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 beads, days of 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 or 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 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 shoelaces, 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. Age 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
This summary of indications was originally created by the British Dyslexia Association.
Please contact us on 020 7388 8744 for an informal chat about what to do next, or see the section on ‘Services Provided'. Whatever you do, it is very important that you get services tailored to your child’s needs and priorities. We take a very individual and specialist approach, and will work hard to provide you with the services that are most going to benefit your child. We aim to enable your child to:
• Develop their skills and abilities
• Develop strategies to overcome the difficulties dyslexia can present
© Independent Dyslexia Consultants 2008
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