At What age is dyslexia evident?

Lisha

Hi

My son is 5.5yrs old and in junior infants

He is happy in school but I'm slightly concerned that he may be dyslexic
If he is coloring a row of objects he often starts to colour from left to right side of row
He continuously writes his 2s and 3s backwards
His reading is more from memory at times I suspect

Now he can be very defensive and takes correction poorly at times, he can get upset when corrected

So I'm wondering what is the youngest age he can be accurately assessed for dyslexia ?

My brother was diagnosed way too late at 15 and that had a very negative impact on his life choices.
If my son is dyslexic I want to get him all the help needed ASAP

Or am I possibly reading too much into small foibles that may mean nothing

Thanks for reading

the memory box

The test with which I am familiar can be administered to children once they are over six years and six months. Sometimes children can struggle through infants and things can begin to make sense of them in first class. Try not to worry too much yet. Monitor the situation. If I were in your shoes I would persist with the corrections and the work you are doing at home. Try to make it all as fun as possible (Chalk boards, online games, online stories that highlight the words as they are being read) Speak to the teacher and make them aware of your concerns. Also you possibly are aware but sometimes children with dyslexia cope better when reading on non-bleached paper, or else use filters. Repeat, repeat, repeat is the key for things they struggle with. As a final word, the brightest pupil in my class has dyslexia. Best of luck.

Lisha

Thanks for reply
I've mentioned it to teacher. She's not overly concerned as yet, but I suppose after my brother 's being missed I am over anxious.
Thank s for reassurance

byhookorbycrook

Most educational psychologists say 8 upwards, as previous to that children can display some traits that might mimic dyslexia-and not actually have it at all.If he is in junior infants, I would nearly expect him to be reading from memory still.Reading direction has to be taught to young children, they don't automatically know to go left to right.There is a test that a school can do called the dyslexia early screening test (DEST) but to be honest, we don't rate it too much,as the child has to score REALLY badly to be considered to be "at risk of dyslexia" and as only an educational psychologist can diagnose dyslexia,it won't help until he's older anyhow.

Most schools do a test in senior infants which, while not a test for dyslexia, it tends to pick anyone struggling in the area of literacy.It's called the MIST is is normally done around this time.Things have changed, thankfully, since your brother was at school and if your son needs support, he will usually get it. As to not liking correction and getting defensive, that decribes most 5 yr old boys!!!

What phonics programme does your school use?

Read to him every night, play I Spy, get him to enjoy playing with sounds,get him drawing pictures/making a scrap book for each letter of the alphabet,keep it as fun as you can and try not to worry too much for the moment.

Missyelliot2

Also....it's really difficult to get a diagnosis for dyslexia at the moment (due to cutbacks). if you do have time at home, you could try making letters from plasticine and there's a great book called 'Toe by Toe', which is tedious, but really helps. Good luck!

feargale

I'm no expert but what you describe seems to me to be perfectly normal for a child of 5.5. I wouldn't even think about it. My daughter was diagnosed at 9 or 10. She got good services and I'm happy to say everything afterwards went swimmingly for her. Have you talked to his teacher?

byhookorbycrook

Toe by Toe would not be of much use to a junior infant. In my experience , children cannot really get to grips with it until at least third class.I'd be looking at games for this age and sites like starfall.com or if you want to pay for it -reading eggs.

it's easy get a diagnosis if you are willing to shell out €600 or so, but it really would be a waste at the moment. If a child is to be assesed through the school they generally have to have been attending learning support classes for at least one long term before they even go on the list and as already outlined, most ed. psychols won't diagnose until aged 8 anyhow.

Missyelliot2

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Toe by Toe would not be of much use to a junior infant. In my experience , children cannot really get to grips with it until at least third class.I'd be looking at games for this age and sites like starfall.com or if you want to pay for it -reading eggs.

No, Toe by Toe not suitable for Junior Infants, but as child will not be assessed until much later, it might be something that could prove helpful later on. It will help with phonic blends, which will start before 3rd class.

byhookorbycrook

We have found that children cannot cope wth the intense nature of "Toe-by-Toe" until at least third. Many other phonological awareness activities can be done instead,such as some of the activities I suggested above.

tricky D

http://www.idl-literacy.ie/Centres.html

has a resource in Mallow which might be worth contacting.

Lisha

thanks for all the replies

@Hookorbycrook, school uses jollyphonics. As school uses mainly workbooks which are often kept in school, it can be hard to follow, so I do refer to website

I'll just keep an eye on it and try not to panic. Google throws up facts like funny crawlers being an early sign in babies, as he did crawl funny my panic level increases. So no more google for me:D

@feargale I ve mentioned it to his teacher, she is not too concerned yet
but she has a very busy class room, so she is busy. its good to heat that you are happy with the services provided for your daughter. Best of luck to her

thanks the memory box and missyelliot2, a lot of good suggestions there

THanks for link Tricky D

Night all and thanks again

Thanks again