Dyslexia, simply said, is a learning disability that causes difficulty with reading and spelling. But how can you look for it in a child before their peers can even read whole words? What does it look like when they’re finding ways to slide by in school with dyslexia? Here we explore some of the signs of dyslexia at different ages and what you can look for. These are by no means comprehensive, but they are a starting point. 

If you read this and think your child may have dyslexia, you can get connected with me at Lumos Learning Center to find out if dyslexia intervention would be a good fit for your child. 

Before kindergarten:

Ages 3-5, the vast majority of children are not going to be reading any whole words. The indication of dyslexia shows up in phonemic awareness and alphabetic knowledge. This may be shown by:

• Difficulties remembering the alphabet
• Mixing up similar sounding letters when saying the alphabet, like saying “X” for “S”
• Unable to rhyme words and recognize if words rhyme
• Unable to recognize the letters in their name 
• Unable to tell if different words start/end with the same sound

Early Primary School:

Ages 6-8, most children will have begun learning to read with their peers. This is often the age range where children get flagged for having reading difficulties as their peers begin to progress much faster. The earlier it is caught and intervention is begun, the more effective it will be. Children at this age will likely demonstrate dyslexia by: 

• Confusing similar letters and sounds, such as B/D or P/Q
• Slow and laborious reading of words
• Guessing words by the first letter or two 
• Difficulty remembering words, even when they have had several exposures 
• Using invented spellings that are far off the correct spelling 

Late Primary School: 

Ages 9-12 is when schools often shift from teaching reading skills to expecting students to be able to read independently. Some dyslexic students don’t demonstrate difficulty until these ages; if they are sharp and have memorized a lot of words they can often slide by in early primary school. However, school can become extremely difficult when longer books, higher level vocabulary, and tons of new words are introduced. These older children will likely demonstrate dyslexia by:

• Avoidance of reading 
• Great frustration while completing homework 
• Continuing to read slowly and laboriously
• Leaving out syllables when spelling words and confusing vowel sounds (such as short I and E)
• Not understanding what they read (even if they can read more fluently) 

Adolescents: 

Ages 13-18, many kids will have created coping mechanisms for themselves. They may have decided they are just not good at school, or may have found ways to get by in school by working extra hard. Adolescents still benefit from getting reading intervention and will demonstrate their dyslexia by:

• Avoidance of reading 
• Difficulty keeping up with their peers at the pace of school and expected readings 
• Reading aloud in a disjointed way that shows misunderstanding of the text (Ex: not stopping at periods when reading) 
• Struggling to understand what they read, either in print or through an audiobook

*Note that only a trained psychologist can diagnose dyslexia. These are just a jumping off point if you want to know if there’s a likelihood of dyslexia in your child.