Dyslexia symptoms, as explained by a qualified speech pathologist in Sydney

What is Dyslexia?

In 1887 an eye doctor known as Rudolf Berlin was trying to understand why some of his patients had difficulty reading. He used the term Dyslexia to describe their experience, which he defined as “word blindness,” as ‘dys’ means difficulty and ‘lexi’ literally translates as reading.

What are the symptoms?

Dyslexia results in difficulty reading single words, a process known as “word decoding.” For example, when reading the word me, when you see the letters “m” and “e” you immediately think of the sounds. You have effectively decoded the word!

Reading, writing and spelling are the three pillars of literacy. These skills overlap. For example, if you improve your spelling, your reading will also improve. Alternately, if you have limited spelling skills, you may have difficulty expressing yourself through writing. As these three areas are deeply intertwined, a child with Dyslexia may have trouble with both their writing and spelling, in addition to reading difficulties.