I do not have a formal diagnosis of dyslexia for my 8 year old. She was tested for adhd( which she has) and the psychologist didn’t think she had dyslexia.
However, I’ve noticed that if she isn’t focused on reading she tends to confuse small words, read words backwards and still sometimes struggles with letters like b/d or 9/6 etc.
We are planning to push for testing, but that seems to be a slow moving train. We want to do what we can in the meantime. Does anyone have experience with dyslexia that can recommend games/tools/apps etc that helped your kiddo?
While you are waiting for that testing, look for a vision specialist who can test for visual tracking problems. I know several kids who's ability to read has been helped tremendously by vision physical therapy after having been diagnosed with a tracking problem.
I agree with the others that you can't self-diagnose this. There are specific tests that can tease out dyslexia vs. ADHD vs. other issues, like visual tracking problems. I brought my son to Children's Hospital in Boston to be screened by an expert in this, and he ordered a day of testing that concluded that despite many teachers (and me) thinking he was dyslexic (same symptoms you note), he actually was not. He did have visual tracking problems consistent with Irlen syndrome. That testing/diagnosis is less precise, but the school psychologist and reading specialist were familiar with it and agreed that his symptoms were consistent with this (this was after a developmental eye exam ruled out any normal vision problems). One simple and common remediation for that is to use a colored transparent sheet to place over text when reading, or to print out work sheets on pastel colored paper, or to change the screen background color to a light pastel. He responded best to a light blue, but other colors may be more effective for each kid. For some reason, reducing the contrast between a white page and black text can make processing text easier. Give it a try and see if it helps. It's one of those things that is harmless and might help while you're waiting for a formal diagnosis.
I had a similar problem and so did my youngest son. We had something call strabismus. It is where the eyes don't work together. My son's dr said one eye was seeing the beginning and the there the end and neither were see what was in between. I did vision therapy for years when I was little. My son did it for 6 months. (It's come a long way since I was young.) But there are not a lot of eye drs that do it. It like dyslexia is a visual problem not a vision problem. When I decided to get my son checked out it took a while to find a dr that did vision therapy and could test him to see if he needed it. If you think she needs help don't give up.
I believe you have to get a medical diagnosis for Dyslexia. The school district where I teach can’t test for or diagnose dyslexia. We have to have a medical diagnosis. Start with contacting your family doctor. I agree that an eye exam is important as well.
Push for testing? Through school?
Why not take her to an eye doctor and have her tested?
Until you know for sure what her issues are any games/apps for dyslexia may not be any good if that's not what she has.
why is it slow? can you not get a doctor appointment?
khairete
S.
Check out the Barton reading program.
good advice so far.
start with an eye specialist and I personally wouldn't wait for the school on this
Another board i follow has been buzzing about a program called Orton-Gillingham if your child is truly dyslexic this may be a beneficial program. I don't know too much but it sounds like a kind of tutoring program to focus on kids who have reading issues.
another thing for you to try at home is youtube videos of "brain gym" those are excersise that use both sides of the body and brain. it might not seem like it would help with reading but any brain body connection will trickle down to reading and writing
good luck
