Dyslexia Warning Signs

In Preschool

• Mixing up sounds and syllables in long words

• Chronic ear infections

• Severe reactions to childhood illnesses

• Constant confusion of left versus right

• Late establishing a dominant hand

• Difficulty learning to tie shoes

• Trouble memorizing their address, phone number, or the alphabet

• Can’t create words that rhyme

• A close relative with dyslexia

In Elementary School

• Dysgraphia (slow, non-automatic handwriting that’s difficult to read)

• Letter or number reversals continuing past the 1st grade

• Extreme difficulty learning cursive

• Slow, choppy, inaccurate reading

  • Guesses based on shape or context

  • Skips or misreads prepositions (at, to, of)

  • Ignores suffixes

  • Can’t sound out unknown words

• Terrible spelling

• Often can’t remember sight words (they, were, does) or homonyms (their, they’re, and there)

• Difficulty telling time with a clock with hands

• Trouble with math

  • Memorizing multiplication tables

  • Memorizing a sequence of steps

  • Directionality

• When speaking, difficulty finding the correct word

  • common sayings come out twisted

• Extremely messy bedroom, backpack, and desk

• Dreads going to school

In High School

All of the above symptoms, plus:

• Limited vocabulary

• Poor written expression

  • Large discrepancy between verbal skills and written compositions

• Unable to master a foreign language

• Difficulty reading printed music

• Poor grades in many classes

• High dropout risk

In Adults

Education history similar to above, plus:

• Slow reader

• May have to read a page 2 or 3 times to understand it

• 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