As a condition that affects children’s reading and writing abilities, Dyslexia is something that can significantly hold little ones back. If not diagnosed and addressed in good time, it can have a knock-on effect that adversely affects the education and potentially whole lives of people affected. It’s therefore important to learn what to look out for so as to recognise the possible signs of dyslexia in children should they occur. With that in mind, today’s article explores the answers to frequently asked questions about dyslexia so as to explain what dyslexia is, how it affects children and adults, what to look out for, and what to do to mitigate its potentially harmful effects.
What is Dyslexia?
Described back in the 19th century as ‘word blindness’, Dyslexia is a lifelong problem that primarily affects the ease with which a person can read (especially) as well as affecting other language-based skills like writing, spelling, and sometimes even pronunciation. As such, it has potential knock-on effects in a wide array of areas of people’s lives and can present daily challenges for those affected.
Dyslexia has neurodevelopmental origins and is recognised in the UK as a specific learning difficulty. It is not, however, linked in any way to a person’s level of intelligence — and we’ll illustrate just how true that is later in this article.
The term dyslexia, meaning “difficulty with words”, was first coined in 1887 by Rudolf Berlin. He was a German ophthalmologist and, during eye testing at his Stuttgart practice, noticed that some patients struggled to read printed words despite having no eyesight issues. This led him to propose that there could be a neurological reason for the condition.
How Common is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is fairly common, with around 1 out of every 10 people in the UK being affected to varying degrees. However, not everyone with dyslexia receives a diagnosis and sadly this can make the challenges they face even more profound.
How Does Dyslexia Manifest Itself to Those Affected?
Some people with dyslexia have described its effects as causing letters to jump around and words to jumble up. Others say that words blend together and even spaces between them can disappear. Individual letters and numbers can mix up and, for some, characters may seem incomplete. Sometimes, they are perceived in mirror form (so, for example, a “b” becomes a “d”) or are even perceived as being upside down (so, a “6” would be perceived as a “9”). Whatever the specific effect, the result is to make words unintelligible. Immense concentration is required to try to make any sense of them. Clearly, this presents enormous challenges to reading, writing, spelling, reading out loud, and even mathematics. The knock-on effect of all this is that reading and learning from books about any number of topics — including those in the curriculum — can therefore be hugely challenging and profoundly impactful.
Children with dyslexia may feel ‘different’ and perhaps isolated because of the condition. It’s therefore incredibly important to diagnose and help children with dyslexia as early in their lives as possible.
What are the Signs of Possible Dyslexia in Young Children?
The signs of dyslexia vary from child to child and this, in itself, makes spotting the issue more tricky. That said, the most common signs of possible* dyslexia, specifically in children of pre-school and school age, relate to language-related difficulties. Examples include:
- lower than expected speech development (this can be detectable under five);
- difficulty learning the alphabet and a limited interest in trying to do so (again, potentially detectable under five);
- difficulties understanding the concept of rhyming words (again, this may be detectable under the age of five);
- mispronouncing multi-syllable words and jumbling the order of some, e.g. ephelant instead of elephant (potentially detectable under five);
- sometimes having trouble with verbal expression, e.g. difficulty finding the appropriate word to use (also potentially detectable under five);
- difficulty with phonics, poor phonological awareness, and poor word attack skills;
- difficulty recognising the sounds for individual letters;
- difficulty recognising sounds for combinations of letters found within words;
- being able to answer questions well verbally, but not very well in writing;
- difficulty with reading;
- poor handwriting, with inconsistent and unpredictable spelling.
There are also a few more ‘unexpected’ symptoms, seemingly not directly related to language, that might indicate possible dyslexia. Examples include:
- difficulty with the fine motor skills required to maintain a consistent rhythm, e.g. on a toy drum;
- struggling to remember the order of things like days of the week;
- struggling to follow the order of even a short list of instructions, but being able to complete the tasks if individual steps are provided separately, one by one.
* Note that exhibiting any of the above does not necessarily mean the child has dyslexia. There are several alternative reasons why such symptoms could possibly be displayed.
More details about possible symptoms of dyslexia, in both children and adults, can be found here.
Is Dyslexia Linked With Special Needs or Disabilities?
Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty. While some children affected have no additional limiting condition, some have additional problems. These can include dyscalculia, dyspraxia, ADHD, short-term memory issues, and issues with time management. We’ll aim to cover some of those topics separately, in future posts.
What is the Cause of Dyslexia?
The exact cause of dyslexia is not known although it has neurodevelopmental origins and often seems to run in families.
“It’s thought certain genes inherited from your parents may act together in a way that affects how some parts of the brain develop during early life.” — NHS
Studies show that the brain of children with dyslexia functions differently to those without it, so it is a neurodivergence of sorts. It’s fair to say that this specific ‘neurological difference’ is not fully understood by the medical and scientific communities — indeed until it is better understood, there will continue to be much debate around the topic, even among ‘experts’.
Can Dyslexia be Cured?
There is no known ‘cure’ for dyslexia. However, it can be managed and its effects can be mitigated significantly through early diagnosis and appropriate support. Indeed, children who receive such support often go on to be highly competent readers.
Is There a Link Between Dyslexia & Intelligence?
As we mentioned earlier, dyslexia is not linked to intelligence. This is borne out by the fact that many highly intelligent and successful people have the condition, including the famous scientist and theoretical physicist Albert Einstein. Indeed, the list of highly intelligent and successful people with dyslexia is massively long. To name just a few more, it includes Richard Branson, Pablo Picasso, Winston Churchill, John Lennon, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Leonardo da Vinci, Bill Gates, Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, Henry Ford, George Washington, Thomas Edison, Wolfgang Mozart, Stephen Hawking, plus a long list of additional celebrities, scientists, business entrepreneurs and artists.
Do Children With Dyslexia Have Any Superpowers?
As you can conclude by taking a look at the list of famous and highly successful people with dyslexia, those affected are often very creative and gifted in other ways. These often include creative verbal and/or visual skills and sometimes exceptional problem-visualisation and problem-solving skills.
“40% of self-made millionaires are dyslexic.” (dyslexicmum.co.uk)
How Can Children With Dyslexia Best Be Supported?
Where an issue like dyslexia is suspected, parents/carers should speak with their early years provider or school teacher to voice any concerns — and vice versa. The earlier an issue like dyslexia is spotted, the sooner measures can be implemented to help the child. Such early intervention is really important when reading and language are affected because they have such a snowball effect on other areas of learning. That said, it is more difficult to diagnose dyslexia in the pre-school years, as signs are not so obvious at such an early age. However, a few early signs may sometimes become evident as indicated in the early entries of our list of possible signs of dyslexia earlier in this article.
If a problem is suspected, it is worth visiting a GP with your child to check the potential issue isn’t caused by something completely different, for example, a sight or hearing issue. A dyslexic diagnostic assessment via an appropriate professional expert (e.g. an educational psychologist or qualified dyslexia specialist) is also an option.
If dyslexia is diagnosed a range of support options are available through such measures as a tailored learning and development plan, involvement of the child’s special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCo), special resources and perhaps the help of external specialists. More details about a professional assessment, diagnosis, and even options like Educational Health & Care (EHC) plans, are available here.
For a comprehensive, stand-alone overview of the ways in which early years childcare settings like Little Acorns Nursery can support children with dyslexia, one or more Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD), or Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND), read our article Help for Children with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) here. In the future, we may also follow up today’s article with a separate one explaining in more detail the specific support measures that parents and early years/school professionals can take to help dyslexic children.
The Best Start for Your Child in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley
Little Acorns — An Outstanding Childcare Nursery in Central Lancashire
It’s natural for parents and carers to want the best nursery for their child. Rest assured, Little Acorns is an outstanding childcare nursery. Indeed, we are recognised by Ofsted as an “Outstanding Provider”, so you’ll know your child is in safe and capable hands when you choose Little Acorns for your weekday childcare.
We are located in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley, in Central Lancashire. Families in nearby towns and villages may also find Little Acorns Nursery convenient, for example, those living in Clayton Brook, Clayton Green, Thorpe Green, Pippin Street, Buckshaw Village, Whittle-le-Woods, Farington, Bamber Bridge, Lostock Hall, Euxton, Leyland and Penwortham.
Contact us today to register your child for a nursery place, arrange a tour of the setting, or for answers to any questions that you might have:
Today, we look at how early years childcare providers like Little Acorns Nursery can help children under five if they have special educational needs and disabilities. This is often referred to as ‘SEND’ or in longer forms like ‘SEN and disabilities’. Let’s explore the topic to get an overview of some of the help available.
Actually identifying an area of special need or disability is, of course, the first, crucial step in being able to help a child. If an area of special need is suspected, early years providers can work with parents and sometimes other professionals, for example health visitors, speech and language therapists, paediatricians and so on. Involving such professionals will help with any diagnosis.
This is important. Early years providers can create an inclusive environment that welcomes and supports children of all abilities. Encouraging the inclusion of children in social groups and in the making of friends, for example, is of huge benefit to children’s well-being. Childcare settings can also provide special equipment or adapt the environment to make it more accessible for children with specific physical needs.
Early years providers like Little Acorns Nursery adapt the individual learning and development plans and activities to suit each child. In this way, they’re custom-designed to meet the needs of every child individually, including those with special needs. This is done as a matter of course as part of 
Later, each child will similarly have an ‘EYFS profile’ completed during the final term of reception year. However, as we’re focusing this article on children under five, we’ll not go into detail about that here.
It may be useful for parents and carers to note that local authorities have a duty to publish what’s known as a ‘Local Offer’. This outlines the help available in the area for children with SEND, including how to access that support.
