Dyslexia - early identification

Dyslexia is a neuro-developmental disorder characterised by slow and inaccurate word recognition. Children with dyslexia are unable to read fluently.

The earlier dyslexia is identified the easier it is to treat for the child to catch up with peers in reading fluency. Problems with reading fluency are best addressed when the child is in kindergarten or first grade; that is when they are between 5-7 years old. If detected later, the chld has accumulated several years of reading failure. It may be impossible for them to close the gap at that stage. Boys with dyslexia come to clinical attention

Conditions signalling risk for dyslexia

• • ADHD

  • Language impairment

  • Speech disorder

Effective treatments are low cost, which further draws attention to the importance of early identification, prevention, and treatment of dyslexia

Source

Robin L Peterson, Bruce F Pennington. Developmental dyslexia. The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 17 April 2012 doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60198-6