Dyslexia Information |
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Signs and Symptoms
Remember, these signs and symptoms do not necessarily mean dyslexia. It takes professional testing to truly identify someone who is dyslexic. Please contact me for more information.
In Preschool
- delayed speech
- can't create words that rhyme
- chronic ear infections
- severe reactions to childhood illnesses
- regular confusion of left versus right
- a close relative who has dyslexia (or suspected dyslexia)
- late establishing a dominant hand
- difficulty learning to tie shoes
- trouble memorizing address, phone number, or alphabet
- mixing up the sounds and syllables in long words (eg. aminal for animal; ambliance for ambulance; basgetti for spaghetti)
In Elementary School
- terrible spelling
- dysgraphia (poor handwriting)
- extreme difficulty learning cursive
- difficulty telling time on a clock with hands
- mixes up letter order in words: pasghetti with spaghetti; ciminon with cinnamon
- slow, choppy, inaccurate reading; guesses based on shape or context, skips or misreads prepositions, ignores suffixes, can't sound out unknown words
- often cannot remember sight words (they, were, does, etc.) or homonyms (their, they're, and there, etc.)
- trouble with math: memorizing multiplication tables, memorizing a sequence of steps, directionality
- when speaking, difficulty finding the correct word: lots of "whatyamacallits" and "thingies", common sayings come out slightly twisted
- extremely messy bedroom, backpack, and desk
- dreads going to school: complains of stomach aches or headaches, may have nightmares about school
- Cannot do a spelling test correctly if the words in the original list are dictated in a mixed order
In High School
All the above plus:
- limited vocabulary
- Extremely poor written expression - large discrepancy between verbal skills and written expression
- Unable to master a foreign language
- difficulty reading printed music
- poor grades in many classes
- may drop out of high school
In Adulthood
Educational history similar to above plus:
- slow reader
- may have to read a page 2 or 3 times to understand it
- terrible speller
- difficulty putting thoughts onto paper - dreads writing memos or letters
- still has difficulty with right versus left
- Often gets lost, even in a familiar city
- sometimes confuses b and d, especially when tired or sick
Additional signs that may indicate dyslexia
Reading and Language:
- Confuses verb tenses: see (present) saw (past) seeing (present participle)
- Reads slowly and below grade level
- Does not seem to understand what he or she has read (comprehension)
- Has difficulty hearing and repeating words of another language
- Has problems understanding and spelling abstract words, especially those about time and place
- Mispronounces or misreads many words
- Decodes words too slowly while reading and loses comprehension
- Has an inadequate reading vocabulary
- Fears having to read aloud in class
- Has difficulty remembering content just read such as in a story
- Has difficulty remembering information just read in a list
- Requires more time to read or answer questions than other students
- Has difficulty tracking (reading) a printed line across the page
Mathematics:
- Does not understand the concept of time
- May not be able to tell time correctly up to ten to twelve years of age
- Cannot do simple mathematical word problems without referring to pictures, concrete objects or counting on their fingers
- Does not understand simple fractions such as half a cup of sugar or three quarters of an orange
- Cannot understand money unless taught by holding the coins and bills in their hands and actually buying something
- Does not understand flat, two dimensional drawings as opposed to three dimensional views of actual objects
- Cannot understand measurements: linear, weights, quantity or volume
- Does not understand or has difficulty with multiplication tables or long division
- Is not able to memorize the multiplication tables
General Problems:
- Has difficulty following spoken or written instructions
- Does not know what is expected of them when given oral instructions that are not complete
- Has even more difficulty following written instructions on assignments, exercises or tests
- Cannot copy notes from the board accurately
- Has difficulty copying geometric designs
- Cannot explain 'cause and effect' in a picture of a scene or a story, or predict what may happen next
- Can remember more information when hearing it read aloud or discussed than when they read it silently to themselves
- Can do a learning task better if they can see it and handle the parts first
- Can answer questions orally, but poorly in writing
- Freezes up when asked to give hand-written answers in sentences, paragraphs or essays
- Has difficulty understanding and spelling abstract ideas and concepts
- Has great difficulty with punctuation and grammar and writing
- Cannot focus on a few ideas at a time, so cannot stay on task
- Lacks procedural systems such as how to use grammar to write sentences correctly, how to set up a paragraph or an essay, and how to punctuate these written forms
- Has difficulty memorizing poems