Most of us have one or two characteristics on the list below, but a person with dyslexia usually has several of these characteristics that persist over time and interfere with his or her learning. This is why one-on-one, multisensory, structured tutoring is crucial in helping your child learn the skills needed to succeed.
Characteristics of Dyslexia
Oral Language
Reading
Written Language
Common Characteristics of Other Related Learning Disorders
Dysgraphia (Handwriting)
Dyscalculia (Math)
ADHD - Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Organization
- International Dyslexia Association
Oral Language
- Late in learning to talk
- Difficulty pronouncing words
- Difficulty acquiring vocabulary or using age-appropriate grammar
- Difficulty following directions
- Confusion with before/after, right/left, and so on
- Difficulty learning the alphabet, nursery rhymes, or songs
- Difficulty understanding concepts and relationships
- Difficulty with word retrieval or naming problems
Reading
- Difficulty learning to read
- Difficulty identifying or generating rhyming words or counting syllables in words
- Difficulty with hearing and manipulating sounds in words
- Difficulty distinguishing different sounds in words
- Difficulty in learning the sounds of letters
- Difficulty remembering names and shapes of letters or naming letters rapidly
- Transposing the order of letters when reading or spelling
- Misreading or omitting common short words
- Stumbles through longer words
- Poor reading comprehension during oral or silent reading
- Slow, laborious oral reading
Written Language
- Difficulty putting ideas on paper
- Many spelling mistakes
- May do well on weekly spelling tests, but may have many spelling mistakes in daily work
- Difficulty proofreading
Common Characteristics of Other Related Learning Disorders
Dysgraphia (Handwriting)
- Unsure of which hand to use
- Poor or slow handwriting
- Messy and unorganized papers
- Difficulty copying
- Poor fine motor skills
- Difficulty remembering the muscle movements to form letters correctly
Dyscalculia (Math)
- Difficulty counting accurately
- May misread numbers
- Difficulty memorizing and retrieving math facts
- Difficulty copying math problems and organizing written work
- Many calculation errors
- Difficulty retaining math vocabulary and concepts
ADHD - Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
- Inattention
- Variable attention
- Distractibility
- Impulsivity
- Hyperactivity
Organization
- Loses papers
- Poor sense of time
- Forgets homework
- Messy desk
- Overwhelmed by too much input
- Works slowly
- International Dyslexia Association