Multisensory Reading Clinic

 

What is Dyslexia?

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• Difficulty with language

• May have difficulty with reading, spelling, understanding the language they hear, or expressing themselves clearly in speaking or in writing

• An unexpected gap exists between their potential for learning and their school achievement

• No two people with dyslexia are alike

• Each has individual strengths and weaknesses

• Often other members of the family have similar challenges (e.g., a parent, sister, brother, uncle, or grandparent has difficulty learning to read and spell)

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What Are Some Signs of Dyslexia?

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• Difficulty learning to talk

• Difficulty pronouncing words correctly or expressing ideas clearly

• Difficulty listening and following directions

• Difficulty remembering names, symbols, or lists

• Difficulty learning the alphabet

• Difficulty sequencing and/or forming letters or numbers

• Difficulty isolating and sequencing sounds (e.g., t-a-n)

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Additional Characteristics that May Accompany Dyslexia

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• Poor ability to finish work on time

• Poor pencil grip and messy handwriting

• Poor attention and poor ability to focus on a task

• Poor sense of time or space

• Poor concept of before and after, left and right

• Poor organization and inability to complete homework

• Thinking may be literal, concrete, or inflexible

• Difficulty reading body language

 

What Dyslexia Is Not

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• It is not a sign of poor intelligence

• It is not the result of laziness or of not caring

• It is not a disease

• It cannot be cured with pills, diets, or medical treatments

• It is not an eye problem

• It is not outgrown, although individuals with dyslexia can learn how to learn

 

Excerpt from: Basic Facts About Dyslexia by Wilkins, A., & Garside, A.

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