The symptoms of dyslexia can differ from person to person, and each person with the condition will have a unique pattern of strengths and weaknesses.
Preschool children
In some cases, it may be possible to detect symptoms of dyslexia before a child starts school.
Possible symptoms include:
- delayed speech development in comparison with other children of the same age
- speech problems, such as not being able to pronounce long words properly and ‘jumbling’ up phrases - for example, saying ‘hecilopter’ instead of ‘helicopter’, or ‘beddy tear’ instead of ‘teddy bear’
- problems expressing themselves using spoken language, such as being unable to remember the right word to use, or putting together sentences together incorrectly
- little understanding or appreciation of rhyming words, such as ‘the cat sat on the mat’, or nursery rhymes
- difficulty with, or little interest in, learning letters of the alphabet
Early school years
Symptoms of dyslexia in children aged 5-7 include:
- problems learning the names and sounds of letters
- spelling that is unpredictable and inconsistent
- problems copying written language
- poor phonological awareness
Poor phonological awareness
Phonological awareness is the ability to recognise that words are made up of smaller units of sound (phonemes) and that changing and manipulating phonemes can create new words and meanings.
A child with poor phonological awareness may not be able to correctly answer these questions:
- What sounds do you think make up the word ‘hot’ and are these different to the sounds that make up the word ‘hat’?
- What word would you have if you changed the ‘p’ sound in ‘pot’ to a ‘h’ sound?
- How many words can you think of that rhyme with the word ‘cat’?
Word attack skills
Young children with dyslexia also have problems with ‘word attack skills’. This is the ability to make sense of unfamiliar words by looking for smaller words, or collections of letters, such as ‘ph’ or ‘ing’, that a child has previously learnt.
For example, a child with good word attack skills may read the word ‘sunbathing’ for the first time and gain a sense of the meaning of the word by breaking it down into ‘sun’, ‘bath’, and ‘ing’.
Middle school years
Symptoms of dyslexia in children aged 7-12 include:
- slow reading speed
- problems with the correct spelling of words
- problems understanding and recognising new words - for example, children with dyslexia may have problems with school subjects that introduce them to technical terms, such as science subjects
Teenagers and adults
Symptoms of dyslexia in teenagers include:
- slow writing speed
- poorly organised written work which lacks expression - for example, even though an older child may be very knowledgeable about a certain subject, they may have problems expressing that knowledge in writing
- problems with reading fluency - reading fluency is the ability to read text smoothly, rapidly, and automatically, without having to use any, or little, conscious effort
Dyslexia in adults
It may be possible for someone with dyslexia to reach adulthood without the condition being properly identified. Signs that you may have dyslexia include:
- trying to avoid reading and writing whenever possible
- trying to conceal difficulties you have reading and writing from other people
- poor spelling
- poor time management and organisational skills
- relying on memory and verbal skills, rather than reading or writing
