Generally, symptoms of dyslexia show up as problems with accuracy and fluency in reading and spelling.
Children with dyslexia will often show two obvious difficulties when asked to read the text at their grade level. First, they will not be able to read as many of the words in a text by sight as average readers. There will be many words on which they stumble, guess at, or attempt to sound out.
Signs to look out for at pre-school!
- Has trouble recognising whether two words rhyme
- Struggles with taking away the beginning sound of a word
- Struggles with learning new words
- Has trouble recognizing letters and matching them to sounds
- Writes letters and words backwards
Signs to look out for in lower- primary school!
- Has trouble taking away the middle sound of a word or blending several sounds to make a word
- Often can’t recognize common sight words
- Quickly forgets how to spell many of the words she studies
- Gets tripped up by word problems in math
- Writing letters and words backwards
Signs to look out for in upper-primary school!
- Makes many spelling errors
- Frequently has to re-read sentences and passages
- Reads at a lower academic level than how she speaks
Signs to look out for in high school!
- Often skips over small words when reading aloud
- Doesn’t read at the expected grade level
- Strongly prefers multiple-choice questions over fill-in-the-blank or short answer.
Dyslexia doesn’t just affect learning. It can impact everyday skills and activities, as well. It affects a child’s social interaction, memory and how well they cope with stress.
Other Conditions That May Co-exist With Dyslexia?
ADHD: Makes it difficult to stay focused during reading and other activities. However, kids with dyslexia may fidget or lash-out in class because of frustration over reading, but not those with ADHD.
Slow processing speed of the brain: can impact reading, as well as many other areas of learning. Kids who struggle with processing speed are slower to take in, process and respond to information. It makes it harder for them to master basic reading skills and get the meaning of what they’ve read.
Auditory processing disorder (APD) affects a child’s ability to sort through the sounds she hears. Kids with APD often have trouble recognizing the difference between letter sounds and sounding out new words.
Visual processing issues make it hard to process what the eyes see. Kids with visual processing issues may complain of blurry vision or of letters “hopping around on the page,” you find them squinting or closing one eye to see better. They often reverse letters when writing and struggle to stay within the lines.
Dysgraphia (bad handwriting) can affect a child’s ability to spell and to form letters and numbers. It can also make it hard to organize thoughts on paper. Many kids with dysgraphia also have dyslexia.
Dyscalculia makes it hard to carry out mathematical calculations. Many kids have serious difficulties in both reading and math and may have dyscalculia in addition to dyslexia. Challenges related to learning to count numbers is sometimes associated with both dyscalculia and dyslexia.
A person with dyslexia can learn to read. Dyslexic children improve their learning ability when adequately instructed, especially when they receive special attention!
