Could your struggling reader have dyslexia?

Dr. Artika Tyner

Warning Signs Of Dyslexia

There are a few common warning signs for Pre-K and Kindergarten scholars that First Educators need to understand:

• Delayed Speech: Not speaking any words by the child’s first birthday. Often, they don’t start talking until they are 2, 2½, 3, or even older.

• Mixing up sounds in multi-syllabic words: For example, aminal for animal, bisghetti for spaghetti, hekalopter for helicopter, hangaberg for hamburger, mazageen for magazine, etc.

• Early stuttering or cluttering.

• Lots of ear infections.

• Can’t master tying shoes.

• Confusion over left versus right, over versus under, before versus after, and other directionality words and concepts.

• Late to establish a dominant hand: May switch from right hand to left hand while coloring, writing, or doing any other task. Eventually, the child will usually establish a preferred hand, but it may not be until they are 7 or 8. Even then, they may use one hand for writing, but the other hand for sports.

• Despite listening to stories that contain lots of rhyming words, such as Dr. Seuss, cannot tell you words that rhyme with cat or seat by the age of 4½.

• Difficulty learning the names of the letters or sounds in the alphabet; difficulty writing the alphabet in order.

• Trouble correctly articulating R’s and L’s as well as M’s and N’s. They often have “immature” speech. They may still be saying “wed and gween” instead of “red and green” in 2nd or 3rd grade.

• Family history of dyslexia.

More at decodingdyslexiamn.org

Audio

Warning Signs Of Dyslexia_Dr Artika Tyner.mp3

October marked the celebration of National Dyslexia Awareness Month. Roughly 3-4% of the school population across the nation experience a learning disability related to reading that qualifies them for special education support. Yet, research indicates that up to 5-20% of the general population experiences symptoms of dyslexia. This may include poor spelling, challenges with writing, or mixing up sounds in words.
What is dyslexia? According to MN Statute 125A.01, subd 2, dyslexia is defined as a specific learning disability that is neurological. “It is characterized by difficulties with accurate or fluent recognition of words and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”
This month’s column explores research, resources, and a personal testimonial from Decoding Dyslexia Minnesota. This nonprofit organization strives to raise dyslexia awareness, empowers families to support their children, and improves resources for students with dyslexia in Minnesota educational systems.

A Parent’s Journey
A Decoding Dyslexia Minnesota Board Member and former Rondo Early Childhood Family Education parent shares personal reflections on understanding dyslexia. The parent begins by identifying common warnings: “Our family’s struggles with dyslexia started well before I knew what dyslexia was. I mistakenly believed it was seeing letters backwards and that someone with dyslexia would never be able to read proficiently. So when another mom suggested that my daughter’s struggles in kindergarten could be due to dyslexia, my initial reaction was denial. The school also dismissed it, saying she just needed to try harder. If I had understood dyslexia better, I would have recognized the warning signs and been better prepared to help her.
The signs were there in preschool. She qualified for speech services and struggled with nursery rhymes. Tracing letters upset her, and she confused similar-sounding words like “tomato” and “potato” (malapropism). She mixed up colors to the point where I asked her pediatrician if she was color-blind.
In kindergarten, it was obvious something was wrong, but I didn’t know what. Her mental health declined—she didn’t wanted to go to school and wasn’t learning to read. I felt lost, chasing various suggestions, trying to figure out how to help her. Her teacher encouraged more reading practice at home, but despite our efforts, she wasn’t making progress and her frustration grew. She started saying things like, “I wasn’t meant to be a grown-up.” Watching her excitement for school fade as she struggled to learn to read was heartbreaking.
She also struggled with letter reversals. While this can be normal in the early stages of learning to read, children should grow out of this as they realize that letter orientation matters (for instance, b, p, q, d are the same shape, just rotated). But for her, this confusion lingered.
No child wants to feel like the “dumb” one in class. Kids will adopt coping mechanisms: they’ll fade into the background, become the class clown, or avoid class. My daughter’s reading struggles were causing a host of other issues, and we needed a path forward.
Eventually, we received a diagnosis and began targeted reading interventions. She needed more repetition and practice than her peers. With the right support, she improved. Today, she’s in high school, taking honors and AP classes, and aspires to become a pediatric occupational therapist.
Her siblings were also diagnosed with dyslexia, though their struggles weren’t as obvious. Dyslexia exists on a continuum from mild to severe, and children don’t need to show all the signs to have it. Dyslexia presents as a difficulty with reading, involving trouble linking letters to sounds or recalling familiar names like letters, numbers, and colors. Not every reading struggle is dyslexia. No matter the root of a reading struggle, it’s essential for parents to understand that their child IS trying. It’s not about “just trying harder.” We, as parents, need to be patient with our children and work with schools to ensure our children receive the support they deserve.”

A Call to Action
Raising awareness about dyslexia is a call to action. It is an opportunity for all caring adults to support our children as they learn, grow, and lead by serving as First Educators.
A “first educator” refers to the fundamental primary role that parents and caregivers play in a person’s early development and education. They instill essential life skills, morals, and behaviors.
Interested in learning more about the early warning signs of dyslexia, please visit: decodingdyslexiamn.org.
First Educator: refers to the fundamental primary role that parents and caregivers play in a person’s early development and education. They instill essential life skills, morals and behaviors. Through her organization, Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute, Dr. Artika Tyner offers resources to foster literacy and education.