Common mistakes when reading and spelling are mixing up b's and d's, or similar looking words such as 'was' and 'saw', 'how' and 'who'.
Some languages may be more problematic for dyslexic learners. Languages such as French and English are less transparent than other languages. This means that the sounds of the language don't match clearly to letter combinations and there are more irregularities in pronunciation and spelling.
The main problem in dyslexia is trouble recognizing phonemes (pronounced: FO-neems). These are the basic sounds of speech (the "b" sound in "bat" is a phoneme, for example). So it's a struggle to make the connection between the sound and the letter symbol for that sound, and to blend sounds into words.
There are many forms of dyslexia and not everyone diagnosed with it experiences reading this way. But seeing nonexistent movement in words and seeing letters like “d”, “b”, “p”, “q” rotated is common among people with dyslexia.
Some dyslexic people find that their mind races, and they struggle to find the right words to express themselves or to verbally keep up with the speed of their thoughts. Conversely, they often know the answer but need time to retrieve it from their memory.
As a result, they are able to read with relatively good comprehension. In fact, this situation is so common in our clinic that we have given it its own name: stealth dyslexia. What children with stealth dyslexia have in common are: Characteristic dyslexic difficulties with word processing and written output.
Defined by Weakness
Namely, poor reading, writing and spelling ability despite being of average to above-average intelligence. Dyslexia has been called a 'hidden disability' because it isn't obvious except in the school setting.
In fact, despite reading ability, people who have dyslexia can have a range of intellectual ability. Most have average to above average IQs, and just like the general population, some have superior to very superior scores.
Dyslexic children often find it easy to spot connections between objects, concepts, or points of view. This could show up in simple word-association games. Give your child the word 'cat' for example, and she might think of tigers and lions, or a mama cat with her kittens, or a catwalk … and so on.
Use sans serif fonts, such as Arial and Comic Sans, as letters can appear less crowded. Alternatives include Verdana, Tahoma, Century Gothic, Trebuchet, Calibri, Open Sans. Font size should be 12-14 point or equivalent (e.g. 1-1.2em / 16-19 px). Some dyslexic readers may request a larger font.
People with dyslexia may say a wrong word that sounds similar to the right one (like extinct instead of distinct). Or they may talk around it using vague words like thing or stuff. This kind of mental hiccup can happen when they're writing too. Trouble finding the right word is one of the most common signs of dyslexia.
We often define dyslexia as an “unexpected difficulty in reading”; however, a dyslexic student may also have difficulty with math facts although they are often able to understand and do higher level math quite well.
Dyslexic children often experience difficulty with phonetic decoding. Researchers and educators use nonsense words – also called nonwords or psuedowords – as a tool to assess phonetic decoding ability.
Use single color backgrounds for text and avoid distracting images and patterns. Avoid putting black text on white a background if possible as this can dazzle dyslexic readers. Consider using cream or off-white instead. Pastel colors such as peach, orange, yellow or blue are also suitable.
Broken words are also known as non-decodable, exception, tricky (high frequency tricky/ HFT) or red words. I prefer to call them broken words as this makes it clear that the problem is with the word, not the child. I then highlight that actually it isn't the whole word that is broken, just a letter or two.
Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Leonardo da Vinci, and Pablo Picasso possessed some of the greatest minds and talents in history and they were dyslexic.
Gifted students with dyslexia often have big ideas, are often perceptive to high level conceptual connections, and are often very creative thinkers. Their access to content and their ability to express their ideas are often hindered by reading and writing inefficiencies.
The mental function that causes dyslexia is a gift in the truest sense of the word: a natural ability, a talent. It is something special that enhances the individual. Dyslexics don't all develop the same gifts, but they do have certain mental functions in common.
People with dyslexia have the ability to see how things connect to form complex systems, and to identify similarities among multiple things. Such strengths are likely to be of particular significance for fields like science and mathematics, where pictures are key.
Dyslexia is a lifelong condition, but dyslexics may learn to compensate for it later in life. We know dyslexia is a genetic and neurological disorder. It is not brain damage. Dyslexics often have enormous talents in other parts of their brain and shine in many fields."
People with dyslexia are excellent at identifying and remembering complex images. They are able to connect separate components to create complex systems and to identify similarities that others may not see. Dyslexics can also simultaneously process multiple thoughts.
People with dyslexia tend to have poor working memory, speed of processing and rapid retrieval of information from long term memory. These weaknesses will also affect maths learning. 60% of learners with dyslexia have maths learning difficulties.
The 4 types of dyslexia include phonological dyslexia, surface dyslexia, rapid naming deficit, and double deficit dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disorder where the person often has difficulty reading and interpreting what they read.
Dyslexia is more prevalent among boys than girls. As with most learning disabilities, Dyslexia is more common among males – but different scientific studies report different figures. At least two thirds of people with Dyslexia are male.