What is Dyslexia?

An individual with dyslexia usually has several, not just one or two, of the characteristics listed below. These characteristics usually persist over time and interfere with his or her learning. If your child is having difficulties learning to read and you have noted several of these characteristics in your child, he or she may need to be evaluated for dyslexia and/or a related disorder.

Difficulty With Oral Language

  • Late in learning to talk
  • Difficulty in pronouncing words
  • Difficulty acquiring vocabulary or using age-appropriate grammar
  • Difficulty following directions
  • Confusion with before/after, right/left, etc.
  • Difficulty learning the alphabet, nursery rhymes, or songs
  • Difficulty understanding concepts and relationships
  • Difficulty with word retrieval or naming problems

Difficulty With Reading

  • Difficulty learning to read
  • Difficulty identifying or generating rhyming words or counting syllables in words (Phonological Awareness)
  • Difficulty with hearing and manipulating sounds in words (Phonemic Awareness)
  • Difficulty distinguishing different sounds in words (Auditory Discrimination)
  • Difficulty in learning the sounds of letters
  • Difficulty remembering names and/or the order of letters when reading
  • Misreading or omitting common little words
  • “Stumbling” through or guessing at longer words
  • Poor reading comprehension during oral or silent reading
  • Slow, laborious oral reading

Difficulty With Written Language

  • Trouble putting ideas on paper
  • Many spelling mistakes
  • Doing well on weekly spelling tests, but continuing to have many spelling mistakes in daily work
  • Difficulty in proofreading