What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling.

A good indication of the severity and persistence of dyslexia difficulties can be gained by examining how the individual responds or has responded to well-founded intervention.

Key Characteristics

  • Difficulties in processing and remembering information.
  • Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities.
  • Co-occurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language,
  • Motor co-ordination, mental calculation.
  • Concentration and personal organisation.

Does my child have Dyslexia?

Use our checklists below for each different ages to help you understand if your child might have dyslexia.

If at least eight or more of these fit your child then seek extra assistance.

  • Early speech problems e.g. pronunciation, getting words in the wrong order. NB often there is an excellent vocabulary and child is articulate.

  • Some difficulty in detecting the differences in sounds like b, p, d, g, j, u, y, l, f, v, th.

  • Difficulty in remembering rhymes.

  • Short concentration span.

  • Sometimes the child may seem clumsy or awkward or even “accident-prone”.

  • Difficulty in remembering the days of the week in order.

  • Difficulty in remembering personal details e.g. birthday, home address, telephone number.

  • Difficulty in remembering a sequence of events e.g. the order of events in the day.

  • Difficulty in remembering and following a set of instructions.

  • Difficulty in dressing the correct order and with fastening buttons and laces, tying a tie.

  • No concept of Left or Right.

  • Sometimes difficulty holding and/or manipulating a pencil, crayon, scissors: cannot keep within the outline when colouring a picture.

  • When starting to read there may be little or no progress in spite of verbal ability, good vocabulary and an obvious interest in learning.

  • Sometimes a difficulty in catching and throwing a ball etc. E.g. confusion over which hand to use, inability to synchronise body movements.

If at least eight or more of these fit your child then seek extra assistance

  • Unable to read, or reading age well below chronological age.

  • Still having difficulty with sounds of letters.

  • Poor, immature handwriting.

  • Poor spelling in written work, with a preference for using short familiar words: phonetic spelling of complicated words.

  • Confusion among groups of letters such as b/d, p/q, w/m, u/n, f/t, v/f, still exists. Letter combinations like ‘str’ can still cause problems.

  • No idea of punctuation when reading or writing a story.

  • Essays/Stories are often brief, with little description or story development.

  • Difficulty in ‘hearing’ the story or the information in their minds. The words may be read accurately, but the story or the information is not absorbed, so reading seems to be a waste of time. A slow reading rate has the same effect.

  • The story may be told easily verbally, but writing it down on paper is a struggle.

  • Copying from the board or from a textbook is a problem. Lines are missed, letters and numbers are transposed.

  • They may still reverse numbers, e.g. writing 24 for 42 when doing complex arithmetic.

  • Problems in remembering multiplication tables, particularly their sequence. Also, the order of the days of the week, months of the year and the alphabet.

  • Reluctance to attend school.

  • Clumsiness and lack of co-ordination are still present.

  • Some dyslexic children may have difficulty in processing what is said to them and there is a time-lag before they answer.

If at least eight or more of these fit your child then seek extra assistance

  • Frequent spelling mistakes still occur.
  • Copying accurately from the board can cause considerable difficulties.
  • Planning essays and assignments can prove a great burden because of the problem of sequencing of ideas and the development of arguments. Choice of vocabulary may be restricted because of worries over spelling.
  • Note-taking can be a problem – both from books and from speech, through difficulty in recognising the main points and because of poor spelling. They may be unable to make sense of their notes later when needed for an essay, or for revision.
  • They may have little idea of revision techniques and other aspects of Study Skills.
  • Time management may be poor, resulting in last-minute panic to complete assignments.
  • Organising their notes, keeping neat files/folders of handouts etc. may be difficult.
  • Understanding questions in comprehension can cause major problems.
  • Exam questions can prove difficult because of poor attention to instructions and ways of interpreting the information.
  • Reading rate may remain slow, therefore reading of any text at secondary level could cause problems.
  • Foreign languages present difficulties.
  • They still tire easily and need to relax or have a change of occupation to recuperate.
  • The level of their work can vary from excellent on one day to abysmal on another, according to how they feel.
  • Handwriting may still need attention and help.
Find out more about assessments