Dysgraphia
When a child finds it extremely difficult to hold his pencil and control the movements of the pencil while writing or drawing, it is called dysgraphia. In this case, putting the correct markings on the paper with the help of a writing tool can be a big challenge.

Auditory dyslexia
Here the problem lies with rhyming sounds of words or letters such as write and right, knight and night, deer and dear. It may also be referred to as lack of phonological awareness or congenital word blindness. The dyslexic kid will find it thoroughly difficult to hear the words or letters correctly and may even perceive the sounds in a jumbled manner.

Visual dyslexia
Here the child will find problem in comprehending letters and numbers which look similar or are reversed such as problems distinguishing between p and q, d and b, 9 and 6, tar and rat, eat and tea etc. The individual suffering from visual dyslexia will find it extremely challenging to write out in the correct order or sequence symbols and words and letters. As a result whatever they write is peppered with spelling errors that follow a particular pattern.

Other types of dyslexia are developmental dyslexia, trauma dyslexia and primary dyslexia and the difference here is due to the difference in underlying cause.
Three more types or categories of dyslexia that were established by Ingram in 1964 are correlating difficulties, speech sound difficulties and visuo spatial difficulties.

According to Carlson in 1998, the two major dyslexia distinctions are developmental dyslexia and acquired dyslexia which is the same as trauma dyslexia. The four sub groups of dyslexia are problems with spelling, phonological problems, problems with surface, direct dyslexia. In 1973 Newcombe and Marshall for the first time attempted to divide dyslexia into several categories on the basis of the symptoms and the types they came up with were double deficit dyslexia, phonological dyslexia and surface dyslexia.

Hundreds and thousands of researches have been conducted on these and this grouping has sparked fierce debate among psychiatrists. Double deficit dyslexia is the commonest type of dyslexia.

Dyslexia symptoms
All children who suffer from dyslexia will not display the very same symptoms; the symptoms will continue to vary from one child to another. However, even then, there is a common trait shared by all dyslexic children. Their reading and spelling comprehension is significantly low and they take an abnormally long time to read out something.

Normal children in their peer group, on the contrary, will take only a jiffy to read through that page. This reading difficulty and spelling comprehension problem is one clear indication. There is a specific grade level to measure this reading lag.

Some of the other symptoms of dyslexia are problems in remembering and learning words that are printed in books, while reading through a page inserting new words or leaving out printed words at one’s own will, substitution of 1 consonant for another, confusion between the sounds of vowels, spelling errors that refuse to cease, reversal of similar looking letters such as q for p, d for b, reversal of numbers like 9 for 6, alteration in the order of numbers like 31 for 13 or alteration of words such as bat for tab, tea for eat, knight for night etc.

A dyslexic child will also find it difficult to write out anything correctly or coherently and whatever he writes will be peppered with spelling errors of the kind described just above. Some of the other symptoms include clumsiness, inadequate speech or delayed speech, finding difficulty in selecting the most appropriate words which are closest in meaning to what the child wants to convey, getting confused with directions and times. For example, a dyslexic kid will get confused between past, present and future, today and tomorrow and yesterday, after and before, between left and right, down and up etc.

Other symptoms are lack of phonological awareness, auditory discrimination, phonemic awareness, and difficulty in retrieving words or generating or identifying rhyming words.

You have to select the correct answer from the multiple choice question pattern, add up the corresponding points for each answer and on the basis of your total score, you will be able to determine whether your child or the adult in your family is dyslexic or not.

Dyslexia test
There are free dyslexia pre tests as well, and when most of your answers to the questions set are in the affirmative, probably your child is suffering from dyslexia and the website will recommend you to send your child for full individual assessment. At the end of the dyslexia test, you will be provided with dyslexia test assessment report.

Components of a dyslexia test – genetic link
The first thing that is asked in a dyslexia test is whether the kid has a family history of this disability. When any sibling or grandparent or parent or cousin or aunt or uncle has been dyslexic in the past, the child is at increased risk of contracting dyslexia.

Reading test
In the reading test, the patient is asked to read through words and numbers and if he/she makes too many errors or stumbles frequently, it can be said that the child is probably dyslexic. A less than 95% correct comprehension and accuracy while reading a page containing 1000 words in a minute will be an indicator of dyslexia.

Spelling difficulties
Dyslexic children find it very difficult to distinguish between similar looking letters like p and q, b and d etc and as a result commit lots of spelling errors. That is why they are given a spelling test.

Direction confusion
Another thing that is tested in dyslexia test is the recognition of direction because dyslexic kids get confused between left and right.

Difficulty in comprehension
Dyslexic kids and adults will find it hard or next to impossible to understand or comprehend what they are reading or in following instructions where three or more than three methods are given.

The first and foremost problem is to detect the dyslexic condition which is itself a hurdle. But if your kid suffers from reading and spelling difficulties, he or she should be sent for the numerous online dyslexia assessment tests and if most of the answers are wrong; your child is probably dyslexic and needs to be sent for full individual assessment by a trained dyslexia teacher or psychologist.

Proper diagnosis is extremely important. As said earlier, dyslexia cannot be cured but if the child receives proper advice and support and if trained teachers and counselors apply proper teaching methods meant for dyslexic kids after correctly recognizing the problem, perhaps a child won’t get lost in the darkness of ridicule and social stigma.

Most kids who suffer from dyslexia commonly complain that the letters on the page are “dancing” which makes it difficult for them to grasp. This happens in case of visual dyslexia. This problem can be overcome through colored lenses and overlays which will make the letters and words “stop dancing”.

Since dyslexic kids find it difficult to remember things written in the format of a list, each item in the list should be highlighted in different colors which will make it easier for the child to remember.

Since dyslexic kids find it difficult to learn from printed words, they should be given sand or clay or building blocks and asked to exploit their creativity and in this way, through hands on demonstration, they can learn the vital lessons of life. If a child is creative, let him get involved with painting or drawing or arts and sculpture or crafts, so that his creativity may find a healthy outlet. The correct educational environment and empathetic teachers and teaching methods can create a world of difference for dyslexic kids.

There are three general categories in to which dyslexic treatment programs can be classified – remedial, corrective and developmental and the fourth type of programs combine all the three of them to form a new category.

Reading and spelling are the two great hurdles that a dyslexic kid has to face and cross, but dyslexia isn’t an intellectual disability and can affect any child, regardless of his or her levels of intelligence. There are, of course, different types of dyslexia which I am going to list here.

The kid’s ability to read and spell is affected negatively by three major types of dyslexia. Actually the difference arises out of the difference in cause. Developmental dyslexia, primary dyslexia and trauma dyslexia are the 3 major types of dyslexia known to us.

Trauma dyslexia
When the portion of the brain in control of writing and reading suffers an injury or trauma due to some kind of an accident, it leads to trauma dyslexia. However, when we talk of normal dyslexia that is so common in the school going kids, we are not referring to trauma dyslexia at all. That dyslexia is different from trauma dyslexia.

Primary dyslexia
When the cerebral cortex or the left side of the brain harbors a dysfunction which cannot be cured with the onset of age, it is referred to as primary dyslexia and it is not because of a damage or injury. When an individual suffers from primary dyslexia, his reading and comprehension abilities get restricted to the fourth grade standard and even as an adult, the struggle with writing, spelling and reading will continue full fledged. Primary dyslexia is in most cases inherited and boys are more likely to get it than girls.

Developmental dyslexia
When the fetus is developing inside the mother’s body in the early stages, there occurs a few hormonal developments as well which often leads to developmental dyslexia. However the good thing with developmental dyslexia is that with the onset of age or as the kid will mature the dyslexia will start to minimize and diminish. Again boys are more likely than girls to get developmental dyslexia.

Other dyslexia types are dysgraphia, auditory dyslexia and visual dyslexia.

But now that awareness about dyslexia is on the rise and people are becoming more and more conscious about this extremely common learning disability, many children suffering from learning disabilities are being sent for online dyslexia assessment tests and if the results confirm that the kid is indeed suffering from dyslexia, he/she will be sent for further individual assessment.

Though it is not possible to cure dyslexia, it very much possible to overcome dyslexia and the world of the internet is filled with millions and millions of tips and hints and advice on the procedures and methods of overcoming dyslexia, written by experts who are experienced in this field.

Tips and advice on overcoming dyslexia
When you have to prepare a list, highlight each item in different colors. This will help you to remember the items on the list. If you require ideas for maps, always go for maps with pictures and color. Since dyslexic people often find it difficult to remember things, instead of relying on memory, you will be greatly benefited if you write down instructions.

A child should be allowed to play with building blocks or sand or clay which will let him/her utilize the latent creativity hidden inside and the constructive activity will also become a vent for the pouring out of creative juices. If a child is good at painting or drawing or crafts or sculpture, let him/her pursue it for it will help him/her to learn through the formation of mental ideas or concepts or pictures.

Give these dyslexic children multi sensory games to play with which will help them to learn in an unconventional manner and minimize anxiety as well.
Ask a dyslexic child to hold a squashy ball in the left hand while writing with the right hand. It will improve concentration and keep the child’s focus on what he is writing.

If you are a parent or teacher who has to deal with dyslexic children, always try to rebuild the child’s low self esteem, try to instill self confidence in him and encourage him to participate in activities which will increase his self worth.