In What Areas Do Dyslexic Children Excel?

Have you noticed your child is having difficulty with reading, writing, and word comprehension?

It’s possible that there may be an underlying disorder, such as dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a disorder that’s characterized by using and interpreting language incorrectly.

It can affect things like spelling, writing, reading, and speech.

Whether your child has been diagnosed with dyslexia, or you suspect that they may have dyslexia, it can cause you to worry about their academic performance and future success.

But don’t worry, we can help.

At District Speech and Language Therapy, we offer speech therapy for children to help address any learning or reading disabilities they may have.

While dyslexia can cause children to face many difficulties, it can also help them excel in certain areas.

Today we’re going to be taking a closer look at some common difficulties that dyslexic children can face, as well as some common strengths that dyslexic children can have.

Keep reading to learn more.

What Is Dyslexia?

We’ve talked about dyslexia several times on this blog already.

We’ve previously discussed speech therapy for dyslexia in kids as well as speech therapy for dyslexia in adults, and we’ve also dispelled some common dyslexia myths.

Check those articles out for more info about dyslexia.

But here’s a simplified version.

Dyslexia is a learning disability.

Its origin is neurological because it affects the parts of the brain that are responsible for language.

Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties with proper word recognition, such as having trouble reading, as well as difficulties with spelling and decoding skills.

While dyslexia isn’t related to visual impairment or intelligence, it can lead to issues with reading comprehension and affect academic performance and knowledge acquisition.

There are different types of dyslexia that can affect each person differently.

Some of the common types of dyslexia include:

• Surface level dyslexia
• Rapid naming dyslexia
• Phonological dyslexia
• Auditory dyslexia
• Visual dyslexia
• Attentional dyslexia
• Orthographic dyslexia

A person with dyslexia may have one or several types that can impact their abilities to varying degrees.

There is currently no known cure for dyslexia.

However, speech and language therapy can help children with dyslexia address their issues and adapt in order to thrive in academic environments.

What Challenges Do Dyslexic People Face?

We’ve talked about what dyslexia is and how it affects the brain.

But how does it actually impact people’s reading and writing skills and comprehension?

Let’s take a closer look at some of the difficulties dyslexic people face.

1. Mixing Up Similar Looking Letters

A common challenge that dyslexic people have when reading and writing is mixing up letters that look similar to each other.

For example, they may mix up the letters “b” and “d”.

They may also mix up similar looking words, such as “who” and “how”.

Some dyslexic children may also mix up similar looking numbers, such as 6 and 9.

It’s important to remember that mixing up similar looking letters isn’t due to visual impairment.

It’s because of a phonological deficit or possible directional confusion.

2. Mixing Up The Order Of Letters

Another difficulty dyslexic people can face is mixing up the order of letters in a word.

This is more commonly seen in spelling.

Even if they know how to spell the word correctly, when they begin writing it down, the information being received from their brain comes out in the wrong order.

An example of mixing up the order of letters could be spelling “dose” when wanting to write “does”, or “hoem” when wanting to write “home”.

It’s also common to omit letters when spelling out words.

3. Mixing Up Words That Sound The Same But Are Spelled Differently

Words that sound the same but are spelled differently are known as homophones.

Dyslexic people can have difficulty comprehending, using, and spelling the right word if there are similar sounding words.

For example, “your” and “you’re” or “by”, “buy”, and “bye”.

4. Reading Slowly

It’s common for dyslexic people to read more slowly.

This is because their brain has a harder time recognizing specific letters.

This can cause a challenge in matching letters to the appropriate sounds they make, and then processing them into words.

As a result, they often read slower, more hesitantly, and may make a number of small mistakes.

5. Writing Slowly

Dyslexic people also often write more slowly.

While they may know what they need to write, their brain will have a harder time processing those thoughts into words.

Additionally, they may also have trouble taking notes and copying information.

This is because they may only process and remember a small bit of information at a time.

Losing focus for even a little bit may cause them to forget some of the words they were copying or writing, leading to incomplete or inaccurate text.

What Are Some Common Strengths Of Dyslexic Kids?

We often focus on and discuss the difficulties that dyslexic children face and how it can negatively impact their lives.

However, being dyslexic can also foster some strengths that may give dyslexic kids unique advantages.

Keep reading to learn more about some common strengths of dyslexic kids.

1. A Strong Sense Of Empathy

Many dyslexic kids have a strong sense of empathy.

Because they’ve had difficulties with reading and writing, they may feel more empathy for other people who are facing challenges and struggling.

As a result of their sincerity and vulnerability, they may be able to build deeper connections and provide support to those that need it.

This can help further develop their emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills.

2. Excellent Memory

Dyslexic kids can also have excellent long term memory.

They may be able to recall detailed facts about particular subjects and relay them through a narrative rather than as a set of data.

Both narrative reasoning and visual information can help dyslexic kids develop their memory and contextualize their knowledge.

This can help dyslexic kids excel in various fields of research, as well as help them develop skills such as acting.

3. Strong Conversation Skills

While dyslexic kids may struggle with reading and writing, they tend to have strong conversational skills.

Dyslexic kids can have strong spoken language abilities that allow them to comprehend and analyze what’s being said to them.

Similar to having a strong sense of empathy, dyslexic kids can get a good reading on people and interact with them in meaningful and profound ways.

They’re often attentive and considerate of what other people are saying and feeling.

They can also be very perceptive about the challenges that other people face and effectively communicate their ideas and possible solutions.

4. Problem Solving Skills

Oftentimes, dyslexic kids see the world through different perspectives due to their learning disability.

This can help them develop unique ways of analyzing the world around them and cultivate a diverse set of problem solving skills.

Their unconventional way of thinking can bring fresh and innovative ideas and create solutions that would not have been possible by traditional means.

Their ideas aren’t connected by a straight line, but rather by different pathways.

This can allow them to think about multiple things at the same time.

Some dyslexic kids also have advanced logical reasoning, which can help them deeply analyze various subjects and use critical thinking skills to solve problems.

5. Lateral Thinking Skills

As we’ve already mentioned, dyslexic kids can have unique thought processes that can help them think outside of the box and approach problems or ideas in creative ways.

This can give them originality in various endeavors.

Many dyslexic kids grow up to be entrepreneurs because of the way they think, which gives them an ability to innovate outside of traditional means.

Their lateral thinking skills, combined with their sense of empathy can lead them to develop new technologies and ways to make knowledge and information more accessible.

Their perspectives and conversational skills can also help them develop creative campaigns to draw in audiences.

Additionally, their creative thinking skills can apply to puzzle solving and spatial reasoning.

This can lead them to develop skills in subjects such as filmmaking, design, or architecture.

What To Do If Your Child Is Dyslexic?

If your child is dyslexic, or you suspect that they might be, speech therapy can help.

One of our experienced speech pathologists can assess your child’s abilities and address any difficulties they may have.

They will provide personalized speech therapy treatment plans for your child’s unique needs.

Generally speaking, speech therapy for dyslexic children will focus on helping them improve their language and communication skills, and develop their reading and writing skills.

Speech therapy can help dyslexic children with things such as:

• Developing their vocabulary
• Social communication skills
• Expressive and receptive language skills
• Improving articulation, particularly when reading
• Phonological awareness

By addressing areas where your child may have difficulties, we can help them thrive and support their academic and social development.

So if your child has dyslexia, or you suspect that they might, it’s a good idea to…

Book Your Appointment With Our Speech Therapy Clinic Today

Are you concerned that your child has a reading impairment or issues with writing and language comprehension?

If that’s the case we can help.

At District Speech and Language Therapy, our team of therapists can help address any challenges your child may face due to dyslexia.

We’ll work with you and your child to implement strategies and set them up to thrive at school and in their relationships.

Book your appointment to get started with one of our experience speech therapists today.