dyslexia: warning signs by age

Dyslexia warning signs by age:

Young Children

Trouble with:

• Recognizing letters, matching letters to sounds, and blending sounds into speech
• Pronouncing words
• Learning and correctly using new vocabulary words
• Learning the alphabet, numbers, and days of the week or similar common word sequences
• Rhyming

School-Age Children

Trouble with:

• Mastering the rules of spelling
• Remembering facts and numbers
• Handwriting or with gripping a pencil
• Learning and understanding new skills; instead, relying heavily on memorization
• Reading and spelling, such as reversing letters (d,b) or moving letters around (left, felt)
• Following a sequence of directions
• Trouble with word problems in math

Teenagers & Adults

Trouble with:

• Reading at the expected level
• Understanding non-literal language, such as idioms, jokes, or proverbs
• Reading aloud
• Organizing and managing time
• Trouble summarizing a story
• Learning a foreign language
• Memorizing

For at least the past six months, my child has had trouble:

Language:

• Understanding instructions or directions
• Repeating what has just been said in proper sequence.
• Staying on topic and getting to the point (gets bogged down in details).
• Naming people and objects.
• Speaking with precise, accurate language, proper grammar, and a varied vocabulary.
• Distinguishing between words that sound similar.
• Pronouncing words correctly.
• Speaking smoothly, without much halting or use of "filler words" (like "um").
• Rhyming.
• Understanding humor, puns, and idioms.

Reading:

• Reading age-appropriate content with good fluency.
• Reading aloud or silently with good understanding.
• Feeling confident and interested in reading.
• Remembering sight words and other printed words.
• Learning and remembering new vocabulary words.
• Accurately analyzing unfamiliar words (tends to guess instead).
• Reading words and letters in the correct order, seldom reversing or skipping over them.
• Understanding word problems in math.

Writing:

• Mastering spelling rules.
• Spelling the same word consistently and correctly.
• Writing letters, numbers, and symbols in the correct order.
• Proofreading and correcting self generated work.
• Expressing ideas in an organized way. (older children)
• Preparing/organizing writing assignments. (older children)
• Fully developing ideas in writing. (older children)
• Listening and taking notes at the same time.

Social-Emotional:

• Participating in a peer group and maintaining positive social status.
• Interpreting people's non-verbal cues, "body language," mood, and tone of voice.
• Dealing with peer pressure, embarrassment, and expressing feelings appropriately.
• Setting realistic social goals.
• Maintaining positive self-esteem about learning and getting along with others.
• Maintaining confidence about “fitting in” with his classmates and other peers.

Other:

• Learning/remembering new skills; relies heavily on memorization.
• Remembering facts and numbers.
• Sense of direction/spatial concepts (such as left and right).
• Performing consistently on tasks from day to day.
• Applying skills from one situation to another.
• Learning new games and mastering puzzles.