Cardinia and Dandenong Ranges Dyslexia Tutoring Service

This group is dedicated to the success and identification of people with Dyslexia. Here you will find an array of resources and useful information to help you gain all the knowledge required for you to help your child grow and succeed with their Learning Difference/difficulty/disability (LD).
Dyslexia is a language based disability and can be identified quite easily without a multitude of tests and assessments. Your dyslexic child is probably very bright, dyslexia is not an intelligence problem, it's a language difficulty. It is neurological in nature, meaning that the brain is wired differently in gestation, forcing the dyslexic to form new neural pathways. *Dyslexia can also be acquired from head injury or stroke, seeing victims having to re-learn language and reading skills.
Australia is considerably behind in dyslexia knowledge and as a result dyslexia is widely unrecognised and mystified. Some claim dyslexia is something kids grow out of however, dyslexia is persistent and not treatable with normal reading/spelling instruction. The most effective method of teaching for dyslexia is the Orton Gillingham derived Multisensory Structured Language Education. It is evidence based and a scientifically sound approach to treating dyslexia.
It is very important that you intervene for your child as early as possible. This may prove to be difficult if your child's school says they don't like diagnosing children before the age of 7 (a common occurrence). Most children in Victoria are in grade 2 by the time they are 7 and will have already felt alienation because they struggle with what seems to come so easy for their peers. Often labelled lazy or stupid their self esteem and motivation suffers and they disengage.
It is important to note that dyslexia can (and usually does) co-exist with other neurological conditions such as ADD/ADHD and Autism Spectrum, but can be treated in the same way. Below is a guide, or what to look for in your child's early development:

Early signs of dyslexia may include (4+):

Language/speech delay.
Difficulty with nursery rhymes.
Difficulty connecting a sound to the symbol: they may know the letter but not the sound it makes.
*Children learn language from their surroundings (constructivism) and much of their learning at school relies on this ability to make relevant connections to language. If your child has trouble with this they will need more explicit teaching (a says /a/ etc). Much of what children learn at school in terms of language is implied (not really taught) which is the nature of the constructivism theory. Here it is easy to see why early intervention is so important, as, if they can't put language together at least in some part on their own they are behind from the beginning.

School age difficulties may include (5-6):

Difficulty with reading, spelling and writing.
Difficulty with working memory: Working memory is working with what you remember. For example, your child may know a letter but not know how to use it in practice.
Poor letter formation when writing: for example, often a dyslexic child's 'a' will look like a 'u'.
Difficulty 'finding words' when explaining something, often humming (ah hum, hum).
*Difficulties developing language skills will continue as your child grows, by now they may be showing these difficulties in all areas of language (writing, speaking and reading).

Other signs of dyslexia may include:

Poor organisation skills.
Difficulty following instructions.
Difficulty remembering days of the week and months
Difficulty learning left from right (this may also include letter and number reversals)
For more information please feel free to email or message me. I'm only too happy to help.