Dyslexia Awareness Month

A common misconception of dyslexia is that it just affects a student's ability to read and/or write.  It's important to note that dyslexia also affects coordination, organization, and memory.  Each student with dyslexia has their own individual strengths and weaknesses.  Below are common signs for teachers to look for that could be indicative of dyslexia.  

Early Years:

• Difficulty learning nursery rhymes
• Difficulty paying attention, sitting still, listening to stories
• Likes listening to stories but shows no interest in letters or words
• Difficulty learning to sing or recite the alphabet
• A history of slow speech development
• Difficulty keeping simple rhythm 
• Difficulty following multi-step directions
• Difficulty with self-help skills 
• Difficulty with catching, kicking, or throwing a ball
• Often trips, bumps into things, and/or falls over
• Difficulty hopping or skipping

Elementary Years:

General Signs:

• Speed of processing (slow spoken and/or written language) 
• Poor concentration
• Difficulty following instructions
• Forgets words

Written Work: 

• Produces messy work (a lot of crossing out and attempts to spell words many times)
• Confused by letters which look similar (b/d, p/q, n/u, m,w)
• Spells a word different ways in one piece of writing
• Makes anagrams of words (tired for tired, bread for beard)
• Poor pencil grip
• Uses unusual sequencing of letters or words

Reading:

• Slow reading progress
• Difficulty blending letters together
• No expression when reading
• Poor comprehension
• Has difficulty establishing syllable division or knowing the beginning or ending of words
• Misses out words when reading, or adds extra words
• Fails to recognize familiar words

Math:

• Confusion with place value
• Confuses symbols (+ and x)
• Difficulty remembering anything in sequential order
• Difficulty learning to tell time
• Poor time keeping

Behavior:

• Engages in work avoidance behaviors
• Easily distracted
• Appears tired due to amount of concentration and effort required

Middle School Years:

Written Work:

• Has poor standard of written work compared to oral ability
• Poor handwriting
• Confuses upper and lower case letters
• Writes very little, but to the point
• Difficulty taking notes during lessons
• Requires extra time to complete assignments

Reading:

• Is hesitant when reading aloud
• Omits, repeats, or adds extra words
• Reads at a reasonable rate but has trouble comprehending
• Misses a line or repeats the same line twice
• Loses their place easily

Math:

• High level of mathematical concepts, but requires a calculator for simple calculations
• Mental arithmetic is very difficult
• Difficulty memorizing formulas

Behavior:

• Disorganized, immature, or clumsy
• Difficulty relating to others
• Is often in the wrong place at the wrong time
• Confuses direction 
• Misunderstands complicated questions
• Has difficulty finding names for objects