Each child learns and develops at their own pace throughout adolescents, and reading is no different from other skill-building activities. It’s common for students to find reading difficult at one point or another, which makes pinpointing a student who faces a learning difference, like dyslexia, challenging for parents and teachers. Parents and teachers in private school Greenville NC, Walton Academy must work together to recognize the important signs of dyslexia so that students don’t fall behind in essential milestones like reading and writing. Read below to learn about some of the common signs of dyslexia in elementary school students and what to do if your child exhibits these signs.

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that affects the ability to read, spell, write, and speak. Kids with dyslexia are often smart and hardworking but have a hard time decoding new words or breaking them down into manageable chunks to then sound out. As many as 1 in 5 children have some symptoms of dyslexia, such as slow reading, trouble spelling, or mixing up words. Dyslexia is not the reflection of a student’s intelligence, rather a gap between a student’s ability and achievement. Some are able to keep up with their peers with extra time and practice, at least for the first few grades. But by the third grade or so, when they need to be able to read quickly and fluently, they run into trouble. Dyslexia can be handled with the help of parents and teachers of private school Greenville NC, Walton Academy by noticing the signs and symptoms at an early age.

Signs of Dyslexia

• Difficulty with sounding out new words
• Lower fluency levels compared to other children their age
• Reverse letters and numbers when reading and writing
• Difficulty with taking notes and copying down words from the board
• Struggles with rhyming and associating sounds with letters
• Stumble and struggle when spelling, even common words
• Try to spell words phonetically
• Avoid being called on to read out loud
• Become tired or frustrated from reading or spelling
• Struggle when trying to learn rules of a game
• Have difficulty keeping track of multi-step directions
• Struggle when learning how to tell time on a clock

While this list includes most of the more evident signs of dyslexia in children, it does not include all of the possible signs and does not replace the advice or diagnosis from a medical professional. If your student exhibits any of these behaviors, it may be time to get him or her tested for dyslexia by an educational psychologist or another qualified professional.

Helping Students With Dyslexia

Once your student has been diagnosed with dyslexia, this does not mean that he or she will never learn to read or write. The staff at private school Greenville NC, Walton Academy are prepared to work with you and your child to make sure all the right services and resources are in place. While encouraging learning new skills, and providing support through schoolwork, it is important to not forget about caring for your child’s confidence. It’s tough to struggle at something that seems to come easily to other kids. Being firm about completing schoolwork and sticking with a routine, but constantly supplying love, support, and patience will help support your child through their endeavors.

Walton Academy, Premiere Private School Greenville NC

There are certainly mental, physical, and developmental benefits to being involved in your child’s learning progress. Walton Academy, the best private school Greenville NC encourages you to practice the tips mentioned above to help balance, manage, and extend your child’s love for learning!