What Are The Best Early Education Options For Your Dyslexic Child?
Choosing the right preschool and elementary program for your child can feel like a much more intricate decision than your parents or grandparents ever faced -- with charter schools, a boom in the number of online schooling and homeschooling groups, and a variety of private programs available, determining and selecting the best option for your unique child may seem all but impossible. This tough decision is made even more challenging if your child is beginning to show signs of dyslexia, a learning disorder that can make reading, counting, and other building blocks of early education more difficult. Read on to learn more about dyslexia treatment and the best programs and therapies to assist your child.
When should dyslexia diagnosis and treatment begin?
Although dyslexia has been known about and studied for centuries, until recently, many children with symptoms of dyslexia were mislabeled as unintelligent or even misdiagnosed as mentally retarded. Dyslexic students were also much more likely than their peers to drop out of school or avoid pursuing higher education, making it harder for these individuals to build successful career paths as adults. Many actors and musicians who found success through non-academic means have spoken out as adults on the difficulties their dyslexia caused during their lives.
Fortunately, researchers and child development experts have spent years formulating the best learning methods and models for dyslexic children -- and the earlier your child is diagnosed and treatment can begin, the higher his or her likelihood of educational success will be. Even preschool-aged children can begin showing signs of dyslexia that may lead to diagnosis. If your child was slow to begin speaking and still has more difficulty than his or her peers in recognizing or immediately naming colors, shapes, or objects, he or she may suffer from dyslexia. A pediatrician can make a preliminary diagnosis after examining your child, giving you the information you need to determine a course of treatment.
What preschool and elementary programs are designed to provide extra assistance to children struggling with dyslexia?
Dyslexia was long treated as a physical issue -- a problem with the way the brain was formed that couldn't be corrected. While there are physical structures within the dyslexic brain that differentiate it from a non-dyslexic brain, these differences can be overcome with targeted therapy and exercises that strengthen the weaker areas of the brain that can cause trouble with word recognition.
When investigating preschool and early childhood education programs for your child, you may first want to focus on programs that don't place overt emphasis on the "three R's" but instead encourage children to learn through experimentation and play. Montessori programs can fit this bill, encouraging sensory play and independent activities to build self-esteem and a drive to succeed. Montessori schools, such as Sammamish Montessori School, can also pose advantages to those who may not yet be at "grade level," as classroom groups are often formed by skill set rather than calendar age. By counting using objects rather than worksheets, your child can learn the same mathematical principles as other children without becoming discouraged at an inability to recognize a number on a page.
Once your child has begun elementary school, you may want to investigate supplementary programs or therapies -- both inside and outside his or her school. Because dyslexia is classified as a learning disability, all public schools in the U.S. are required to work with you to create an individualized educational program (IEP) that gives your child a greater chance of success. These accommodations and therapies can range from providing your child with extra time for test-taking to giving him or her a few hours of one-on-one time with an in-school tutor each day.
On the other side of the equation, you'll want to avoid programs that place rigorous emphasis on reading, writing, and classroom work at a very young age. Not all children -- even those without learning disabilities -- can adapt well to this type of instruction method, and forcing your child into a class that isn't a good fit could set him or her up for school problems during the later elementary and middle school years.
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