Signs of Dyslexia
The problems displayed by individuals with dyslexia involve difficulties in acquiring and using written language. It is a myth that individuals with dyslexia “read backwards,” although spelling can look quite jumbled at times because students have trouble remembering letter symbols for sounds and forming memories for words. Other problems experienced by people with dyslexia include the following:
- Learning to speak
- Learning letters and their sounds
- Organizing written and spoken language
- Memorizing number facts
- Reading quickly enough to comprehend
- Persisting with and comprehending longer reading assignments
- Spelling
- Learning a foreign language
- Correctly doing math operations
Not all students who have difficulties with these skills have dyslexia. Formal testing of reading, language, and writing skills is the only way to confirm a diagnosis of suspected dyslexia.
International Dyslexia Association
https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-basics/
Early Signs of Dyslexia
The Preschool Years
Difficulty with:
- learning common nursery rhymes
- learning and remembering the names of letters in the alphabet
- identifying letters in his/her own name
- pronouncing familiar words; persistent “baby talk”
- identifying rhyming patterns like cat, bat, rat
A family history of reading and/or spelling difficulties
Kindergarten and First Grade
Difficulty with:
- Sounding out simple words
- Rhyming
- Associating letters with sounds
- Reading nonsense/made-up words like "stod"
- Reading accurately
- Participating in reading and writing activities
A history of reading problems in parents or siblings
Second Grade through High School
Reading
- Slow acquisition of reading skills
- Awkward, slow reading fluency
- Difficulty "attacking" unfamiliar words
- Avoidance of reading out loud
Speaking
- Searches for a specific word and ends up using vague language, such as “stuff” or “thing,” without naming the object
- Pauses, hesitates, and/or uses lots of “um’s” when speaking
- Confuses words that sound alike, such as saying “tornado” for “volcano,” substituting “lotion” for “ocean”
- Mispronunciation of long, unfamiliar or complicated words
- Seems to need extra time to respond to questions
General
- Trouble remembering dates, names, telephone numbers, random lists
- Struggles to finish tests on time
- Extreme difficulty learning a foreign language
- Poor spelling
- Messy handwriting
- Low self-esteem that may not be immediately visible
A history of reading problems in parents or siblings
© Sally Shaywitz, Overcoming Dyslexia
http://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/signs-of-dyslexia/