As evidenced by you reading this blog post, you are likely asking yourself: Should I screen my child for dyslexia?

You also may be wondering: Don’t they do testing at school? Isn’t that enough? What will a dyslexia screener provide me that those tests haven’t already?

Two things worth noting before we get started:

1. It’s shocking how few schools do any real dyslexia screening. Dyslexia screeners can be completed in as short as five minutes. There is no reason why every school district in America should not be screening their K-3 students for dyslexia, especially considering 20 percent of the population has dyslexia.
   
   
2. The standardized tests frequently used in the typical school, while effective at getting a general idea of a student’s strengths and weaknesses, are not helpful in identifying students showing signs of dyslexia.

In today’s blog post, we will take a look at what dyslexia is, the symptoms of dyslexia, and why early screening is crucial.

What is Dyslexia?

Dr. Sally Shaywitz, the author of Overcoming Dyslexia, defines dyslexia as follows: “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities”

While dyslexia is the most common learning disability, it is still significantly misunderstood. Here are three of the most common misconceptions about dyslexia:

1. Students with dyslexia are not as intelligent as their neurotypical peers: Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability, meaning it has no correlation with intelligence. In fact, students with dyslexia actually learn to develop a handful of advantages, such as increased empathy, critical thinking skills, and spatial reasoning.
   
   
2. Dyslexia is something students naturally outgrow. Dyslexia is a lifelong condition, though with sufficient support, many students with dyslexia can go on to become confident & competent readers and spellers.
   
   
3. Dyslexia is caused by a lack of parental involvement and student motivation. Neither parental involvement nor student motivation have any positive correlation with a diagnosis of dyslexia.

Are you interested in learning about more common misconceptions about dyslexia? Click here!

Signs Your Child May Have Dyslexia

Dr. Sally Shaywitz of the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity has an excellent breakdown of the signs of dyslexia ranging from pre-school to adulthood. Borrowing from Dr. Shaywitz’s work, here are some of the most common signs of dyslexia by age

Pre-School:

• Difficulty learning letters
• Difficulty learning common nursery rhymes
• Frequently mispronounces words
• History of reading & spelling difficulties in the family

Elemenetary:

• Struggles to sound out simple CVC words
• Fails to associate letters with sounds
• Frequently makes guesses for unknown words
• Tends to avoid reading aloud

Middle School & High School:

• Poor reading fluency
• As a result of increased difficulty in decoding the words, poor reading comprehension
• Significant challenges learning a foreign language
• Requires extra time to process

Why Early Screening For Dyslexia is Crucial

Early screening for dyslexia is crucial for two reasons:

1. Early screening and intervention can prevent learning gaps from widening.
2. Early screening and intervention can help strengthen a child’s confidence and self-esteem.

Reason 1: Early Screening and Intervention can Prevent Learning Gaps from Widening

As we age, our brain plasticity decreases. This means it is harder for us to learn as time passes, making immediate, effective dyslexia intervention of the utmost importance.

Researches from the NICHD demonstrated that intervention in fourth grade takes four times as long as it does in kindergarten. As students grow and progress throughout elementary and middle school, so does their workload. With this increased workload, struggling readers don’t tend to improve; they tend to fall even further behind their peers.

Reason 2: Early Screening and Intervention can Help Strengthen a Child’s Confidence and Self-Esteem

Many people with dyslexia have challenges maintaining a positive self-esteem, and it makes perfect sense why. 

It is a brutal negative feedback loop:

1. A dyslexic child struggles with reading and spelling.
2. They make unfavorable comparisons with their neurotypical peers.
3. Their self-esteem takes a hit and they develop a negative association with school work.
4. They are less likely to be excited & motivated to put in a great deal of effort.
5. Repeat.

Paired with a weak sense of self-efficacy, a self-fulfilling prophecy takes form: I will never become a good reader or speller.

Early screening and intervention can help us disrupt this harmful narrative from taking root in our students.

A Quick Note About Labels:

Many parents I have worked with over the years have been fearful of letting their children be labeled as dyslexic, but I find it to have the opposite effect that parents expect. Instead of it crushing their children, a well-articulated diagnosis of dyslexia can help a student grow in their own self-awareness, helping them understand how their brain processes language differently than their neurotypical friends.

With the right support in place and an aspect of academic coaching, children with dyslexia can grow to become confident and competent readers.

Back to Our Question: Should I Screen My Child for Dyslexia?

Unequivocally, yes, you should screen your child for dyslexia. This can be done without breaking the bank. Our goal at Strive is to make educational assessments accessible and affordable.

Inquire or book your free consultation today, and we would be happy to screen your child and give you actionable next steps.

Regardless of what you learn from your child’s screener, equipping yourself with the knowledge & confidence that you are giving them exactly what they need is empowering, both for you and your child.

As Dr. Sally Shaywitz wrote: “Every child deserves the opportunity to thrive, and early screening is the key to unlocking that potential.”

Schedule your free consultation with Strive Learning Solutions. We would love to partner with you in supporting your child.