Signs Your Child May Have Dyslexia

If your child has been struggling with reading throughout school, you may have wondered if they have dyslexia. What’s also known as a specific learning disability in reading, dyslexia is a specific pattern of reading challenges involving poor spelling and word decoding, a slow reading rate and low comprehension. While more obvious indicators of possible dyslexia include letter and number reversals and switching the order of letters and words on the page, dyslexia can come in many presentations. Here’s what you should be looking for:

Preschool Age

• Difficulty learning nursery rhymes or playing rhyming games
• Have delayed speech
• Slow fine motor skills
• Hard time remembering and learning the letters, numbers and colors
• Mispronouncing familiar words and frequent “baby talk”
• A family history of reading difficulties

School Age

• Slow reading pace (i.e. reading single words in a sentence)
• Trouble learning letter names and their sounds
• Confusing letters that look similar (e.g. p/q; b/d), sounds that are similar (e.g. /b//p/; /f//v/) and words that are alike (e.g. house/home)
• Have a hard time breaking down words into their individual sounds and blending them together
• Missing specific strategies to read new words
• Difficulty remembering the spelling of words and applying it to writing.
• Trouble remembering facts
• Slow to learn new skills and rely on memorization without understanding
• Avoiding or disliking reading, particularly out loud
• Difficulty copying notes from the board
• Having an easier time comprehending text when it’s read out loud to them

Although dyslexia is a lifelong challenge, children can learn a number of strategies to help improve their reading skills. A diagnosis can ensure that your child is receiving the appropriate accommodations and supports, as well as help them to better understand their strengths and challenges as a learner. In addition, research consistently shows that early intervention leads to the best long-term results.

If you think your child may have dyslexia, call our team at the Learning Evaluation Center to discuss whether a psychoeducational evaluation would be a good fit, 303-986-4587.