Usually has normal or average intelligence
Some have problems with speech and poor vocabulary
Some have problems in decoding symbols and sounds that ae not registrered properly in brain
See letters as mixed up - reading b for d
Read words backwards - tac for cat
Do not see numbers in line - resulted in incorrect computations
Check possible ADD - lack of concentration, behavioural problems, allergic reactions to certain
food/drink
Predisposing/ aetiology - genetics (e.g., father has dyslexia), damage to the nervous system (e.g.,
stroke)
Phonological deficit at 6 years of age - strongest predictor of reading difficulty
Glue-ear syndrome (fluid build up behind the tympanic membrane)
Problems in memory and speed of processing
Difficulties in reading and writing in foreign languages
1. Neglect dyslexia - no attempt to read the first few words of each line, When single words are
shown to an affected individual, there are errors affecting the first letter or two, for example, nun
misread as run, yellow as pillow, and clove as love.
2. Attentional dyslexia - In attentional dyslexia, there is a problem when there are several letters in a
row or several words on the page: in the dyslexic’s view the letters may migrate from one word to
another, and the individual may read glove and/or spade as glade.
3. Letter-by-letter reading dyslexia - the child does not read phonetically, but rather converts letters
into their names, such as aitch and vee for h and v, instead of their sounds huh and vuh,
respectively.
4. Central dyslexia
Non-semantic reading
o Comprehension of written words is very poor
o have impaired semantic systems, but still able to read words aloud using the
connections between the visual input lexicon and the speech output lexicon
Surface dyslexia
o High reliance on the sublexical procedure in reading aloud
o Children pronounce once familiar words as if they were unfamiliar, breaking them
down into their component letters and letter groups, converting each into
phonemes and pronouncing the resulting sound sequence. While this may work well
for regular words, they are prone to misreading irregular words, and may pronounce
them as if they were regular words, for example, island becomes izland, sugar
becomes sudger, and broad becomes brode.
Phonological dyslexia
o not able to make effective use of the sublexical reading procedure
o unable to read unfamiliar words or invented non-words
Deep dyslexia
o finds words like baby, church or table which have concrete, imaginable referents
easier to read than abstract words like belief, truth or justice
Developmental Milestones
2-5 years - At this stage, children's thinking tends to be vivid and imaginative, which can
make their nightmares particularly intense. Their thoughts are described as more expansive,
less organized, and less logical compared to older children. Because playfulness is a common
characteristic of this developmental stage, the symptoms of dyslexia may not be readily
apparent, leading to difficulties in detecting the problem.
Middle childhood (5-7 years) - dyslexic child may consider reading, writing or arithmetic as
bad or ugly, and may hate going to school
Late childhood - maturation of the cortex of adrenal glands occurs
Component Model
- Cognitive domain - word recognition and comprehension
- Psychological domain - motivation and interest, locus of control, learned helplessness, learning
styles, teacher expectation, and gender differences
- Ecological domain - home environment and culture, parental involvement, classroom environment,
dialect, and English as a second language
Decoding skills can be assessed with the aid of a test of non-word reading and a test of spelling. Non-
words are also referred to as pseudowords; daik and brane are examples of non-words
Listening comprehension -
Crombie’s ‘Nursery Screening’
Emotional, personal and social development. This looks at home
background and culture as these factors are likely to have a strong
influence on emotional, personal and social development.
Communication and language. Children who have poor phonological
skills at this stage and a lack of awareness of rhyme and rhythm may have
later difficulties in learning to read and write. It is important to
acknowledge this, as the pre-school year is generally a period of rapid
growth in language, with increasing awareness of sounds and words.
Difficulty in listening to stories at this stage can also be identified, and
this may indicate later attention problems. Memory is also important in
language and communication skills, and children who are unable to
remember more than two items of information, for instance, may appear
to be disobedient when, in fact, they are unable to remember what it is
they were told to do.
Information can also be gathered on whether they are able to remember
the sequence of events in a story or may be unable to repeat the syllables
that make up a polysyllabic word. Speech too can be informally observed
to ensure that the child has sufficient control of the tongue and lips to
reproduce sounds in the desired way. This can be assessed when the child
is telling or retelling a story
Polysyllabic words and nonsense words can be repeated as part of a
game. The teacher can also note any problems with pronunciation.
Knowledge and understanding of the world. From this, the child’s interest
and motivation to learn can be recognised. One can note the extent to
which the child needs adult direction to explore and investigate an
appreciation of the learning environment. The skills the student uses in
some activities, such as categorisation, naming, ordering and sequencing,
can be noted. One can also note the extent of integration of the senses and
the extent to which the child can take advantage of multi-sensory learning
—hearing, seeing, touching, saying, acting out, singing and the sense of
smell, where this is appropriate.
Expressive and aesthetic development. An awareness of rhythm will
facilitate language-learning and will help in music. Provide opportunities
for children who are weak in tapping out a rhythm or keeping reasonable
time to music to gain expertise in these areas. Activity-singing games and
simple dance sequences will identify those children whose short-term
memory is likely to inhibit their learning. They will also identify those
children who seem likely to be able to develop a high level of expertise in
these areas.
Physical development and movement. Movement can be assessed by the
teacher as part of the routine observations made within the classroom
situation.
Coordination skills can be assessed at this early stage through observation
in physical activities and in writing. Balance has been found to be an
important ability for learning: children who are poor at balance tasks
while doing something else are likely to encounter other learning
problems. This can be done by asking the child to balance on one foot
while at the same time reciting a rhyme.
Phonological assessment, curriculum, components of reading assessment,
metacognitive, screening and observational approaches
Language history
School (primary and secondary)
Language-listening behaviours
reading (approaches used by the student); writing and spelling (planning
strategies used and spelling approaches); Mathematics; memorisation
difficulties; and spatial–temporal factors such as difficulties following
directions, map-reading and following oral instructions.
Rule out - Hearing problems, social, environmental or cognitive factors
Decoding, comprehension, word recognition, word retrieval, reading fluency
