What are general indicators of Dyslexia?
The following list of indicators should be used as early warning signs and not to diagnose dyslexia. Please keep in mind that no child will have all indicators however, many children will exhibit multiple indicators. Also, some indicators are more common and easier to observe than others. Lastly, the number of indicators observed in a child does not indicate whether the child's dyslexia is mild, moderate or severe. A one-on-one consultation is recommended to determine specifics & severity.
What are the indicators for a child between 3-5 yrs. old? (Early Elementary)
- Has difficulty pronouncing some, especially multi-syllabic words
- Has difficulty separating spoken words into sounds and blending spoken sounds to make words (i.e. has difficulty with phonological awareness)
- Experiences difficulty with rhyming and maintaining rhythm
- Is unable to recall the right word (word retrieval)
- Is slow to add new vocabulary
- Early delays in acquiring emergent literacy skills (e.g. understanding that written language progresses from left to right, discriminating between letters, words and sentences)
- Experiences problems learning the alphabet
- Has trouble learning to write and spell his/her own name
- Is unable to follow multi-step directions or routines
- Is developing fine motor skills more slowly than other children
- May have difficulty telling and/or retelling a story in correct sequence
What are the indicators for a child between 5-7 yrs. old? (Elementary Students)
- Is slow to learn the connection between letters and sounds (alphabetic principle)
- Has difficulty separating words into sounds and blending sounds to form words (phonemic awareness)
- Has difficulty repeating multi-syllabic words (e.g. emeny for enemy, pasghetti for spaghetti)
- Has difficulty decoding single words (reading single words in isolation)
- Has poor word-attack skills, especially for new words
- Confuses small or easy words: at/to; said/and; does/goes
- May make constant reading and spelling errors including: Letter reversals (e.g. d for b as in dog for bog)
- Letter inversions (e.g. m for w)
- Letter transpositions (e.g. felt and left)
- Word reversals (e.g. tip for pit)
- Word substitutions (e.g. house for home)
- Reads slowly with little expression or fluency (oral reading is slow and laborious)
- Has more difficulty with function words (e.g. is, to, of) than with content words (e.g. clouds, run, yellow)
- May be slow to learn new skills, relying heavily on memorizing without understanding
- Reading comprehension is below expectation due to poor accuracy, fluency and speed
- Reading comprehension is better than single word reading
- Listening comprehension is better than reading comprehension
- Has trouble learning facts
- Has difficulty planning or organizing
- Uses awkward pencil grip
- Has slow and poor quality handwriting
- Has trouble learning to tell the time on an analogue clock or watch
- Has poor fine motor coordination
What are the indicators for a child between 7-12 yrs. old? (Later Elementary and Middle School)
- Reading achievement is below expectation
- Still confuses letter sequences (e.g. soiled for solid; left for felt)
- Is slow at discriminating and learning prefixes, suffixes, root words and other morphemes as part of reading and spelling strategies
- Poor reading accuracy, fluency, or speed interferes with reading comprehension
- Spelling is inappropriate for age and general ability (e.g. spelling the same word differently on the same page, use of bizarre spelling patterns, frequent letter omissions, additions and transposition)
- Poor spelling contributes to poor written expression (e.g. may avoid use of unfamiliar words)
- Use avoidance tactics when asked to read orally or write
- Experiences language-related problems in Math (e.g. when reading word problems and directions, confuses numbers and symbols)
- Is unable to learn multiplication tables by rote
- Still confuses some directional words (e.g. left and right)
- Has slow or poor recall of facts
- Lacks understanding of other people's body language and facial expressions
- Has trouble with non-literal or figurative language (e.g. idioms, proverbs)
- Forgets to bring in or hand in homework
- Has difficulty remembering what day or month it is
- Has difficulty remembering his/her own telephone number or birthday
- Has poor planning and organizational skills
- Has poor time management
- Lacks self-confidence and has poor self-image
What are the indicators for a child 12+ yrs. old?
- Is still reading slowly and without fluency, with many inaccuracies
- Misreads words (e.g. hysterical for historical) or information
- Has difficulty modifying reading rate
- Has an inadequate storage of knowledge due to lack of reading experience
- Continues to experience serious spelling difficulties
- Has slow, non-fluent, and/or illegible handwriting
- Has better oral skills than written skills
- Has difficulty planning, sequencing and organizing written text
- Has difficulty with written syntax or punctuation
- Has difficulty skimming, scanning and/or proof reading written words
- Procrastinates and/or avoids reading and writing tasks
- Does not complete assignments or class work or does not hand them in
- Is slow in answering questions, especially open-ended ones
- Still mispronounces or misuses some words
- Has problems recalling the names of some things or objects
- Has poor planning and organization skills
- Has poor time management skills
- Has more difficulty in language-based subjects (e.g. English, Spanish, History) than in non-language based subjects (e.g. Mathematics, Technical Graphics)