by Erica Houston

Created on: October 01, 2007

Spotting Dyslexia in Young Children

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is thought to effect around 4% of the UK's population and around 10% of people display some of the symptoms.

It is classified as a learning difficulty. It affects the process which allows us to learn to read, write or spell correctly. Sometimes all three are impaired in some way.

People with dyslexia, though they have difficulty with learning skills, are often very creative and have excellent problem solving abilities.

Common Signs of Dyslexia.

Dyslexia in young children, ages 3 and over, may be spotted by the following signs.

Not being able to concentrate on one thing for a long period of time. (All young children have short attention spans so don't worry about this unduly).
Difficulty remembering nursery rhymes or recognizing simple rhyming words such as cat' and hat'.
Having trouble playing odd one out games especially using words.
They may show no interested in letters and words even if they like listening to stories.
May get confused when using direction for example they may reverse in' and out' or up' and down'.
Some children's speech is affected. They may get letters or words mixed up. For example they may say polly-lop' instead of lolly-pop'.
Putting objects in sequence sometimes causes a problem. Such as sorting items into different colours.
There may also be physical difficulties with throwing and catching, balance, skipping with a rope and hopping.
Remember if a child is only experiencing one of the above symptoms then there is little cause for concern. There aren't many people who are good at everything they do. It doesn't mean we're dyslexic and it's the same with our children.

It should also be taken into account that all children develop at different rates. You should allow plenty of time for your child to develop at their natural pace.

If, when reading the above list, you became concerned as this sounds very like your child, the most important thing is, don't panic. Nurseries, schools and the education department are very aware of the problems dyslexia can cause and they have solutions in place to help your child with their education and development.

Other Causes of Slow Development.

However before assuming that a child is dyslexic, there are other explanations for why a child may display dyslexic tendencies.

Ear infections are a big problem in young children as we often don't realize they are present. In a small number of children the infection may develop into a condition known as Glue Ear, which

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