Dyslexia is not something that needs to hold your children back from achieving educational goals or succeeding in life.

It is something dyslexics can learn to use as an advantage.

Children with dyslexia do not all struggle in the same way. And as they get older, their difficulties look different.

It is important that parents know what to look for at every stage of their child’s academic journey.

In my last article, I talked about the trouble preschoolers have that signals the possible presence of dyslexia.

If your child is in kindergarten through grade two, here are some signs that indicate testing for dyslexia is necessary:

• Continuing to have difficulty learning the names of the letters.
• Having trouble associating the sounds with their letters.
• Confusing look-alike letters (e.g., b and d, p and q).
• Being puzzled by letters that are made with the same mouth movements but sound different (e.g., f and v, b and p).
• Struggling to read simple, familiar words, like cat, especially if there are no accompanying pictures.
• He Substitutes words while reading aloud, like reading house instead of home.
• He has difficulty segmenting words into their individual sounds.
• He is unable to blends given sounds to make a word.
• He has trouble remembering how to spell words.

Dyslexia is not a myth… it is real. Ten to twenty percent of children have been found to have dyslexia.

It is common… it is the most prevalent characteristic of children who are placed in special education classes.

It is lifelong… there is no cure but with the right support and instruction, children with dyslexia can become exceptional, creative, and successful people.

If you want to put your children on the path to learning success in school and life, get them tested as soon as you see a combination of the difficulties noted above.