What is dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a learning disability. Children with dyslexia have difficulties in reading and/or spelling, recalling the names of letters, and recognising words. However, if given the right help, many children can overcome these challenges.

Dyslexia may be the result of differences in the way the brain performs reading and spelling tasks. Current research also suggests that dyslexia may be genetic. A child is at a higher risk of dyslexia if someone else in the family has dyslexia.

Signs of dyslexia

Here are some signs that your child may have dyslexia. Many children without dyslexia may experience a few of these difficulties, too, but for children with dyslexia, they may experience many of these difficulties and the difficulties persist over time despite effective teaching.

• Struggles with learning and recognising letters
• Has difficulty saying the sounds of letters, e.g. does not know that the letter ‘s’ makes the sound /s/.
• Has difficulty recognising high frequency or commonly used words
• Has difficulty remembering words that have been taught
• Has difficulty reading unfamiliar or new words
• Makes many errors when reading
• Reads hesitantly and slowly
• Is not reading at age / grade levels
• Has difficulty understanding what he/she has read
• Enjoys being read to but avoids reading aloud independently
• Makes many spelling errors in written work
• Has trouble remembering or following a sequence of instructions, e.g. needs instructions to be repeated.

Besides difficulties with reading and spelling, children with dyslexia may also experience some other difficulties:

• With reading and spelling difficulties, the child may find it harder to keep up with the learning in other subjects such as Mathematics and Science.
• Social-emotional difficulties: The child may become frustrated, emotionally upset, and reluctant to participate in the classroom.

In some cases, children with dyslexia may also experience difficulties with mental calculation, concentration and personal organisation.

Remember that many children with dyslexia can overcome their challenges if they are given the right help. Click here to read about how Sam, a student with dyslexia, managed to learn successfully with support from the Allied Educator (Learning and Behavioural Support) and teachers.

Common myths about dyslexia

Read on to learn about the common myths and facts about dyslexia. 

• Myth: All children with dyslexia display signs of letter reversal (e.g. writing ‘b’ as ‘d’).

  Fact: Letter reversal has been observed in many young children without dyslexia, and is not always present in children with dyslexia. Dyslexia primarily stems from difficulty in learning the sounds of letters and how to blend the sounds to read words. It is not about the visual representations of letters. Hence, letter reversal is not one of the key indicators of dyslexia.

• Myth: Children have dyslexia because they are lazy.

  Fact: Dyslexia is not a result of laziness or a lack of motivation to learn. It is a difficulty with learning letters and sounds and how they link with each other. However, if children with dyslexia do not get help, they may face persistent challenges in learning, which may affect their motivation to learn. 

• Myth: All children with dyslexia do poorly in the learning of the Mother Tongue Language. 

  Fact: As dyslexia is a language-based disorder, it can affect a child’s learning of more than one language. However, a child’s performance in his/her Mother Tongue Language may depend on his/her interest and exposure to the language, as well as the amount of support he/she gets in learning it. Hence, having dyslexia does not necessarily mean that a child will also struggle with the learning of the Mother Tongue Language.

• Myth: Fish oils, tinted glasses and exercise-based interventions can help children with dyslexia.
  Fact: There is currently insufficient evidence to support the use of fish oils, tinted glasses and exercise-based interventions for children with dyslexia. Effective interventions for children with dyslexia should include teaching of sounds of letters and reading and spelling rules.

Supporting my child with dyslexia at home

While your child may be receiving dyslexia remediation in school or in other organisations, good home support can help him/her improve his/her reading and spelling skills.

Helping your child with dyslexia at home may sometimes be challenging. However, your effort will go a long way in helping your child. 

Helping Your Child to have a Healthy Self-Esteem

Dyslexia does not just affect schoolwork, but also a child’s social-emotional wellbeing. Repeated difficulties with reading and spelling, despite hard work, can be discouraging. As a result, children with dyslexia may experience the following emotions:

• Anxiety. Children with dyslexia may feel anxious when there is a chance of making mistakes. For some children, this fear is so strong that they may avoid tasks that show up their difficulties. 
• Stress. Children with dyslexia may constantly worry about reading and writing because they have struggled so much with these in the past.
• Frustration. Children with dyslexia may feel frustrated if they have spent many hours receiving intervention but still continue to struggle with reading and writing. 
• Low self-esteem. Children may blame themselves for having dyslexia if they do not fully understand their learning disability. They may also be affected by negative comments from other children who do not understand their learning disability. This can lower their self-esteem. They may feel down and start to doubt their ability to succeed.

Here are some ways in which you can support your child’s emotional health:

• Understand that your child’s behaviour is linked to his/her emotions. Children with dyslexia may not know the right words to describe how they are feeling. As a result, they may act out or choose to give up without trying. For example, children may avoid doing homework due to a fear of failure and not because they are lazy. You can help your child to overcome this fear by providing guidance during homework time so that he/she has a chance to experience success.
• Help your child understand what dyslexia is. When children understand that their reading and spelling difficulties are not due to lack of effort, but differences in the way their brain performs reading and spelling tasks, they are less likely to blame themselves or compare their achievements to that of their peers. In addition, knowing how dyslexia affects them is also the first step towards working around it. For example, children who know that they have difficulty reading word problems can be taught to ask for help.
• Teach skills for maximising success. These may include:
  • Teaching your child to think of all the things he/she does well and remember that he/she is a valuable person. Engage your child in positive self-talk such as “I can do it” and “If I stay calm, I can think of a way to solve this problem.”
  • Teaching your child exercises such as deep breathing and muscle relaxation. When you notice your child looking stressed during a task, remind him/her to relax. Reward your child for using relaxation exercises.
  • Starting your child on tasks that he/she is able to handle. When your child is more comfortable, he/she can gradually be given more challenging tasks.

• Create a risk-free learning space.  Allow your child to practise reading and spelling in an environment where they know they will not be punished for making mistakes. Be patient if your child refuses to try at first. Understand that children with dyslexia often try very hard, sometimes even harder than others, but have learnt to give up after repeated failures. Instead of focusing on how far away your child is from being a good reader or speller, focus on how he/she is gradually moving towards that goal.  Encourage and praise your children for every effort that they made. This will help them stay motivated.

• Show support and understanding.  Build your child’s self-esteem by letting him/her explore his/her interests and discover his/her strengths. These interests may include non-academic interests (e.g. sports, art). Your understanding and encouragement will help your child recognise his/her strengths and weaknesses.

• Point out areas of strength that your child can tap on. For example, if your child is good in Sports, you may encourage your child to take part in the School’s Sports Day.  You may also encourage your child to use those strengths to help others as children tend to feel good about themselves in that way. For example, encourage your child who is good in Art and Craft to help the teacher decorate the classroom noticeboard.  This will also build your child’s self-esteem. Remind your child that everybody has different strengths and weaknesses. Few people are good at everything. Your child may not feel as confident as his/her peers in academics, but there are other areas that your child enjoys and succeeds in.

With adequate support, children with dyslexia can learn that their achievements need not be limited by dyslexia so long as they are willing to try. Click here to find out how parental support has helped Ryan, a recent GCE ‘A’ Level graduate, to succeed in life. 

Ms Angelia Chua, a Senior Specialist in Education Psychology with the Ministry of Education, provides some general tips on what parents can do to support their child with dyslexia.