A specialist emphasized the significance of distinguishing between specific neurodevelopmental disorders and simple immaturities that can be corrected with appropriate training, in light of World Dyslexia Day, marked on Friday. Helena Serra stated, “Dyslexia affects one in ten children,” underscoring the need for proper differentiation.
“Reading disorders may be masked as dyslexia but might not be directly related to this neurodevelopmental issue. Appropriate and timely training can lead to significant improvement,” Serra explained.
The president of Dislex highlighted the importance of early prevention in pre-school children around the age of five, where fundamental skills for reading and writing success can be assessed.
“Before entering reading stages, approximately in the last year of preschool, it is crucial for children across the country to be adequately nurtured in phonological skills, auditory and visual memory, as well as spatial and temporal orientation,” she advocated.
These capabilities, acknowledged as facilitators or prerequisites for symbolic learning, include visual and auditory perception, spatial orientation, sound sequencing, and recognition of letters and phonemes.
If these skills are undeveloped, Serra noted, children might confuse symbols like B and D, F and T, or switch similar sounds like G and Q, potentially leading to persistent disorders.
“Children lacking spatial orientation recognition and visual perception of these symbols enter a phase of confusion and may begin associating B with D, or F with T. Without proper association and memorization of graphemes with their phonemes, constant errors occur, which are crucial to prevent,” Serra emphasized.
Serra noted that specific and early training of these skills can significantly reduce the negative effects of dyslexia or even prevent reading difficulties in cases of immaturity.
“Even with specific neurodevelopmental disorders, timely and early facilitative training during the reading process can minimize the typical negative effects,” she asserted.
Serra suggested that the Ministry of Education should implement a compulsory and playful “small battery of informal tests” in preschool to evaluate children before they enter primary education.
“This could become an exceptional tool for reducing reading and writing difficulties increasingly reported by many educators and schools, even when students are in the second or third cycle,” she stated.
Activities aiding in developing basic reading skills include playful games, rhythmical songs, and rhyming exercises, according to the Dislex president.
Serra reminded that not all reading difficulties indicate dyslexia, but both situations—dyslexia and lack of stimulation—require early attention and an adequate educational response.
