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Dyslexia in the Kindergarten Child
By Kimberly Willoughby
Every once in a while you have a student assigned to your class that seems a mystery, that makes you feel inadequate to the task. The methods that work with other students do not work with her. The year ends and you have a sense that you could have done more if you only knew what “more” was.
Hope was that student for me. She came to kindergarten with a very good foundation. Having been to preschool, she knew most of the letters and their sounds. She could write her name and all things pointed to a successful kindergarten year.
But by mid-year I was completely puzzled. She still could not consistently name the beginning letter of a word, produce rhyming words, blend sounds to make a word, or recognize even half of the sight words we had practiced. Pursuing answers, I consulted the school psychologist. Taking a look at the information I presented– poor phonemic skills, high listening comprehension, no other indications of learning difficulties–his conclusion was possible dyslexia. When I questioned the next step I was told to continue with small group interventions, that we would not assess for dyslexia until at least second grade.
I realized that to effectively help Hope and students like her, I needed to arm myself with knowledge. In the 20 years since I received my degree much has been learned about dyslexia, its origin, its symptoms, and its remediation. Kindergarten and first grade teachers are in a unique position to identify students who show signs of possible dyslexia and to help, through appropriate intervention, ensure success in reading, writing, and spelling.
An inherited condition, dyslexia makes it extremely difficult to learn to read, write and spell in your native language—given at least average intelligence. Dyslexia affects 1 out of every 5 children in the United States meaning that in your class each year you may encounter 3 to 4 students with dyslexia. Early intervention is essential to a dyslexic child’s reading success. Dyslexia is not something children “outgrow”. Out of the children who display reading problems in first grade, 74% will still be poor readers in ninth grade unless they receive direct and explicit instruction in phonemic awareness.
As teachers we must be vigilant in watching our students for signs of possible dyslexia. In kindergarten and first grade early signs of dyslexia include deficits in phonemic awareness such as difficulty with:
