(Great information. Printable. Can distribute as necessary)
The Texas Dyslexia Handbook (Revised 2007) breaks down common signs of dyslexia for different age groups. The Dyslexia Handbook stresses that these signs are associated with dyslexia only if they are unexpected in relation to an individual's age, educational level, and cognitive ability.
Preschool:
• may talk later than most children
• may have difficulty with rhyming
• may have difficulty pronouncing words
• may have poor auditory memory for nursery rhymes and chants
• may be slow to add new vocabulary words
• may be unable to recall the right word
• may have trouble learning numbers, days of the week, colors, shapes, and how to spell and write his or her name
Kindergarten through 3rd Grade:
• fails to understand that words come apart; for example that snow man can be pulled apart into snow and man, and later on, that the • word man can be broken down still further and sounded out as: /m/ /a/ /n/
• has difficulty learning letter names and their corresponding sounds
• has difficulty decoding single words (reading single words in isolation) - lacks a strategy
• has difficulty spelling phonetically
• reads dysfluently (choppy and labored)
• relies on context to recognize a word
Fourth Grade through High School:
• has a history of reading and spelling difficulties
• avoids reading aloud
• reads most materials slowly; oral reading is labored, not fluent
• avoids reading for pleasure
• may have an inadequate vocabulary
• has difficulty spelling; may resort to using less complicated words in writing that are easier to spell.
Note: Individuals who are dyslexic will not exhibit all of the characteristics and signs associated with dyslexia.
