Individuals with dyslexia do not exhibit identical characteristics. Use this list of dyslexia symptoms as a general guide. Of course, the only way to know if your child has dyslexia is to have her tested by a professional. Your child's school principal and guidance counselor will have recommendations for your family.

Dyslexia Children Often Have These Symptoms:

  • Poor visual memory for words in print
  • Retrieval problems
    • Causes frustration for the student
    • If doesn't have this problem, not dyslexic
  • Speech language development problems
    • Having trouble blending sounds together to make words
    • You can hear it in their speech (speech problems)
  • Perseveration
    • Adds things that aren't there
    • Gets stuck on one letter and can't get it out of their brains
  • Adds, omits, substitutes and /or reverses letters or syllables in oral reading
    • Look for frequency
    • If a first grader is still reversing, it is a problem
  • Sound-symbol confusion
    • Shows up as soon as they start learning sounds and writing letters
  • Sequencing problems
    • Reversals in reading and spelling, i.e. "hte" instead of "the"
    • Confuse yesterday and tomorrow
  • Memory problems
    • Long term and short term memory
    • Remembering what was read or heard
    • Remembering sentence with 5 words in it
    • Telling time or memorizing times tables
  • Secondary dyslexia sypmtoms:
    • Delayed speech development or speech difficulty
    • Family history of language learning problems
      • Oral speech is directly related to reading
    • Difficulty with math, esp. story problems
      • Severe auditory processing problems
    • Difficulty with handwriting, and/or note taking
    • Allergies
    • Attention deficit with or without hyperactivity
    • Difficulty with abstract concepts of time and direction

Peggy Hunter is a Lansing resident who provides testing and one-day seminars for Michigan families in the multi-sensory Orton-Gillingham method. She is a teacher, consultant and tutor who specializes in working with dyslexic students. Mrs. Hunter can be reached at 2301 Beacon Hill Dr., Lansing, MI 48906, (517) 886-2237.