Dyslexia Characteristics

Three Key Characteristics of DyslexiA

Dyslexic children are often on target in math but struggling in reading.

Their difficulty in reading can oftentimes be unexpected given their overall academic performance. Parents and teachers wonder why this child who seems so capable is having such difficulty reading and spelling despite adequate instruction.

Mildly dyslexic children who are on target in reading may struggle with spelling.

These children are on grade level in reading but find themselves frustrated with their spelling ability. Parents and teachers often wonder why there is such a discrepancy in their skills.

Many dyslexic children will be able to read up to 3rd grade level and then get stuck.

Many children can memorize enough words to read up to 3rd grade level.. As the word complexity increases as they get older, they begin to struggle. Those children need to learn additional reading and spelling skills that are not taught in a traditional setting.

More Observable Characteristics of Dyslexia

Student’s reading ability doesn’t match age/grade in spite of adequate intelligence and educational opportunity.

Dyslexics have average and many times above average intelligence. It is the child that you are thinking: “He seems so smart; I wonder why he reads, comprehends, spells, writes so poorly.”
The child has not been absent a great deal.

Student seems to have an auditory discrimination problem, sometimes confusing similar speech sounds.

He can’t discriminate between the different vowel sounds
When reading a column of CVC words that all share the same vowel, he won’t be able to hold the sound of the vowel constant.
M and N are confused.
Often one of the consonants in a consonant blend will be omitted.
“n” is added into words indiscriminately.
Suffixes such as “s”, “ed”, “or “es” are confusing.

Student has extreme difficulty with spelling.

He cannot remember a spelling pattern + its sound. (eg. igh = “i”)
He cannot hold a complete sentence in his mind.
He cannot remember what letters go with what sounds.
He may spell the same words three different ways on the same page.
He confuses “b” for “d” in 3rd grade.
Student exhibits frequent letter reversals, rotations and/or transpositions in reading, writing, or spelling.

Student’s written work appears to be below his potential.

Some children decide to use only the few words that they know they can spell. This limits their vocabulary.

Student requires an inordinate amount of time to complete writing tasks.

It requires painstaking attention to write.
ADD will make the words and ideas seem jumbled and without order.

Student’s recall ability seems poor.

Struggles with the retelling story details in sequence.
Substitutes a made up word for the one he can’t think of.
When writing the alphabet or the months of the year, some are left out.
He may have difficulty remembering the sequence of the alphabet, the order of events in a story, his birthday, any name or word.
Student has difficulty remembering and following directions. Stress will exacerbate this tendency. If there is pressure to perform, he won’t be able to remember. This is especially true if the auditory memory is below average.

Student lacks typical organizational skills.

ADD can play a part here. About 50% of dyslexics have characteristics of ADD.
For instance, he decided how he was going to organize himself and forgot what he had decided.
His room/binder/workspace/toy shelf is a mess and cleaning seems overwhelming. He will say he doesn’t know how/avoids it/can’t seem to even begin to do it.

Student shows some directional confusion.

Reads equally as well upside down as right side up or backwards as well as forwards.
Right/left is confused, over/under is confused, etc.
Has difficulty finding his way in a new building. (Teenage dyslexic drivers get lost a few blocks from home)

Student sometimes appears to be clumsy.

bumps into chairs
not aware of where his body is in space

Additional Characteristics

Student may lack preference for right or left hand in writing.
Student may make progress in handwriting by learning cursive.
Student’s performance on academic tasks diminishes as he continues with the task. (He fatigues and lacks perseverance.)
Student may struggle with learning math facts even when math concepts come easily.
General sense of discouragement, failure and anxiety

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