If It’s Not Dyslexia, What Could it Be?

If It’s Not Dyslexia, What Is It?

You suspect your child’s reading difficulties might be dyslexia but you’re not a reading expert so you’re not really sure. To obtain an accurate diagnosis, it’s best to get thorough testing with a private practice psychologist.  There are free dyslexia online screeners and even some reading program companies pitch online dyslexia testing, but they are not valid. The public and private schools will not accept any quick and easy online testing or testing from an unlicensed professional.  Without testing from a licensed psychologist, the schools won’t provide your child with any special help.

Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Dyscalculia

When testing for dyslexia, psychologists also test for other learning disabilities including dysgraphia (extreme writing difficulty) and dyscalculia (extreme math difficulty).  We test for cognitive processing problems that could interfere with your child’s reading including phonics processing, memory, processing speed, attention, visual processing, and language processing.  We want to rule out that the reading struggle is not a cognitive processing disorder or a lack of focus that is causing your child to struggle.

Self-Esteem

Finally, we assess your child’s self-esteem because some kids don’t believe they can become a good reader so this might be a contributing root cause of your child’s struggles.  Once we identify if it’s dyslexia or something else, we recommend the best way for you to help your child.  This knowledge helps you provide laser focused support to help your child obtain the most gain in the shortest amount of time. This is preferred to the hit and miss approach and hoping what you are doing helps.

What to Do

If testing showed it is dyslexia then some of the primary treatments include specialized one-to-one tutoring using the Wilson Reading System, the Barton Reading and Spelling System, or the Lindamood-Bell reading curriculum. These are specially designed programs to help kids with dyslexia that are proven successful by independent research.  Visit www.BrightSolutions.US if you’d like to start learning more about dyslexia and dyslexia testing.

Contact us if we can help you help your child.