Delayed speech (though this can have many other causes). Consult your pediatrician if you are concerned about your child’s speech development. [4] X Trustworthy Source National Health Service (UK) Public healthcare system of the UK Go to source Difficulty pronouncing words, including letter switching – i. e. “mawn lower” instead of “lawn mower. ”[5] X Research source Difficulty breaking down words into sounds as well as the reverse, the ability to blend sounds to make words when speaking. [6] X Research source Difficulty with rhyming words together. [7] X Trustworthy Source Michigan Medicine The University of Michigan’s medical center, which provides patient care, supports research, and educates the public on health topics Go to source
Slowness to build their vocabulary. Usually dyslexic pre-school children only say a small number of words. [10] X Trustworthy Source Michigan Medicine The University of Michigan’s medical center, which provides patient care, supports research, and educates the public on health topics Go to source Slow recall of sounds, letters, colors, and numbers. Dyslexic children may also be slow to name even objects familiar to them. [11] X Trustworthy Source Michigan Medicine The University of Michigan’s medical center, which provides patient care, supports research, and educates the public on health topics Go to source Difficulty in recognizing their own names. [12] X Trustworthy Source Michigan Medicine The University of Michigan’s medical center, which provides patient care, supports research, and educates the public on health topics Go to source [13] X Research source Annual Research Review: The Nature and Classification of Reading Disorders–A Commentary on Proposals for DSM-5 (Margaret J Snowling & Charles Hulme) in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 53(5), May 2012, pp. 593-607. Difficulty rhyming or reciting nursery rhymes. Difficulty remembering content, even from a favorite video. Note that writing errors are not necessarily indicative of dyslexia in pre-schoolers. Many kindergarteners and first-graders reverse their letters and numbers as they are just learning to write. However, this can be a sign of dyslexia in older children and if the reversal of letters and numbers in writing persists, your child should be tested for dyslexia. [14] X Trustworthy Source Michigan Medicine The University of Michigan’s medical center, which provides patient care, supports research, and educates the public on health topics Go to source
Slowness to develop fine motor skills, such as holding a pencil, book, using buttons and zippers, or brushing teeth. [16] X Research source [17] X Trustworthy Source Michigan Medicine The University of Michigan’s medical center, which provides patient care, supports research, and educates the public on health topics Go to source Difficulty knowing left from right. [18] X Research source Difficulty moving to the rhythm with music. [19] X Research source
Professionals have a battery of tests that allow them to test and diagnose dyslexia in children as young as 5 years old.
A delay in learning the connection between letters and sounds. [22] X Trustworthy Source Michigan Medicine The University of Michigan’s medical center, which provides patient care, supports research, and educates the public on health topics Go to source The confusion of small words like “at” and “to” or “does” and “goes”. Consistent reading, spelling, and writing errors, even after being shown the correct forms. [23] X Research source Common errors include letter reversals (e. g. , “d” for “b”); word reversals (e. g. , “tip” for “pit”); inversions (e. g. , “m” for “w” and “u” for “n”); transpositions (e. g. , “felt” and “left”); substitutions (e. g. , “house” and “home”). [24] X Research source Needing to read a short selection multiple times to comprehend it. [25] X Research source Dyslexia: Its Impact of the Individual, Parents and Society (Lamk Al-Lamki) in Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal 12(3), August 2012, pp. 269-272. [26] X Research source Trouble understanding age-appropriate concepts. [27] X Research source Dyslexia: Its Impact of the Individual, Parents and Society (Lamk Al-Lamki) in Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal 12(3), August 2012, pp. 269-272. Trouble taking notes and predicting what will happen next in a story or sequence.
Problems comprehending rapid instructions or recalling sequences of commands. Difficulty remembering what is heard. Difficulty putting thoughts into words. [30] X Research source The child may also speak in halting sentences and leave sentences incomplete. [31] X Research source Garbled speech: wrong words or similar words substituted for what the child means. Difficulty making and comprehending rhymes. [32] X Trustworthy Source National Institutes of Health U. S. government agency for biomedical and public health research Go to source
Trouble with writing or copying. Their handwriting may also be illegible. Frequent confusion of left and right, over and under.
The child expresses low self-esteem. [35] X Research source Dyslexia: Its Impact of the Individual, Parents and Society (Lamk Al-Lamki) in Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal 12(3), August 2012, pp. 269-272. [36] X Trustworthy Source Michigan Medicine The University of Michigan’s medical center, which provides patient care, supports research, and educates the public on health topics Go to source The child becomes withdrawn or depressed and is not interested in socializing or being together with friends. [37] X Research source The child experiences anxiety. Some experts consider anxiety to be the most frequent emotional symptom exhibited by dyslexic children. [38] X Research source Dyslexia: Its Impact of the Individual, Parents and Society (Lamk Al-Lamki) in Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal 12(3), August 2012, pp. 269-272. The child expresses extreme frustration, which often manifests itself in anger. [39] X Research source Dyslexia: Its Impact of the Individual, Parents and Society (Lamk Al-Lamki) in Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal 12(3), August 2012, pp. 269-272. The child may also exhibit troubling behavior, including “acting out”, in order to take attention away from his learning difficulty. [40] X Research source The child may have difficulty keeping focused and seems “hyper” or a “daydreamer. “[41] X Research source
Children and young people may feign illness in order to get out of reading out loud or public speaking for fear of embarrassment. They may also procrastinate on reading and writing assignments in order to put off their struggle for as long as possible.
Unmet needs in dyslexic children can have dire consequences for these children later in life. Studies have shown that more than one-third of students with dyslexia drop out of high school, which accounts for more than one-quarter of all high school drop-outs. [43] X Research source Dyslexia: Its Impact of the Individual, Parents and Society (Lamk Al-Lamki) in Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal 12(3), August 2012, pp. 269-272. No one test can diagnose dyslexia. The standard battery of tests includes up to sixteen separate assessments. They examine all aspects of the reading process to see where the difficulties are occurring, compare reading level to reading potential based on intelligence, and test how students are most comfortable absorbing and reproducing information (audibly, visually, or kinetically). [44] X Research source Tests are usually set up through the child’s school but for additional help, you can find a list of dyslexia centers and professionals by state here.
Reading slowly and with many inaccuracies. Poor spelling. Dyslexics may also spell the same word multiple ways in a single piece of writing. Inadequate vocabulary. Difficulty with planning and organization, including outlining and summarizing information. Poor memory skills and trouble storing information after reading.
Avoiding reading and writing. Relying on others to spell. Procrastinating on reading and writing tasks. Relying on memory rather than reading.
