What are the best steps a parent should take if they suspect their child has dyslexia?
Before you start worrying as a worried parent about the progress of your child, every child’s growth is unique. In the UK, the average dyslexic assessment of primary school children takes place around 8 years old. Therefore your preschool child will not be diagnose until 8 years old and development may change before assessment.
Here are some of the best early interventions for dyslexia in preschoolers:
1. Phonological Awareness Training
Blending sounds in words.
Learning to recognise rhyming patterns.
Making connections between sounds and letters.
2. Multi-Sensory Learning Approaches
Using strategies that incorporate sight, sound, and touch.
Engaging multiple senses to reinforce learning.
3. One-on-One Tutoring
Providing individualised attention outside of regular school hours.
4. Focus on Core Language Skills
Vocabulary development.
Improving listening comprehension.
Enhancing expressive language abilities.
5. Sequential Skill Building
Starting with basic concepts and progressively moving to more complex ones.
Building skills in a structured, step-by-step manner.
6. Early Literacy Activities
Learning letter names and sounds.
Practising writing letters and simple words.
Reading age-appropriate texts to reinforce emerging skills.
7. Working Memory Training
Activities to improve recall of multi-step instructions.
Games to enhance short-term memory capacity.
8. Tailored Interventions
Customising approaches based on the child's specific needs and strengths.
Consulting with education specialists to determine the most appropriate interventions.
9. Parent Involvement
Teaching parents strategies to support learning at home.
Encouraging reading together and language-rich interactions.
10. Regular Progress Monitoring
Assessing skills frequently to adjust interventions as needed.
The key is to start interventions early, make them systematic and well-structured, and incorporate direct teaching with plenty of practice and revision. Multi-sensory approaches that engage the child across multiple learning modalities tend to be most effective for preschoolers with dyslexia risk factors.
