Signs of dyslexia

Often people believe that dyslexia is just a challenge with reading and spelling. However, it is more than that. Dyslexia is a difficulty with language, which can make it hard to spot the signs. For example, trouble with rhyming words can be a sign of trouble with reading.

Not everyone with dyslexia has the same difficulties. Some have a hard time with early reading skills like sounding out words (decoding). Some read words and sentences fine, but they have trouble understanding what they read.

Dyslexia can also look different as kids get older. Learn common signs of dyslexia at different ages and how to help.

Preschool

Mispronouncing words, like saying beddy tear instead of teddy bear

Struggling to name familiar objects and using general words like thing and stuff instead

Having a hard time learning nursery rhymes or song lyrics that rhyme

Having trouble remembering sequences, like singing the letters of the alphabet

Telling stories that are hard to follow or having trouble talking about an event in a logical order

Having difficulty remembering and following directions with multiple steps

Year 1

Having trouble learning letter names and remembering the sounds they make

Often confusing letters that look similar (like b, d, p, and q) or sound similar (like f and v, b and p, or d and t)

Struggling to read familiar words (like cat), especially if there aren’t pictures

Substituting words when reading aloud, like saying house when the story says home

Having trouble separating the individual sounds in words and blending sounds to make a word

Having trouble remembering how words are spelled and applying spelling rules in writing

Years 4-6

Confusing or skipping small words like for and of when reading aloud
Having trouble sounding out new words
Having trouble quickly recognizing common words (also called sight words)
Struggling to explain what happened in a story or answer questions about key details
Frequently making the same kinds of mistakes, like reversing letters
Having poor spelling, like spelling the same word correctly and incorrectly in the same exercise
Avoiding reading whenever possible or getting frustrated or upset when reading