Children with dyslexia experience many learning difficulties. Most of the learning difficulties vary from child to child in types and levels. However, a common behaviour of these children, without proper guidance and acceptance, are a lack of self confidence and have very low self-esteem.
The following are some of the learning difficulties caused by dyslexia experience by many dyslexic children:
1. Difficulties with spelling.
Dyslexic children have difficulty with phonological processing. They have difficulties in identifying sounds, knowing how many sounds there are, and knowing the order in which sounds occur in words. They tend to spell with sensible phonic but wrong i.e. jerney for journey. They also experience difficulties with visual memory when they show jumbled spellings i.e. thron for thorn
2. Difficulties with reading.
Some dyslexic children have difficulties with visual tracking when they have difficulties to decode words, read fluently from left to right and therefore have difficulties to comprehend what they have just read.
3. Difficulties with writing letters or numbers backwards.
The most common letters that the dyslexic children mix up are ‘b’ and ‘d’, and or ‘p’ and ‘q’. Other letters and numbers which are commonly written in mirror image or backwards are ‘s’, ‘j’, ‘t’, ‘y’, ‘g’, ‘c’, ‘N’, ‘Z’, ‘J’, ‘E’, ‘7′, ‘3′, ‘5′, and ‘9′.
4. Confusion over left and right.
Dyslexic children sometimes look clumsy, wear the wrong side of the shoes and have difficulties tying shoes laces are due to their confusion over left and right.
5. Difficulties with maths.
Dyslexic children may face great challenge of getting things in right order, thus lead them with great difficulty with math/s especially the multiplication tables. Besides, another common difficulty is the understanding the sequence or order of numbers in ascending and descending order.
Difficulties copying from the board. They find it difficult to remember the spellings of words as they look down to their notebook, find the place on the board again when they look back, and read writing on a white, shiny board. Many of them bring home with unclear instruction for homework.
6. Difficulties organizing themselves.
Dyslexic children often have difficulties with planning and thinking ahead. They can also lose possessions and unable to structure a large quantity of works with the time given.
7. Difficulties following 2 or 3 step instruction.
Some dyslexic children have difficulties with sequencing and memory skills experience great difficulties to follow 2 or 3 step instruction. Therefore, many a time, the messages pass to others are either incomplete or mix up.
8. Difficulties with handwriting.
Eye-hand coordination immaturity and other problems can make it difficult for dyslexic children to hold a pencil and to manipulate it with comfort and ease.
Despite the many difficulties experience by dyslexic children discussed above, it is still possible that they experience breakthrough in life. With proper intervention, lots of encouragements, praise, guided with learning and movement techniques that work best with them and healthy nutrition diet, dyslexic children can once again be confident and have self esteem. They could turn their difficulties into blessings and explore their own unique compensating strengths to be successful in life.
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