What is dyslexia?

People with dyslexia have difficulty with reading, spelling, and writing. Dyslexia is the most common cause of literacy difficulties – did you know that approximately 1 in 10 Australian school children has dyslexia? 

The Australian Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as a specific learning difference characterised by challenges with accurate and fluent single word reading and word recognition. People with dyslexia might also have spelling difficulties.

Children with dyslexia difficulties specifically with reading and spelling, often in contrast to other strengths, talents, and abilities. Dyslexia is a lifelong condition, but it is not an intellectual disability. In fact, many people with dyslexia have above-average IQ scores! Many people with dyslexia go on to have successful careers – just look at Richard Branson, Steven Spielberg, Keira Knightly, and Muhammad Ali!

There is evidence that dyslexia may run in families.

Common signs of dyslexia include:

• Trouble learning letter names and sounds
• Difficulty reading and sounding out single words 
• Difficulty spelling words
• Reduced reading speed and accuracy
• Difficulty identifying and coming up with rhyming words 
• Reduced reading comprehension (e.g. difficulty understanding what they have read)
• Guessing words from the initial sound when reading (e.g. ‘pig may be read as ‘pen’, ‘pot’ or ‘put’)
• Difficulty following complex instructions (e.g. ‘before you put your blue hat on, find the yellow water bottle and put it in your sister’s bag’)
• Some children develop messy handwriting to try to mask their poor spelling 
• Difficulty learning a new language

Where can I get help?

Dyslexia is often identified during a child’s early years at school, when a child has difficulty learning to read despite good learning capability and strong verbal (spoken language) skills. 

Early identification and intervention is very important to reduce the impacts of dyslexia. The earlier that a child is diagnosed with dyslexia or literacy difficulties, the earlier they can get the help they need. Without support, children with dyslexia can develop anxiety and low self-esteem around reading, which can lead to disengagement at school. Children with literacy difficulties may also have poor academic performance and difficulty with peer relationships. 

If you are worried about your child’s reading, speak with their teacher and seek specialist support and advice. Speech pathologists and psychologists are some of the professionals who can assess your child’s reading and spelling skills and to provide therapy. Occupational Therapists and Optometrists may also be involved in literacy assessments. Different professionals look at different aspects of reading and writing skills, and often an assessment by more than one professional helps understand the exact difficulties your child is having.

What do speech pathologists do to help kids with dyslexia?

Speech pathologists work as part of a team to diagnose and support children who have dyslexia and literacy difficulties. It is important that a speech pathologist is part of the team working to support your child with dyslexia. 

Speech pathologists can comprehensively assess your child’s speech, language, and literacy skills to identify any difficulties that are contributing to their literacy challenges. Speech pathologists can work with your child’s school by providing strategies for the classroom, and by helping teachers to understand your child’s difficulties and strengths. Speech pathologists can also work directly with your child to help them learn letter-sound relationships and to improve their reading comprehension. In some cases, a diagnosis of dyslexia or literacy difficulties can help your child access extra funding and/or support in the classroom. It is important that children experience success and positive experiences with reading – this means that working at the right level is vital. This is why a thorough assessment and therapy or support as early as possible is the best thing you can do for your struggling reader.

What about other interventions?

In the past we referred children with dyslexia to behavioural optometrists for visual processing assessment. Thanks to further research we now know that dyslexia is not a visual difficulty, and that visual processing assessment is not necessary. For more information on this, check out this link:

https://codereadnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Fact-sheet_Dyslexia_Vision.pdf

Research has also shown that coloured paper, overlays, and tinted glasses do not support children with dyslexia.

Support for dyslexia and literacy difficulties at

Clear Communicators Speech Therapy – Sounds Write program

Here at Clear Communicators Speech Therapy we provide a range of evidence-based literacy supports, including the Sounds Write program (SPELD). This is a highly sought-after, evidence-based approach to develop childrens’ reading and spelling skills. Sounds Write is a multisensory literacy program that incorporates hearing, touch, and sight. Research has shown that this program helps improve literacy skills among children with mild-moderate literacy difficulties as well as those with significant difficulties. For more information on research supporting this method please see this link:

https://www.sounds-write.co.uk/page-71-why-sounds-write-.aspx

Other simple ideas to support children with literacy include:

• Audiobooks, which can help children who find reading a challenge to access the imaginative and creative world of books
• Text to speech pens, which can convert text into spoken words 
• Specialist and evidence-based apps designed to develop literacy skills (not all apps are created equal)!
• Sharing books, reading and writing in a range of motivating ways to keep your child’s interest and motivation high: Choose books on topics of interest from the library, read recipes together, let your child hear you reading chapter books… Have fun reading together and don’t always read in the same way

Some useful information can be found on these websites:

https://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/

https://www.spelfabet.com.au/

https://speldnsw.org.au/

Sources:

1. https://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/frequently-asked-questions-2/
2. https://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/identifying-dyslexia/
3. https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/SPAweb/Resources_for_the_Public/Fact_Sheets/ SPAweb/ Resources_for_the_Public/Fact_Sheets/Fact_Sheets.aspx?hkey=e0ad33fb-f640-45b1-8a06-11ed2b73f293

If your child has difficulty with literacy skills, get in touch with us! We would love to talk with you about how we can help. Ask us below!