Posts made in September, 2015
Child Characteristics at educational level
Depending on the age of the student, dyslexia can present some specific characteristics that, within some wide limits, can be classified in different levels.
At school, dyslexia becomes obvious at basic subjects like reading, writing and calculation.
When they start studying these subjects, many children show some of these disorders that are characteristic to dyslexic children, such as mirror writing, inversions, etc. But these children show only a slight immaturity of the visual and motor functions or of their laterality, and, once the necessary level of maturity is reached, the problem disappears.
Generally, a dyslexic child overcomes the difficulties of a level only to face other difficulties in the next one. However, an adequate intervention will gradually attenuate the burden.
Thus, the most remarkable and outstanding features at each level are:
- Children aged 3 to 6 (Pre-school stage)
Slow lexical development and a delay in the development of speaking, with difficulties in spelling or pronouncing words.
Clumsiness in jumping and running.
Difficulty in following instructions and understanding routines.
Lack of attention and an increased activity and impulsivity.
Difficulty in fastening buttons, buckles or zippers. This motor clumsiness results in a little ability to do handwriting and graphic exercises.
Difficulty in memorizing numbers, the alphabet, the days of the week, the colors, shapes, sizes, positions etc.
Lack of control of the pen and scissors.
Occurrence of problematic situations in his social interactions.
During this stage of early childhood education, children are initiated in the phases that precede writing and reading. Occasionally, they can present difficulties that can be mistaken for dyslexia, without the children actually being dyslexic. Their learning difficulties might be related to some maturative aspects. However, we cite them in order to prevent possible difficulties.
The disorders generally occur in the field of oral language.
Dyslalia (difficulties in talking).
Omissions of certain phonemes, especially in compound, closed or vowel-consonant syllables (CCV, CV, VC).
Confusing phonemes, which generally results in unclear speaking.
Inversions of phonemes, as in ‘aminal’ instead of ‘animal’, or of entire syllables within a word, such as ‘cocholate’ instead of ‘chocolate’.
Poor vocabulary and expression, and low verbal comprehension.
Some authors say that the word `dyslexia` should not be used in children younger than seven, thus observing their process of maturation and development. It is acceptable to speak about dyslexic features or symptoms, with the aim of initiating an early psycho-pedagogical treatment and diminish the child’s difficulty.
Read MoreCharacteristics of a Dyslexic Child
Dyslexic children present a series of common characteristics that manifest in their way of reacting, their personality and school performances. Even though all children are different and not all of them present all the characteristics, they still have many of them in common.
Dyslexia is a special learning disability, whose symptoms change as the child grows and develops. From as early as the preschool stage, it is possible to notice small details that could make us suspect that a child is dyslexic. Between ages 6 and 11, the symptoms are more obvious, or, at least, better known. From the age of 12, learning disorders become more clear.
For a child to be dyslexic, he doesn’t need to show all the symptoms described below. At the same time, it doesn’t mean he is dyslexic for only showing one of them.
Characteristics at personal level:
Lack of attention. Due to the great intellectual focus he must sustain in order to overcome his characteristic difficulties of perception, the child will present a high level of fatigue, which will result in variable attention. Thus, acquiring literacy will require a great effort on their part if they are not interested and they find no intrinsic motivation that could attract their attention.
Lack of interest for learning. His school grades and general performance are usually low, which causes demotivation and low self-esteem for the student. Some children may be very hard-working, and they still won’t see any result to their efforts. This will often make them become uninterested, work less and eventually fall behind.
Personal maladjustment. Sometimes we find dyslexic students showing features that denote an emotional imbalance; these features include low self-esteem and behavioral problems, even violence.
A feeling of insecurity and obstinacy.
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