Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could go online, take a dyslexia test, and learn if we are dyslexic? Unfortunately, dyslexia is not that easy to diagnose.
Children and adults may have many of the dyslexia symptoms , but often they do not have dyslexia. For example, one of the symptoms found when researching dyslexia is low self-esteem. Low self-esteem happens to people with and without dyslexia. There are exceptionally high functioning readers that have low self-esteem. To find out whether a dyslexia test could be right for you, keep reading!
Before listening to your Aunt Bertha, your Grandpa Joe or website Dyslexia self test, talk to someone who understands the complexity and the true meaning of this disorder. Once you have become educated about the disorder, then you need to contact teachers, school administrators, outside sources such as the pediatrician, and look for the best diagnostician in order to determine the appropriate course of action. Sometimes a dyslexia assessment can reveal the best course of action.
To help you get started, here are a few questions to think about:
- Is there a family history of dyslexia? It is often passed down through generations.
- Is there a history of delayed speech or language?
- Does your child have difficulty reading single words?
- Is your child a slow reader?
- Also, if your child is struggling with reading, is it possibly because he had poor attendance in school and therefore missed reading instruction in the lower grades?
The point is to be careful before you sign up for a dyslexia online test because there are so many other learning disabilities and child characteristics that can be misinterpreted as dyslexia. Many children even receive school instruction for dyslexia when that is not the real problem.
For example, a child I’m working with had been diagnosed with dyslexia and received daily instruction with other children through one of the popular programs. But we discovered he didn’t need it. He simply processes slowly. His reading is slow, yes that’s right. However, he processes math slowly, he buttons his shirt slowly and eats slowly. His phonological awareness is above average and his spelling is too.
It is not easy to diagnose dyslexia, so again beware of online test dyslexia screenings.
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