the correct sequence or using buttons.

Have your child button up a shirt from bottom to top. This avoids the situation of missing the top button, working his way down to the bottom of the shirt to find out he has missed one and has to start again.

Make a game out of learning to tie shoe-laces. Trace out your child's foot onto cardboard. Cut out the foot shape and your child can colour it in to make a colourful shoe. Make eyelet holes and thread a shoelace through the holes. Failing this, make sure you buy your child shoes with Velcro fasteners!

Join a children's exercise class. Tumble Tots run a 45-minute, weekly class that is designed to develop children's physical skills of agility, balance, co-ordination and climbing, through the use of brightly coloured Tumble Tots equipment. The programme is structured to develop children's positive personality traits including confidence and self-esteem. http://www.tumbletots.com

Each session is led by trained staff and is structured according to the different ages and stages of a child's development. Child psychologists and educators agree that a structured program in movement should be a part of every child's education.

Primary School Age

A dyslexic child starts school keen and eager, but as he finds he has difficulty learning to read, write and spell, he may become introverted and find excuses to not attend school, or may become badly behaved to distract attention from his lack of achievement.

A dyslexic does not understand why he cannot read or write like his friends and begins to think that he must be stupid as everyone else is coping and progressing. He might find it difficult to concentrate on the task in hand, be easily distracted and always be in trouble for not trying, listening or paying attention. A dyslexic may think that he is trying really hard, but no one is satisfied with his effort. He tires easily with all the effort needed to concentrate.

He finds copying down from the blackboard difficult as he loses his place, cannot remember what he has to copy down and the words on the page may blur or move around. He keeps missing out words or lines when reading and finds it difficult to spell out the sounds of letters and words or remember which way around the letters go.

Ask the teacher to move your child to the front of the class. This will reduce distractions, make it easier for your child to see the blackboard and enable the teacher to observe whether your child is working.

Have your child's eyes tested to rule out poor vision and Scotopic Sensitivity.

Ask the teacher to give your child photocopied notes so he can listen to what the teacher is saying without having to listen and copy at the same time. Ask for the notes to be copied onto cream or pale pastel-coloured paper. Black print on white paper can be difficult for a Dyslexic with Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome to read. If needs be, supply the teacher with the paper.

The teacher could ask a 'good notetaker' to place a second piece of paper with carbon paper in between, to make a second set of notes for your child.

A reading window can be used to block out distracting peripheral text and stop your child from missing out lines and losing his place.

Your child does not need to miss out on books even though he may not want to read or be a slow reader. There is a large range of audio books on tape or CD for sale. Many libraries stock audio books. Your child can listen to the class reading book as can keep up with the rest of the class by listening to the story. He can follow the text whilst listening too. This way your child can also increase his vocabulary as he can listen to stories that are more advanced than the level he can read.

Listening Books provide a superb postal lending library service for a modest annual subscription. The catalogues and information are available on the Listening Books website.

Number lines, coins, Lego™ and Cuisinere rods all help counting. See Steve Chinn's books "What to do when you can't add and subtract" and "What to do when you can't learn the times tables" for ideas. (Both available from us).

Tables squares and calculators help tables. Again, see Steve Chinn's book for ideas.

Ask the teacher for lined paper to enable your child to place a number in a square and line up a column of numbers. (We also sell exercise books with 5mm grids on a choice of pastel coloured paper).

To reinforce spelling, use a multi-sensory technique. Say the letter sounds, make the shape of the letter and look at the shape of the letters. By using all the senses, your child has more memory triggers to help him remember the letters in the word.

Trace the letters in the air, on various textures of fabric, on sand-paper; make the letter shapes in sand, modeling clay, foam; write out the letter whilst saying aloud the sound of the letter.

Use mnemonics to help remember difficult spellings. For example, a mnemonic for remembering the spelling of the word 'because'- big elephants can always upset small elephants.

Use A Franklin spell-checker. These aids are programmed to recognise phonetic spelling and commonly confused words. For example 'fizix' for 'physics' and 'discrete' or 'discreet'. See the Franklin range in our Online Store for further details.

and telling the time cause trouble, as do tying shoelaces, ties, turning door handles and knowing his left from his right. He is always being told off for forgetting books and homework and everyone says that he is disorganised, careless and does not listen.

Dancing, gym and riding a bicycle make him feel clumsy. A dyslexic often finds it difficult to make friends as his peer group regard him as stupid or the class clown. He is often poor at sport and the last to be picked for the teams. The child's self-esteem may be low and he may be prone to being bullied or bullying.

Secondary School Age

As the dyslexic child matures, he will eventually be able to read, write and comprehend, but it will take more effort and he will always be a slow reader. His writing, especially when having to write at speed, will be messy,with poor spelling and punctuation. Calculators and spell-checkers are essential.

The teachers complain about his disorganisation, forgetting to bring books and games kit to school, not completing classwork or homework and his lack of attention and concentration.

Buy a large wall-planner, which can be pinned on the wall above the area that your child does his homework. Help him write in dates of tests, when prepared work has to be handed in and his timetable so he knows when to bring in his games-kit.

An electronic personal organiser can be programmed to remind your child of various events.

Encourage your child to organise his school bag before going to bed and not just before leaving for school.

Changing classes and teachers for different subjects benefits the Dyslexic child, as long as he knows where he is going, as it gives the child a rest from having to sit still and concentrate. He is enjoying Science, Technology and Art. French, History and Geography will be difficult.

Ask the school if your child could learn Spanish or Italian instead of French. Spanish and Italian are much more phonetic languages and, consequently, spelling is easier.

History because of all the essays to be written and difficulty with the concept of time, and Geography due to the essays and map-work.

The Dyslexic child may perform poorly in a written examination, but when the teacher asks the child the questions orally, he can answer correctly. A Dyslexic child may not need a reader for English, but what about Maths, Chemistry and Physics? A Dyslexic child with a tracking problem will miss out small words. In English, a bright child will fill in the gaps from his comprehension of the rest of the text and any pictures. If a child misses out small words in Maths, Chemistry and Physics, he cannot easily fill in the gaps and then he misinterprets the questions. Ask the school to investigate you child's need for a reader in subjects other than English.

Unfortunately, in secondary school, the quantity of reading and writing increases as the work loads escalates and important examinations have to be sat.The Dyslexic child can really begin to flounder and may find himself in the bottom sets with disruptive pupils and those of lower intelligence. Fortunately, this is the age of technology and there are many aids, which will help the dyslexic child to cope.

The teacher could ask a 'good note taker' to place a second piece of paper with carbon paper in between, to make a second set of notes for your child.

A Digital Voice Recorder can be used to tape the lessons. The advantage of a digital recorder is that it can record many hours of lessons. You child can listen to the recorded lessons again at home and make notes. This will be very time consuming. Parents could listen to the recordings and scribe notes. Again, this is time consuming.

The digital recordings can be downloaded onto the computer, editing software can be used to remove irrelevant sections and then the concentrated notes can be 'written' onto a CD. Instead of recording the teachers' lessons, the child can recount the relevant information into a digital recorder. Beware, as the dyslexic child will find it difficult to listen, assimilate the facts, discard the irrelevant information and then speak into the recorder without forgetting his train of thought.

Speech recognition software, programmed to your child's voice, can translate the digital recordings into text on the computer. Text to speech software will read aloud all the text on the computer screen or high-lighted words.

Kurzweil 3000 software will enable scanned text to be read aloud. It can also read aloud PDF files, information downloaded from the Internet and text on screen. Your child will need comfortable headphones if working in the same room as other people.

It is a good idea to start your child on this technology early. You do not want your child having to learn how to use all these aids when they are about to sit exams. Have you child learn at an early age so that he is familiar and comfortable with these tools and be able to use them to his advantage when studying for examinations.

Mind-mapping software programs will help your child plan his essays and reports. 'Kidspiration' is excellent for the under-8s and 'Inspiration' is excellent for the over-8's. Mind-mapping software allows your child to develop techniques which will help him organise information, lay out the information and present the information. Once again it is wise to encourage your child to use this software early, so that, by the time he is in secondary school and is having to write essays, he is familiar with the concepts of Mind-mapping.

Digital voice recorders are available from our Online Store.

Books, video tapes and software tools describing and supporting the mind-mapping technique are available from our Online Store.

Discuss with your child's teachers, whether he should sit fewer exams, but try to obtain higher grades. Allow your child to take subjects that he is interested in and enjoys.

The Parent's View

At first, the parent does not suspect anything is amiss, especially if the dyslexic child is the first- born. The parent may notice that the child is not reaching their milestones as fast as their peer group.

The child is a messy eater and has problems using cutlery. If there is something to drop, spill, trip over, or knock over, the dyslexic will find it. The parents tidy up after their dyslexic child, pick up discarded toys, clothes and dress the child long after other parents would have stopped doing these things. Life is easier and quicker if the parent does whatever is needed, rather than constantly nagging a child to tidy up, etc.

The parent can give the child a number of tasks to perform (go and find your hair-brush, clean your teeth and switch off the bathroom light) only to find the child has been distracted, has not carried out any of the required tasks, and is playing with a toy.

The parents constantly find that they are frustrated with the child's carelessness, distractedness and apparent "stupidity". On other occasions, the dyslexic child will ask a question which the parent has never considered. The child can often show depth of thought, maturity and a level of intelligence that astonishes the parent.

Behaviour can be a problem. The child can become easily frustrated with their inability to read and write. The child tires very easily and can be exhausted at the end of the school day or end of term. The child needs their weekends and holidays to recuperate.

The child's behaviour is sensitive to blood sugar levels. Sugar-rich foods and drinks and highly processed foods with artificial additives can make the child hyperactive. If the child is hungry, the child will not perform. The child's behaviour and attention improves greatly after having a meal.

A dyslexic child may not be keen to read for pleasure, but loves listening to stories being read aloud and to audiotapes. The parent may notice that their child is not keen on drawing or writing.

The parent is anxious, knowing that something is wrong, but not knowing what. Their child is articulate, but cannot do the simplest things. The child appears incapable when reading or writing, but the parent knows that their child is bright. The parents feel that they are constantly agitating teachers for answers and help, often with no results except being made to feel "fussy". The parent is constantly trying to find something that their child will be good at to improve the child's self-esteem.

Life for a parent with a dyslexic child feels like living on an emotional roller coaster.

The Teacher's View

The teacher may be the first person to pick up that a child is dyslexic. The teacher is aware that an articulate, seemingly bright child is struggling to learn to read and write.

The child does not learn his " look and say" words, even though he may claim to have learnt them and the parent confirms this. He does not know that each letter has a separate sound and has problems sounding out and blending sounds.

His reading is laboured and often starts at the wrong end of the sentence or starts sounding out a word from the middle instead of the beginning. He does not recognise simple words like "was" and will read, "saw". He misses out words, loses his place when reading, and does not recognise the same word he had difficulty with in the previous sentence.

His writing is messy, words are copied incorrectly, punctuation is non-existent, inappropriate use of capital letters and spelling is poor especially in free writing. The child answers well in class, but cannot express himself on paper.

Tables are never remembered and the dyslexic child does not see patterns. E.g. 3x4=4x3. Maths is a nightmare as the child does not grasp which way to go (top/bottom, left/right), cannot understand what the symbols mean, does not remember the processes involved, cannot line up the units, tens and hundreds correctly and does not remember the number "to carry".

The dyslexic child will ask the most esoteric questions, seem to know an answer, but not know how he arrived at it (a grasshopper) and use techniques and approaches that the teacher never thought of. The teacher often finds the dyslexic child an enigma. The teacher is constantly astounded at the child's perception and intuition, and yet the child has great difficulty grasping the basics.

The dyslexic child needs constant reinforcement of new concepts, as he seems to forget everything from lesson to lesson. The dyslexic child is always in the bottom groups for Maths and Spelling, but appears much more intelligent than his peers in that group.

The dyslexic child has good and bad days for no apparent reason. The teacher finds the child is easily distracted, drops everything or knocks things over and does not seem to pay attention. Homework, the gym kit is forgotten, lost and the dyslexic child needs constant reminding.

He does not have any idea of the time of day, how to tell the time, repeat the alphabet, days of the week and months of the year in the correct sequence.

Teachers may have problems with the parents of these children who seem fussy and anxious about their child's progress.

A teacher who is worried about their pupil being dyslexic can either perform teacher's tests or refer the child to the Support for Learning Teacher/SENCO.

The Dyslexia Institute have a superb teachers' check-list to aid recognising the Dyslexic child.

Further Education

The old-fashioned apprenticeship scheme, which suited the dyslexic's strengths and way of learning, is no longer. The modern-day apprenticeships incorporate literacy and numeracy and are based in Further Education Colleges.

If your child has aready been diagosed as Dyslexic before he applies for FE/HE, he should tick the Disability box on the application form. As a result of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA), your child cannot be refused entry because of his Dyslexia. Further details of SENDA can be found at:

The Disability Discrimination Act defines who is protected under the term disability. Only those people who are, or have been, disabled under these terms are covered by the Act. According to the Act you are disabled if you have:

‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’ This can include sensory impairments and learning disabilities.

The Dyslexic's impairments involving memory, ability to concentrate, learn or understand entitle him to protection under the Disability Legislation. Dyslexics do not regard themselves as disabled, but at least they cannot be discriminated against. For further details of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995:

When your child arrives at Further Education(FE) or Higher Education(HE), they no longer have the 'support scaffolding' provided by you, as parents, nor the school. Adults at tertiary education are expected to take responsibility for attending lectures on time, asking for help and reading through copious texts. The Dyslexic often feels he is out of his depth and failing. The Dyslexic student should approach the FE/HE Disability Officer for help.