Speech Therapy Treatments For Dyslexia In Kids

As a parent, there’s nothing more satisfying than watching your child succeed.

Their first steps.

Their first words.

The first time they use a spoon.

The first time they write their name.

When you’ve been reading to them every night, it can be satisfying to see them start to recognize words and letters, and to start being able to sound out words on their own.

However, when they have difficulty with this basic skill, it can be worrying.

If you’re noticing your child isn’t learning to read at the rate expected for their age, we can help.

As speech-language pathologists, we want to help you recognize the signs of dyslexia.

We’ll also take a look at how pediatric speech therapy can help treat this disorder.

What Is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a learning disability that’s related to written words.

Dyslexic children have trouble with reading and with understanding how sounds work together to make words.

This can result in difficulty with sounding out words and spelling.

It’s considered a learning disability

It has nothing to do with intelligence, or problems related to vision or hearing.

What Causes Dyslexia?

Dyslexic children have issues related to the parts of the brain that control reading.

It’s thought to be genetic as it tends to run in families.

Genes control the way the brain processes language and reading.

In people with dyslexia, brain scans done while they are reading show the portions of the brain responsible for reading don’t appear to be active.

If your child is dyslexic, you may wonder whether there was anything you did wrong.

You may wonder if things would be different if you’d read to your child more or if you’d taken them to social skills support groups for kids near me.

But it’s important to remember that if your child is dyslexic, it’s not your fault.

Is Dyslexia A Form Of Autism?

Autism spectrum disorder and dyslexia are both conditions which can result in impairments related to language.

Due to this, you may wonder if there is a connection between the two, or if dyslexia is a form of autism.

It’s possible for someone to be both dyslexic and autistic, but they aren’t connected.

RELATED: Speech Therapy Treatments For Autism

Is Dyslexia A Form Of ADHD?

As with autism, you might be wondering if dyslexia is a form of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

After all, there are overlapping symptoms, including:

• Memory deficits
• Motor skills deficiencies
• Difficulties with information processing

The two conditions are separate, but related.

If your child is dyslexic, they may be at a higher risk of also having ADHD (and vice versa).

These two conditions can also aggravate each other.

The impulsivity and hyperactivity common with ADHD can make treating dyslexia more difficult.

What Is A Dyslexic Child Like?

Dyslexia shows up in different ways as your child moves through life.

In this section, we’ll look at the signs to watch out for in preschool, school aged children, and teenagers which may indicate dyslexia.

If you start to notice these signs, it’s a good idea to consult with one of our licensed therapists as soon as possible.

This is because early intervention speech therapy has been shown to deliver better results for treating dyslexia than waiting until later.

Preschool Age Children

In young, preschool aged children, some of the signs of dyslexia include:

• Having trouble remembering and naming colors, letters, and numbers
• Being slow to learn new words
• Talking late
• Problems trying to learn rhyming games and nursery rhymes
• Issues with forming words
• Confusing similar sounds in words or reversing sounds

School Age Children

When your child starts school, these are some of the ways dyslexia might show up:

• Trouble with spelling
• Not reading at their age level
• Reading avoidance
• Difficultly understanding and processing things they’ve heard
• Poor spelling skills
• Trouble forming answers to questions
• Unable to find the words to express themselves
• Spending more time than expected on tasks related to writing and reading
• Trouble remembering things in order
• Trouble seeing similarities or differences in words and letters
• Trouble sounding out unfamiliar words

Teenagers

As your child moves from childhood to their teenage years, the signs of dyslexia may appear as:

• Having trouble learning new languages
• Trouble with reading aloud
• Has issues completing word based math problems
• Spelling issues
• Reading and writing are slow and require extra work
• Issues with creating summaries of stories
• Trouble thinking of words to say
• Mispronouncing names and words
• Reading avoidance
• Taking a long time to do tasks involving reading and writing

How Can Speech Therapy For Dyslexia Help?

A 2018 article in Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools looked at a number of ways a speech therapist can help children with dyslexia.

Some of these include:

• Understanding how dyslexia relates to other communication disorders
• Sharing facts to help parents understand this condition
• Recognizing the benefits of labeling dyslexia and reducing stigma associated with it
• Supporting effective interventions

Your speech therapist will first perform an assessment to determine what areas your child is having difficulty with.

These could include having trouble with processing speech sounds, phonological awareness, and overall skills related to how they both express and receive language.

Based on this, interventions may include:

• Practicing speech sounds
• Working on phonological awareness
• Helping them learn to express themselves in a sequential, logical matter
• Teaching the proper use of grammar
• Learning social skills and how to interact with other children

Every child is unique, so your child’s treatment approach will also be unique.

The goal is to help your child learn to read, write, and express themselves with ease.

Book Your Appointment With Sol Speech And Language Therapy Today

Is your toddler not speaking at the same rate as other children their age?

Or perhaps your school aged child is struggling with reading and writing.

These are potential signs you could be dealing with dyslexia.

We’re Sol Speech and Language Therapy, with clinic locations serving Austin, Texas and the surrounding area.

If you’re looking for diagnosis or treatment for dyslexia for your child, we can help.

Book your appointment with Sol Speech And Language Therapy today to find out how.