Indications of Dyslexia

Teachers and other professionals should be aware of the signs and be on the look-out for children in their care who are struggling.  They will be able to give you advice but if you have concerns then there are things that you can do to highlight problems that are found amongst dyslexics.

One of the best checklists that is helpful and simple to use is that by Michael Vinegrad, published in 1994 - although aimed at adults, it is able to give many indications of problems with younger people.  A free copy to download with instructions is provided here  If you are concerned, please ring the local rate helpline on 0845 230 1771 or email us: info@harrisdyslexia.com

Things to look for if you think you or your child may be dyslexic. Remember that adults usually have different problems to children.

• Does dyslexia or reading difficulty run in the family? It is well known that children of dyslexics are more likely to be dyslexic themselves
• Self-esteem and general confidence tend to be heavily undermined amongst dyslexics and this is an area where it is important to give a great deal of support
• A dyslexic may appear bright but is unable or unwilling to write things down.  In general, dyslexics are surprisingly intelligent and they can be very creative whilst others are struggling
• Are they especially good at practical things that do not involve a lot of reading (for example drama and practical crafts)?  Dyslexics are often very creative, may be artistic and show a big difference between their practical and written abilities
• Dyslexics usually have very bad hand-writing and are extremely poor at spelling
• Dyslexics avoid reading (especially aloud) and do not read for pleasure
• When reading, dyslexics persistently lose their place and often repeats the same line because they can not accurately drop a line when they come to the end
• Do they complain that a page of words is difficult to look at because it is distorted, that words move or that the spaces between words and lines appear to join up through the text and form “rivers” or “snakes”?
• Are they especially good at practical things that do not involve a great deal of reading (for example drama, practical crafts)?
• Dyslexics are often very creative, may be artistic and always show a big difference between their practical and written abilities
• Are they a “clown” in order to cover for their difficulties?  (Dyslexics often try to cover up their difficulties by this)
• They may have a poor short-term memory so that, for example, they can go off to collect things from their bedroom and either forget what it was they were to collect or come down with completely different items! (or perhaps forget to come down altogether!)
• Reading, writing and all school work is much harder for a dyslexic so they often become exhausted or have headaches when reading because of the effort required
• Dyslexics are very often misunderstood and may have frequent accusations of not paying attention or sometimes of stupidity
• Delayed speech development as a child (and often other delayed or missed juvenile milestones) are common features among dyslexics
• Dyslexics will usually have a poor sense of direction, frequently confusing left and right
• A dyslexic will often be clumsy and poorly coordinated. This is often apparent because of poor judgement in ball games or other activities involving movement
• A dyslexic will often show a significant difference between spoken and written language ability
• Do they have problems with bizarre hearing? Many dyslexics may show signs of Auditory Processing Disorder (APD or CAPD when known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder). This is not a hearing problem in the same way as deafness and they will usually pass a standard hearing test very easily. Instead the problems are to do with processing the sounds (that in speech are very complicated and subtle) and so they may have trouble understanding speech (particularly in a noisy environment) although they can hear the speaker perfectly. More information may also be found at this web site (also in the list of links):
  www.zak.co.il/deaf-info/old/cap.html

Last modification 3 June 2005