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Dyslexia Awareness Month

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month. Dyslexia, a developmental learning condition, makes it extremely difficult for the person to form a relationship between letters and the sounds letters make (phonemes). The condition occurs regardless of intellect. Some very successful, smart people have had dyslexia including Thomas Edison, Stephen Spielberg, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Dyslexic brains work very differently than the average person. An adult brain can summon around 150 images per second. In contrast, a dyslexic can muster from 1500 to 4000 images per second. The fact that they do this on a three-dimensional plane makes the dyslexic brain a very specialized skill set. NASA estimates that over 50% of its engineers are dyslexic.

Although Dyslexia brings exceptional gifts, not all dyslexic children are successful. Their difficulty learning to read and spell can lead to life-long issues including being mislabeled as lazy or stupid. It is estimated that 1 in 10 will be diagnosed with dyslexia. Children are not typically screened for dyslexia until Kindergarten. Although there is no magic pill that cures dyslexia, there are many phonemic awareness skills that can be reinforced in as little as five to ten minutes per day. The great news is that these games will benefit both the dyslexic and average young child. Perfect for the car ride to/from school, check out our list of a few fun games to play that will reinforce our letter sounds and may hold a lifetime of benefits for your child!

Race to Z - Pick from 1 to 3 letters in succession. The first person to get to Z wins the race. You say 'AB'. Your child may say 'CDE'. You reply with 'F' and so on until you reach the letter Z (that person wins).

Rhyme Time - A thumbs up/thumbs down game involves giving your child two words. If they rhyme, thumbs up. If they don't, thumbs down. Of course, you may miss a few to add to the fun!

Word Smoothies - Say the sounds /c/ - /a/ - /t/ but put a long drawn-out pause between each sound. Then have the child blend the sounds together by saying the sounds faster each time in rapid succession. The child blends the sounds and tries to guess your word.

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