The A-B-Cs of Dyslexia (Spoiler: It’s Complicated) – Reading Red Flags (And What They Might Mean)
As we celebrate Singapore’s 60th birthday, let us also honour the strides we have made in advancing inclusive education and strengthening support for children with diverse learning needs.
In this spirit of continued learning and inclusivity, we begin the first post of a three-part series on dyslexia—exploring what dyslexia is and how it may show up in the behaviours of budding readers!
So, what is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a specific learning disorder characterised by difficulties in reading. These difficulties often appear as challenges in:
- Reading accuracy and fluency
- Spelling
- Reading comprehension
Crucially, these difficulties are not caused by deficits in intellectual abilities, visual or hearing problems, and inadequate task instruction (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013).
A child at risk of dyslexia may find it harder to decode speech sounds from printed words, which can make reading slower and more effortful. Living with dyslexia can be challenging, especially for young children. In schools, reading difficulties can have a ripple effect since reading is fundamental to learning new knowledge. These challenges may lead to lower academic grades and repeated underachievement, which can be discouraging and affect a child’s self-esteem. In some cases, these struggles may contribute to social and emotional issues such as anxiety and depression (Giovagnoli et al., 2020).
How does Dyslexia look like?
Early identification of dyslexia is crucial for effectively managing its challenges by ensuring timely access to the necessary learning support (Hall et al., 2022).
With this in mind, we will now explore the various symptoms of dyslexia and how they might show up as behavioural signs for parents and caregivers to look out for (APA, 2013; Learning Disabilities Association of America, n.d.).
*It is important to remember that these are just some examples of how dyslexia might appear!
Now that we have explored dyslexia and its behavioural signs, stay tuned for our next post where we will debunk some common misconceptions about dyslexia!
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Learning Disabilities Association of America. (n.d.). Dyslexia. https://ldaamerica.org/disabilities/dyslexia/#:~:text=Dyslexia%20is%20characterized%20by%20deficits%20in%20accurate%20and,impaired%20due%20to%20very%20poor%20word%20reading%20skills.
Giovagnoli, S., Mandolesi, L., Magri, S., Gualtieri, L., Fabbri, D., Tossani, E., & Benassi, M. (2020). Internalizing Symptoms in Developmental Dyslexia: A Comparison Between Primary and Secondary School. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00461
Hall, C., Dahl-Leonard, K., Cho, E., Solari, E. J., Capin, P., Conner, C. L., Henry, A. R., Cook, L., Hayes, L., Vargas, I., Richmond, C. L., & Kehoe, K. F. (2022). Forty Years of Reading Intervention Research for Elementary Students with or at Risk for Dyslexia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Reading Research Quarterly, 58(2), 285-312. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.477
Zuk, J., Dunstan, J., Norton, E., Yu, X., Ozernov-Palchik, O., Wang, Y., Hogan, T. P., Gabrieli, J. D. E., & Gaab, N. (2020). Multifactorial pathways facilitate resilience among kindergarteners at risk for dyslexia: A longitudinal behavioral and neuroimaging study. Developmental Science, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12983
Drafted by: Adam
Edited by: Lynette, Yixi
Prof. Annabel Chen kicking off the event and welcoming parents, caregivers, children and educators in attendance! 
The talks ending off with Prof. Annabel Chen sharing about the Brain-NORM project
