THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND REMEDIAL INTERVENTION

There is good evidence that when diagnosis of dyslexia is made early in school most children with dyslexia can be brought up to their normal classroom work, while identification delayed until late in the primary stage results in successful progress by less than half the children. If delayed until secondary school the percentage of successful remediation drops to 10-15%.

See below link

Downloadable factsheets No 19- Understanding Dyslexia - Prof Singleton - page 8

http://www.lucid-research.com/researchmain.htm

• Reading what Prof. Singleton had written really brought home to me the importance of catching this problem early and doing something about it !!! If you have any suspicions that your son or daughter may have dyslexia go and get it checked out!! Sometimes teachers may dismiss your worries as being an over-anxious mother but my advice is to listen to your inner sense and go to get your child properly assessed by a psychologist. The next step is to ensure that you obtain the proper support for your child to assist with his/her school work. You will probably need to see a professional person twice a week as well as you yourself helping your child.
• The problem in Turkey is that dyslexia and other learning difficulties are little understood by parents and teachers alike so often children are diagnosed with this problem at quite a late stage in their school career( or at worse missed completely !!). As Singleton points out - late identification means less chance of bringing the child up to the same level as the other children in their class
• Only 30 % of Turkish children attend pre-school which also has major ramifications. Unlike in other countries e.g. UK- more children attend pre-school and they start school one year earlier than Turkey. There are NO early identification tests available here unlike in the UK. As a result I think many children are not picked up early enough and many go completely un-diagnosed which is even more disturbing
• Unfortunately- even if you are do manage to identify your child has dyslexia there is also an additional problem here in Turkey in that it is difficult to find a properly suitably qualified professional teacher or psychologist who is knowledgeable in this area. There are some but not always easy to find…