I think my child may have dyslexia.

There are many definitions of dyslexia but basically it is difficulty learning to read and spell. It affects all aspects of literacy, reading, spelling, writting and sometimes working with numbers. Recent research shows that children may have difficulty with short term or working memory as well as phonological awareness, that is the ability to break up the words into sounds and to blend sounds together. It is thought that up to 10% of the population have dyslexia. Dyslexia runs in families and research is ongoing into the nature of the causes.

Generally parents may start to notice a problem in senior infants or 1st class, however there can be signs as early as age 3. If your child is aged 5 - 7 click here to download or print out the checklist.

If you observe 10 or more of the items on the list you should have your child screened for dyslexia.

Checklists are available for all age groups, please email us and we can send you the checklist you require.

How can my child be helped?

There are many programmes developed to help children overcome their dyslexia. One the most effective programmes to date in Ireland has been the Fast ForWord(c) program. This program is available for all children throughout Ireland to use on a computer at home. Fast ForWord improves all aspects of learning as well as literacy because it works on 4 key areas, memory, attention, processing speed and sequencing. The program has been developed in America based on years of neuroscientific research, and has been proven to rewire the brain and improve learning capacity.