The Common Signs of Dyslexia in Children
Common signs of DyslexiaA list of check points the could indicate your child is Dyslexic.
If a child has several of these indications, further investigation should be made. The child may be dyslexic, or there may be other reasons. This is not a checklist.
1. Persisting factors.
There are many persisting factors in dyslexia, which can appear from an early age. They will still be noticeable when the dyslexic child leaves school.
These include:
* Obvious 'good' and 'bad' days, for no apparent reason,
* Confusion between directional words, e.g. up/down, in/out,
* Difficulty with sequence, e.g. coloured bead sequence, later with days of the week or numbers,
A family history of dyslexia/reading difficulties.
2. Pre-school.
* Has persistent jumbled phrases, e.g. 'cobbler's club' for 'toddler's club'
* Use of substitute words e.g. 'lampshade' for 'lamppost'.
* Inability to remember the label for known objects, e.g. 'table, chair'.
* Difficulty learning nursery rhymes and rhyming words, e.g. 'cat, mat, sat'.
* Later than expected speech development.
Pre-School Non-language indicators.
* May have walked early but did not crawl - was a 'bottom shuffler' or 'tummy wriggler'.
* Persistent difficulties in getting dressed efficiently and putting shoes on the correct feet.
* Enjoys being read to but shows no interest in letters or words.
* Is often accused of not listening or paying attention.
* Excessive tripping, bumping into things and falling over.
* Difficulty with catching, kicking or throwing a ball; with hopping and/or skipping.
* Difficulty with clapping a simple rhythm.
3. Primary school age.
* Has particular difficulty with reading and spelling.
* Puts letters and figures the wrong way round.
* Has difficulty remembering tables, alphabet, formulae etc.
* Leaves letters out of words or puts them in the wrong order.
* Still occasionally confuses 'b' and 'd' and words such as 'no/on'.
* Still needs to use fingers or marks on paper to make simple calculations.
* Poor concentration.
* Has problems understanding what he/she has read.
* Takes longer than average to do written work.
* Problems processing language at speed.
Primary school age non-language indicators:
* Has difficulty with tying shoe laces, tie, dressing.
* Has difficulty telling left from right, order of days of the week, months of the year etc.
* Surprises you because in other ways he/she is bright and alert.
* Has a poor sense of direction and still confuses left and right.
* Lacks confidence and has a poor self image.
4. 12 or over.
As for primary schools, plus:
* Still reads inaccurately.
* Still has difficulties in spelling.
* Needs to have instructions and telephone numbers repeated.
* Gets 'tied up' using long words, e.g. 'preliminary', 'philosophical'.
* Confuses places, times, dates.
* Has difficulty with planning and writing essays.
* Has difficulty processing complex language or long series of instructions at speed.
12 or over non-language indicators:
* Has poor confidence and self-esteem.
* Has areas of strength as well as weakness.
Dyslexia
