Is this dyslexia? Are these some of the signs?

Question

I was sitting with my niece today trying to help her with her homework because I saw her strruggling, hard with her math. Shes a shy child so she was afraid if saying the wrong answers, but I was paitent and helped her through it. I knew she always had a problem with reading, so I decided that I'd let her read a story to me and help her along the way. While she read, I was greatly disturbed at how far behind she was. She's 10 and she has been left behind twice. She is in the third grade and no one in her family seems to care. My sister, her mother, instead just calls her stupid and they've actually made fun of her reading and expected me to laugh along with them. I did NOT find this amusing but when I told my sister how disgusting this was she just blew me off. As my niece read I noticed that she constantly skipped over or missed words that were there. She skipped whole sentences as well and confuses the letters B and D all the time. Instead of 'our' she replaces it with 'your' she als

also takes very long pauses and stares at the word intensely as if shes trying to get it out but she can't. She confuses There with where and this ith we and she constantly messes up the word 'up'. She is smart, I know this but If this is what i believe I can relay this to my sister and explain to her that it isn't because she's 'stupid' or doesn't try because I've seen this litttle girl sitting up until all types of the night trying to figure out her homework without the help of her older sister and brother or her mother. I am not over my sisters house often but whenever I am I take the time, and it does take alot of time and practice to help her understand. I'm just wondering if this could be Dyslexia or maybe a form of it? I'm doing all I can to help but I am not a professional.

Answer 1

I tutored an adult w/ dyslexia once, and she did the same things...
Beat her mom over the head with a dictionary, and take that girl to a tutoring program designed for girls and boys like her. She's not stupid! My b-o-l is dyslexic, and while he barely managed high school, he went on to college. At 34, he's gone back to school again and is working on a Master's of Divinity. I had a friend when I was a kid who was in special ed for dyslexia, and gifted ed for an exceptionally high IQ.. Intelligence and learning disabilities don't always cancel each other out.

Answer 2

I am not a professional either. So I can't really say one way or the other if it is indeed dyslexia, but it is obviously a learning disability of some sort.
Has anyone talked to her teacher(s) and tried to determine what the problem is?
This concern should be addressed immediately before your niece loses interest and stops trying entirely because of the extreme difficulty she is experiencing.
Obviously, calling her stupid and similar cruel names will only discourage her further.
Your niece is lucky to have a friend like you.

Answer 3

There are centers available that research and identify various learning disabilities(Sylvan Learning comes to mind). Check online for nearby places, or ask a pediatrician for more information. Of course, if your sister is unwilling to look into this, your hands are tied. Keep trying to convince your sister to cooperate, and try to be there for your niece. She's lucky to have such a caring person in her life.

Oh, and some of the brightest people I know have ADD or dyslexia. And I know too many who could have gone just as far, if they hadn't been forgotten about...

Answer 4

Yes, I would definitely say that it is...oot ti evah I!