I think my daughter is dyslexic :(

[Mum2SweetCs]

Hi all,

dd has an excellent volcabulary way past her milestones in regards to talking.

she gets read to every night and is excellent and reciting books she has read such as anamailia by graeme base.

anyway, the problem is, I noticed she does not pick up the alphabet at all.

I have been using alphabet flash cards and she cannot recognise any letters.

its really breaking my heart and making me soo frustrated with her.

she is 3 and a half.

what else can I do to encourage her to pick up on the alphabet and is she showing signs of dyslexia?

thanks in advance

[Santosha]

Visual recognition of letters is a very different skill to those used in spoken language and auditory memory so her strength in one area does not predict or necessitate strength in another. Whilst I'm certainly not an expert, I'd say 3.5 is too early to be considering a dyslexia diagnosis, and that this age, it's normal for her to not be recognizing letters.

Sorry to be short and sharp. BF while typing. Try not to stress Hun, but of course, if you do feel there's really more to it, see a Pead or Speechie.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

No, that doesn't sound dyslexic. Dyslexia is not "can't read" - it is a phonological processing disorder. Which means that sound processing is difficult. It is characterised by yes, not being able to read well, but also poor memory, difficulty with phonemes (words that sound the same but have different meanings) and poor auditory memory.

Early to speak and reciting books is a good sign your child isn't dyslexic.

Flashcards are, IMO, a waste of time. A child will read when a child wants to read. My DS is almost 5 and is just starting to understand letters, despite me reading to him and pointing out letters all the time, me reading letters on demand when we're out, singing the ABC to him as a lullaby some nights... he could recognise the initial letter of his name and his friends' names at age 4, he can now, after 8 weeks of school, recognise about 1/3 to 1/2 of the alphabet. (Yes, some children are hyperlexic and can read before they go to school - quite often it means they have strange brain chemistry or really pushy parents; both can be a blessing and a curse.)

Although initally concerned about dyslexia when he was younger as both my DH and my Dad are dyslexic (DH severely, Dad mildly), I researched this a LOT (including doing some research for Uni on it) and can confidently say DS is not showing signs of dyslexia, just an unwillingness to recognise the letter "t" at the moment.

eta- sorry, missed one of your points.

If you do want your child to read and recognise letters, start with the first letter of her name. Point it out EVERYWHERE you go and not just flashcards. DS has taken ownership of the local supermarket as it starts with "his" letter. He recognises letters by tying them to people - "that's Fred's letter" for F, for example. "That's the hot/cold letter" in the bathroom is fantastic, he knows what the taps do! Plus by ensuring you pick sounds that start with the phonetic sound (F for Fred and not P for Phred, for example) your child can link the initial sound to the shape of the letter, it will have more meaning for the child and when the child comes to read letters, the initial sound link "that's Fred's letter... Fred starts with a "fuh" sound... that letter shape sounds like "fuh".

And don't teach ayh, bee, cee - teach ah, buh, cuh as those are the phonic sounds that will help your daughter decode words.

Liebs learns best by songs. So "sss, snake is in the grass" or "ah, ah, ants on your arm, ants on your arm" or "kite is the air, kuh kuh kuh" are all ones we've been singing today - and songs he learnt at school for learning letters.

[AliBaby]

its really breaking my heart and making me soo frustrated with her.

she is 3 and a half.

what else can I do to encourage her to pick up on the alphabet and is she showing signs of dyslexia?

thanks in advance

Sorry to be blunt but this comment is what I find heart breaking.

Your child is 3 and a half! You are getting frustrated with her for not recognising the alphabet.... Please relax and know it is completely normal for a 3.5year old not to recognise the letters of the alphabet.

As the above poster said language is learnt over time. Knowing letters is a small part of it. Knowing the letters of the alphabet is not the only thing that will allow a child to read. It is fantastic that she is even reciting well-known stories.

Not knowing the letters of the alphabet at 3 and a half does not mean your child dislexic just as your child having a tantrum does not mean they have ADDHD.

Please allow your toddler to be a toddler and do not get frustrated with her. This will only cause her to fear making mistakes and withdraw from wanting to read. reading should be an enjoyable activity for both parent and child ESPECIALlY at that age.

[helle]

Sorry to be blunt but this comment is what I find heart breaking.

Your child is 3 and a half! You are getting frustrated with her for not recognising the alphabet.... Please relax and know it is completely normal for a 3.5year old not to recognise the letters of the alphabet.

As the above poster said language is learnt over time. Knowing letters is a small part of it. Knowing the letters of the alphabet is not the only thing that will allow a child to read. It is fantastic that she is even reciting well-known stories.

Not knowing the letters of the alphabet at 3 and a half does not mean your child dislexic just as your child having a tantrum does not mean they have ADDHD.

Please allow your toddler to be a toddler and do not get frustrated with her. This will only cause her to fear making mistakes and withdraw from wanting to read. reading should be an enjoyable activity for both parent and child ESPECIALlY at that age.

^ yeah that ^

My brother is dyslexic and it's as TFB has described.

And if it is any consolation if she is it's not the be all end all. My brother left school at 15, got an apprenticeship as a heavy duty diesel mechanic and bought his own house at 19. He's been on more holidays than I can count and does very well for himself. Despite the fact he can't read or write diddly squat, he's excellent at hands on stuff and can pull an engine apart and whack it back together by memory

[Purple Penguin]

She sounds completely normal for her age, as the above posters have mentioned it does take time to learn the alphabet and she will pick up on it as she gets older, there's no rush right now. She certainly doesn't sound dyslexic, make reading a fun activity for now.

[TeniBear]

I was reading about that age myself, and I don't think I learnt the proper alphabet until I was in primary school

You're doing a great job if she's reading so much so early, personally I think there's nothing to stress about

[Mum2SweetCs]

Thankyou ladies,
not words are blunt as it has shown me that ive become one of thoses pressuring mums!

dd is great with hands on stuff like arts and crafts and has a flare for paying attention when I read.

I really should be looking at that instead of negavtive.

thanks heaps for clearing up the dylexia side the flying butter and I will definitely try what you suggested in regards to her first initial.