Q: I have a 10-year-old daughter, who moved to UAE 3 years back. She used to be an intelligent girl and always stood first in her class. However, her spelling capabilities are not up to the perfect level. She always makes the mistake of locating the right letter, like she spells "great" as "graet". I thought she will change with time, but the situation is still the same. Making her practice at home is not helping. Her concentration level is also very poor and she gets distracted easily. She has a 3-year-old brother, with whom she plays all the time. Is this a disorder, which has to be tackled medically?

A:It is possible that your daughter has Dyslexia. It is not a medical condition or a defect. Some children have problems with spelling. In India, the major cities have Dyslexia Associations, which have counsellors to help the children to slowly stabilise their spellings. Such children will also be slow in writing. Talk to her teachers and see if any of them has any training to handle her specific problem. A child can be dyslexic and brilliant .Encourage her oral work. Let your daughter play with her brother. They will probably have close ties of affection for their whole lives. However, you and her mother must help her to make a schedule for her studies, with small units of work at a time. Give her a word of praise or a pat on the back when she does something well. Do not point out only her weak areas, but notice her strengths as well.