Preschool homeschoolers have a lot on their plate. Besides teaching, they have to look for and understand the signs of certain learning disabilities. The early years are when the symptoms come to light and you may notice some things unsettling about your child's learning behaviors. My advice is to never ignore any warning signs because you don't want to believe there is a problem. Many times what seems like a problem is a temporary setback and nothing to worry about. Other times it's a sign that your child will need a little extra help.
What got me thinking about this was the way Avlyn wrote her numbers in a game of hopscotch yesterday. She drew all the squares and wrote all of the numbers except 1, 4, and 8 backwards. Not only did she draw all of these backward, she didn't follow the typical pattern of starting with 1 and working her way up to 10. She wrote the 10first (01)and then worked her way down.
I've also noticed on occasion that when she reads she will read from right to left. She never opens the book from right to left or reads the right page first, but just starts at the end of the sentence and works her way to the beginning. Of course she isn't actually reading, but making up a story that corresponds with the picture and pretending that's what the words say. She also still struggles with some minor speech problems such as the hard /c/ sound and the /g/ sound. And it got me thinking that maybe we have a problem.
But rather than get extensive testing and start freaking out, I did a little research. I think with a little extra work and repetition we won't have a problem. She did not meet 90% of the signs, and the signs she does meet I know are also common things preschoolers do as they learn. It just seems to be a setback rather than a problem. But I found the following website useful in determining signs of dyslexia in preschoolers. If any of you are experiencing the same sort of learning issues we are, try this site if dyslexia is your main concern.
Bright Solutions for Dyslexia
There are lessons tailored for dyslexic children at: http://www.parentingdyslexia.com
ReplyDeleteIt is free of charge, so what is there to lose.Check it out.
Hi! I am beanandpumpkin on wahm.com. :) It's normal for kids to transpose numbers occasionally, even when they're in first grade. My daughter will be in second grade (homeschooled) next month, and she still sometimes makes her 9s as Ps, and her lowercase Bs as Ds. My son did the same, and now he never does it (he's nine). Your site has a lot of cute ideas for little ones. Have fun; these years go by quick! :)
ReplyDeleteI did exactly the same thing when I started to see my son transpose numbers and some letters! But, thankfully, my son didn't meet most of the dyslexia symptoms either.
ReplyDeleteSo glad I found your blog - I am really enjoying all your great ideas!
Hi guys! I agree with both of you and you're both right. Now that she's a little older the transposing has stopped. Her brother was such a natural with that stuff that I guess it just made me nervous for a bit.
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