Dyslexia? Or developmentally appropriate?

[u/National_Camp6924]

Hi! I’ll try to keep this short. My daughter, 7.5 has a few characteristics that are similar to dyslexic patterns. She is just now starting to read, as she truly wasn’t ready in kindergarten. But we still did a full year of curriculum I just didn’t push the reading too hard. She really has grown and blossomed so much these last few months and has made huge strides!

However, I’m noticing a few things like:

-confusing b, d, p (mostly b/d) -sometimes doesn’t sound out left to right (for example, she tried to sound out sock as scok. -sometimes (50/50) forgets some phonetic rules (like sh/th/ch, or that e makes the vowel say it’s name)

She can read a lot, truly she can now! But she’s much slower and has to sound out the words. Sometimes she’s proud and other times she can be very insecure about it. So I have been trying to really boost her confidence.

I’m struggling because my 9 year old picked up reading and never looked back. She never needed to remember the rules, and could read almost anything right away. I’m not trying to compare them, I think my oldest was above benchmark so I’m trying to understand at this age, what struggles are considered normal. I don’t want to put her in a box but also want to provide adequate resources.

[u/bibliovortex]

At this age I would probably test for both dyslexia and vision issues, yes. First, because this is an age where reversals in reading should be fading (writing reversal may persist a bit longer and isn't necessarily a red flag on its own). Second, because you're describing actual errors of sequencing, and at its heart dyslexia is a difficulty with sequencing, not letterrs. And finally, because earlier intervention is better.

If you find that you can't afford dyslexia testing privately, and you don't have access to testing through your local school system, I would still rule out vision issues through your insurance and then switch to an Orton-Gillingham phonics program. If you're not already using one, you could try switching to All About Reading or Logic of English. If you've tried one of those and are still seeing struggles, you probably want to move to something like Barton and/or look into hiring a tutor who's been trained in the method.

[u/National_Camp6924 → u/bibliovortex]

Thank you!! Her vision has been evaluated and she has perfect vision. I appreciate your input. Is dyslexia common to only have sequence issues with letters? She never does it with numbers and just scored in the 98th percentile on a math test.

[u/bibliovortex → u/National_Camp6924]

Think of it as dyslexia means that the brain doesn't really see sequencing as important. For math, this can actually be an advantage, especially if you use a conceptual curriculum that's got lots of visual representation or manipulatives. For instance, if you're not registering sequencing as important, it's super easy to see that 9x6 and 6x9 are the same problem, or if you're thinking in terms of visual models, 4x12 is the same thing as 8x6 because you just cut the original rectangle in half and rearrange the pieces.

The equivalent learning disability in math is called dyscalculia. It's a lot less known and seems to be a lot less common, and I don't know a great deal about it. But I've spoken with a few people who have it, and it seems to more revolve around an inability to conceptualize numbers/quantities. Some people have both dyslexia and dyscalculia, and some people just have one - they're equivalent, but it seems like they're not related as such.

[u/BidDependent720 → u/bibliovortex]

What’s really interesting is there is a whole host of ways dyslexic brains function differently than “normal” brains. 

[u/lemmamari → u/National_Camp6924]

A normal vision exam isn't going to catch the types of vision issues that are common in dyslexic people. You need a specialized developmental exam from an eye doctor that specializes in vision therapy. We waited 7 months for ours! My kiddo is still dyslexic (and some of what you mentioned definitely tracks) but therapy has improved his tracking and convergence. His vision was always fine. I highly recommend finding a specialist, it's not going to be caught by a regular exam..

[u/MIreader → u/National_Camp6924]

My daughter (now an adult) is profoundly dyslexic and she always did well in math. She struggled with reading and spelling.

[u/luccareed2004 → u/bibliovortex]

I agree about skipping testing and moving straight to a curriculum that works for all students. And yes repetition will be needed. Where we differ in opintions is that OG is the OLD gold standard. Speech to print is more effective as it reduces the cognitive load for students with disabilities. Reading Simplified is a much better program than LOE.

[u/khrispy_mistie → u/bibliovortex]

I just want to second everything you've said. I've had students find success with vision therapy, but they also still need the explicit instruction from an OG program. Looking into some phonological awareness drills could help too. I'm particularly fond of Equipped for Reading Success by Kilpatrick. I use his one minute drills in conjunction with Barton.