Dyslexia affects children of all levels of intelligence but is more easily detected in children of average or above intelligence because of the puzzling difference between their literacy skills and achievement in other areas. Dyslexic individuals may be exceptionally talented in creative areas such as art, design and drama and may excel at sport.

Early signs of dyslexia may include:

• Delayed speech
• Difficulties with speech especially multi-syllabic words
• Clumsiness
• Difficulty with recalling names of objects
• Reading and spelling problems amongst other family members

Dyslexic children often:

• Confuse similar looking symbols (b/d 9/p) or words (shout/should)
• Reverse words (was/saw) when reading
• Produce bizarre spellings or add on extra syllables
• Have difficulty organising their written work
• Have difficulty following a series of instructions
• Have illegible handwriting because of poor fine motor skills
• Have problems sequencing the alphabet, days of the week and months of the year.
• Work harder than non-dyslexic children in order to keep up in class and therefore get very tired.

Dyslexic children benefit from one-to-one support using multisensory teaching methods, which heighten the opportunity for over- learning, to counteract short- term memory difficulties.