Parents’ literacy skills, reading preferences, and the risk of dyslexia in Year 1 students

The aim of our study was to examine the familial risk of dyslexia in Year 1 school beginners, whose parents had been diagnosed as dyslexic or exhibited symptoms of the specific difficulties in reading and writing without a formal opinion issued by a counselling centre. We found that both a dyslexia report and specific reading and writing difficulties with no formal diagnosis manifested by a family member, and parents’ reading preferences, predicted the risk of dyslexia in Year 1 children. Moreover, the children at familiar risk of dyslexia, as compared with their peers at no risk, later began to babble, were less apt at self-help and liked drawing less at the age of 2-3 years, and experienced more problems with drawing a circle at the age of 3. Additionally, during Year 1 of education, they performed poorer in fine motor skills, linguistic perception and sound deletion, visual functions and attention. Such symptoms can be observed by parents and teachers during the child’s play and educational activities. Early intervention can enhance the child’s readiness to school entry, and facilitate effective and satisfactory learning, increasing their further educational opportunities and the quality of life.