Early detection of dyslexia

Synonyms in a broader sense

Characteristics, symptoms, abnormalities, early warning, reading and spelling weakness, LRS, reading and spelling weakness, reading and spelling weakness, dyslexia, dyslexia, isolated or circumscribed reading and spelling weakness, learning impairment in

Definition Early detection

All children who have problems (in the area of written language) have a right to support – no matter whether this is due to dyslexia (partial performance disorder with at least average intelligence) or general problems at school, for example in combination with a dyscalculia, ADD or ADHD, a lack of concentration or similar. The possibilities to recognize reading and spelling difficulties or even dyslexia at an early stage are given, but it requires an open mind and basic knowledge, which makes an interpretation of the mistakes and abnormalities possible.

Risk children

In contrast to dyscalculia, current research on dyslexia shows that there are more boys than girls with dyscalculia, and that the problems in reading and spelling are more prevalent among boys than among girls. It already had frequent contact with the written language in the pre-school area. So it is not surprising that children can show the whole range of abilities when they enter school.

There are among other things: Children go through different stages of written language acquisition, which can vary in length and duration from individual to individual. There are different models that describe the development of written language and divide it into stages. The model according to Gudrun Spitta corresponds in many areas to our observations.

They are described in the following table. The age assigned to each stage describes approximate values. Variations in both directions are conceivable.

First of all, a few remarks for a better understanding: If we speak of a phoneme – grapheme – assignment, we want to express that a spoken letter, or a spoken combination of letters is assigned the corresponding sign.

  • The child who can already write down sentences with very few mistakes in his written language development
  • The child who communicates on the oral level and
  • The child whose “writing” is completely unreadable.
  • Sounds or phonemes are spoken letter-letter combinations,
  • Graphemes are written letter-letter combinations.

Phase 1: Phase 2: Phase 3: Phase 4: Phase 5: Phase 6:

  • Also called: pre-communicative phase
  • At the age of about 2 years
  • Children learn by example, see adults write, imitate
  • Doodle pictures are created
  • Usually, scribble images consist only of lines that are arranged crosswise.
  • Also called: pre-phonetic phase
  • At the age of about 3 to 5 years
  • Scribbles, but the painted characters resemble some letters
  • Recognize children: Adults use letters for specific reasons
  • Later it becomes clear: adults use letters to communicate with each other
  • Also called: semi-phonetic phase
  • At the age of about 3 to 5 years
  • Recognize children: Writing depicts the language
  • Children make their first attempts at writing
  • Usually “word skeletons” are written. This means that children at this level usually do not use vowels (a, e, i, o, u) when “writing”.

    One reason for this is that adults “spell out” letters and do not lyrics: Be, Ce, De, Eff, Ge, Ha.

  • Example of a word skeleton: Ptr instead of Peter.
  • !!! Use the phonetic method and name letters in front of your child after the respective sound. This makes the work easier in the first year of school, when all letters and connections are introduced according to sounds.
  • Also called: phonetic phase
  • At the age of about 5 to 7 years
  • Recognize children: Sounds are represented by letters.
  • Children write “phonetically”, that is, the way they speak.
  • Example: alalipster Bruda instead of dearest brother, stones instead of stones, …
  • Phase of phonetic transcription with increasing integration of spelling rules
  • Approximately in the first or second year of school (at the age of about 6 to 7 years)
  • Recognize children: You can read and understand what I write, but there are additional rules that you have to follow when writing.
  • Problems that arise from the insight: Overcorrection: Vata becomes father, but also dad becomes paper etc.
  • Phase in which the transition to developed spelling skills is completed.
  • From about 8 years
  • Phoneme – Grapheme – Assignment is safely mastered
  • First rules, such as: upper and lower case rules are applied
  • Word types, word families, endings and prefixes are used to clarify spelling.
  • Development of basic vocabulary and its increasingly secure mastery.

Children therefore come to school in different “spelling stages”.

To get them all “under one roof” in the initial lessons and to support each child individually and to keep the motivation high is the task of the initial lessons. The situation is similar with the starting point of learning in terms of reading skills. A child does not have to start reading before he or she starts school.

In particular, perception plays a special role in the preparation for the process of learning to read and write. A distinction is made between different language perception performances that are indispensable for the process of learning to read and write and that in a certain way connect the different areas of perception. In addition, there is the need for a child to be able to concentrate over a certain period of time.

In the first year of school, a child should be able to concentrate on a task over a period of 15 to 20 minutes. If he or she cannot do this, it does not mean that there is a lack of concentration. However, it does mean that the ability to concentrate should be trained.

The many differences and different learning starting points primarily require a pedagogical transition from kindergarten to elementary school. It often turns out that many problems only exist at the beginning and solve themselves without further interference. However, there are also – and this must not be concealed – children whose school enrollment problems become entrenched and can trigger real crises – even school phobia.

Symptoms of this can be: aggressiveness, restlessness (“fidgeting”), inattention, “unfounded” crying, learning blockades, excessive demands, … It is therefore of enormous importance that the transition is designed in such a way that success in (secondary) school is likely. This is not only the sole task of the kindergarten and the school, but also the task of the parents, who have a decisive influence on and accompany the development and education of the child. Many problems that arise in school can – with the right sensitivity and the appropriate diagnostic measures and skills – be identified during the pre-school development of the child.