According to the National Institute of Health, Dyslexia is a learning disability that can hinder a person's ability to read, write, spell, and sometimes to speak." This is the most common learning disability in children that can continue throughout a person's life. Typically, children who have been diagnosed with dyslexia have average to above average intelligence levels, but have difficulty learning to read despite traditional instruction. They usually do not have any visual or auditory problems.

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There are several types of dyslexia. Trauma Dyslexia is extremely rare and involves an injury to the left cortex. Primary Dyslexia is due to a dysfunction of the left cerebral cortex and is often a hereditary problem, which is found more often in boys rather than in girls. Developmental Dyslexia is thought to be the result of hormone problem during the early stages of fetal development. Visual Dyslexia is characterized by letter and number reversals when reading or writing. Auditory Dyslexia is characterized by the child's difficulty with letter sounds. Dysgraphia occurs when the child has problems holding a pencil and making the correct letter shapes when writing.

Common signs of dyslexia include letter or number reversals beyond 8 years of age. It is important to note that letter and number reversals are very common for children younger than 8 years old. Research has shown that a large percentage of children diagnosed with dyslexia did not crawl or creep as a baby. A child with dyslexia may have trouble with copy tasks. She may have significant problems with both short and long term memory. She may appear uncoordinated, have spatial problems, have difficulty moving to musical rhythms and seem to be very disorganized. A child with dyslexia is often unable to differentiate between right and left. There are a variety of auditory problems associated with dyslexia including difficulty recalling or understanding verbal instructions, difficulty decoding words, poor comprehension, and difficulty expressing their thoughts both verbally and in written form. Additionally, a child with dyslexia may become withdrawn, depressed, begin to act out in school, loose interest in school and have low self-esteem.

If you suspect your child may have dyslexia, talk with your child's teacher and request testing. You may also want to contact a local child psychologist or health care provider for private testing.

The Creative Tutors company has specially trained teachers that utilize individualized teaching strategies to help the child with dyslexia learn the necessary skills to become proficient readers. Interactive Metronome Therapy is another tool we can utilize to help your child succeed.