October is Dyslexia Awareness Month

One of the biggest challenges with dyslexia is that so few people, even educators, know what it is (and isn’t) or how to identify it.  It is often termed a silent disability, but to quote Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley,

“Many people still refer to dyslexia as a ‘silent’ disability and this is baffling to me. All you have to do is listen to them read and take a look at their writing and it is screaming, ‘Here I am!’  Dyslexia is silent and invisible only to those who are truly not paying attention.”

In order to identify dyslexia, you need to know what to look and listen for.  It also helps to know that it is real and it is very common.  Up to 20% of the population has some degree of dyslexia, and it is the most common cause of difficulties with reading, writing, and spelling. [1]

 

Five Signs That You Need to Consider Dyslexia as a Possibility (For Adults and Kids)

 

1. Learning to read is (or was) a slow and frustrating process that requires a lot more effort than is expected for the person’s other language skills (speaking, listening, engaging in stories, etc.).  Unexpected difficulty in learning to read.

 

2. Reading is exhausting.  This can show up as not wanting to read, having greater difficulty with reading or reading accurately when tired, only being able to read for short periods of time, needing to take frequent breaks when reading, etc.

 

3. Reading slowly, long after the mechanics of reading have been mastered.  Not being able to finish tests on time (unable to get to all the questions), losing interest in a book because it takes too long for the story to unfold (it’s boring!), spending a significant amount of time on homework and assignments, skipping over sections of text because they will take too long to read, using summaries of documents rather than reading the original, etc.

 

4. Hating school, particularly for someone who is curious and likes to explore, make things, do things, etc..  This is more than just a now and then event, but a regular occurrence of hating school, even to the point that they are sick frequently (real or faked), are anxious about school, think it’s just “dumb” or “stupid”, don’t want to go or beg to be allowed to stay home or homeschool.  Bullying also needs to be considered with this particular sign, and sometimes bullying (either being bullied or bullying others) is a result of others being aware of the person’s difficulties with reading.

 

5. Being accused of, or thinking yourself to be lazy, or not very smart, or just not trying.  In fact, the most likely assessment of someone with dyslexia by parents, teachers, or co-workers is that they just aren’t trying or are lazy.  It is difficult to understand how a person who is generally intelligent might be unable to understand and follow written and/or verbal instructions, or misunderstands/misinterprets those instructions.  Often accused of not-listening, having difficulty remembering verbal instructions or directions, or poor recall of verbal conversations, people with dyslexia find ways to work around or avoid these difficulties completely rather than draw attention to their challenges.  Rather than seeing this as a genuine problem, others are quick to assume that the person just can’t be bothered to make an effort.

 

None of these on their own are a conclusive diagnosis of dyslexia, but the more indicators that show up the higher the probability that dyslexia may be at the root of the problem.  And a bonus warning sign . . . the ever-present bugbear of difficulty with spelling, no matter how much time and energy is spent working on learning spelling words!

 

Once you know what to look for, suddenly dyslexia is no longer a hidden disability!

 

1. https://www.dyslexiacanada.org/dyslexia-basics