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 mat
  • 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