Signs of Dyslexia

DO YOU KNOW Dyslexia Symptoms, Early signs of Dyslexia or Signs of Dyslexia?

Early signs of Dyslexia

Reverses letter sequences (soiled/solid, left/felt)
Slow to learn prefixes, suffixes, root words, and other spelling strategies
Avoids reading aloud
Trouble with word problems
Difficulty with handwriting
Awkward, fist-like, or tight pencil grip
Avoids writing compositions
Slow or poor recall of facts
Difficulty making friends
Trouble understanding body language and facial expressions
Difficulty expressing oneself
Delay in learning tasks such as tying shoes & telling time
Inattentiveness; distractibility
Inability to follow directions
Left-right confusion
Difficulty learning the alphabet, times tables, words of songs, or rhymes
Poor playground skills
Difficulty learning to read
Mixing the order of letters or numbers while reading or writing

Common Signs of Dyslexia in Pre-School

May talk later than most children
May have difficulty pronouncing words, i.e., busgetti for spaghetti, mawn lower for lawn mower
May be slow to add new vocabulary words
May be unable to recall the right word
May have difficulty with rhyming
May have trouble learning the alphabet, numbers, days of the week, colors, shapes, how to spell and write his or her name
May have trouble interacting with peers
May be unable to follow multi-step directions or routines
Fine motor skills may develop more slowly than in other children
May have difficulty telling and/or retelling a story in the correct sequence
Often has difficulty separating sounds in words and blending sounds to make words
Common Signs: Grades K-4
Has difficulty decoding single words (reading single words in isolation)
May be slow to learn the connection between letters and sounds
May confuse small words – at - to, said - and, does - goes
Makes consistent reading and spelling errors including:
-- letter reversals – d for b as in, dog for bog
-- Word reversals – tip for pit
-- Inversions – m and w, u and n
-- Transpositions – felt and left
-- Substitutions – house and home
May transpose number sequences and confuse arithmetic signs (+ - x / =)
May have trouble remembering facts
May be slow to learn new skills; relies heavily on memorizing without understanding.
May be impulsive and prone to accidents
May have difficulty planning
Often uses an awkward pencil grip (fist, thumb hooked over fingers, etc.)
May have trouble learning to tell time
May have poor fine-motor coordination
Common Signs: Grades 5-8
Is usually reading below grade level
May reverse letter sequences – soiled for solid, left for felt
May be slow to discern and to learn prefixes, suffixes, root words, and other reading and spelling strategies
May have difficulty spelling, spells same word differently on the same page
May avoid reading aloud
May have trouble with word problems in math
May write with difficulty with illegible handwriting; pencil grip is awkward, fist-like or tight.
May avoid writing
May have slow or poor recall of facts
May have difficulty making friends
May not understand body language and facial expressions of others
May have trouble with non-literal language (idioms, jokes, proverbs, slang)
May forget to hand in homework or to bring in homework
May have difficulty with planning and time management
Common Signs: High School and College Graduates
May read very slowly, with many inaccuracies
Continues to spell incorrectly, frequently spells the same word differently in a single piece of writing.
May procrastinate reading and writing tasks
May avoid writing
May have trouble summarizing and outlining
May have trouble answering open-ended questions on tests
May have poor memory skills
May not adjust well to new settings or change
May work slowly
May have a poor grasp of abstract concepts
May pay too little attention to details or focus too much on them
May misread information
May not complete assignments; may complete them and not hand them in
May have an inadequate store of knowledge from previous reading
May have difficulty with planning and time management
Common Signs: Adults
May hide their reading problems; many subterfuges
May spell poorly; relies on others
Avoids writing; may not be able to write
Often very competent in oral language
Relies on memory; may have excellent memories
Often has good “people” skills
Often is spatially talented: engineers, architects, designers, artists and craftspeople, mathematicians, physicists, physicians (especially orthopedics surgeons), dentists
May be very good at “reading” people (intuitive)
In jobs is often working well below their intellectual capacity
May have difficulty with planning and organization
May have difficulty with time; often too early, late, or forgets appointments. Relies on digital watches; cannot tell time
Often, entrepreneurs may have lost one or more businesses they started

Common Signs: Grades K-4

Has difficulty decoding single words (reading single words in isolation)
May be slow to learn the connection between letters and sounds
May confuse small words - at - to, said - and, does - goes
Makes consistent reading and spelling errors including:
-- letter reversals - d for b as in, dog for bog
-- Word reversals - tip for pit
-- Inversions - m and w, u and n
-- Transpositions - felt and left
-- Substitutions - house and home
May transpose number sequences and confuse arithmetic signs (+ - x / =)
May have trouble remembering facts
May be slow to learn new skills; relies heavily on memorizing without understanding.
May be impulsive and prone to accidents
May have difficulty planning
Often uses an awkward pencil grip (fist, thumb hooked over fingers, etc.)
May have trouble learning to tell time
May have poor fine-motor coordination

Common Signs o f Dyslexia Grades 5-8

Is usually reading below grade level
May reverse letter sequences - soiled for solid, left for felt
May be slow to discern and learn prefixes, suffixes, root words, and other reading and spelling strategies
May have difficulty spelling, spells the same word differently on the same page
May avoid reading aloud
May have trouble with word problems in math
May write with difficulty with illegible handwriting; pencil grip is awkward, fist-like or tight.
May avoid writing
May have slow or poor recall of facts
May have difficulty making friends
May not understand body language and facial expressions of others
May have trouble with non-literal language (idioms, jokes, proverbs, slang)
May forget to hand in homework or to bring in homework
May have difficulty with planning and time management

Common Signs of Dyslexia High School and College Graduates

May read very slowly, with many inaccuracies
Continues to spell incorrectly and frequently spells the same word differently in a single piece of writing.
May procrastinate reading and writing tasks
May avoid writing
May have trouble summarizing and outlining
May have trouble answering open-ended questions on tests
May have poor memory skills
May not adjust well to new settings or change
May work slowly
May have a poor grasp of abstract concepts
May pay too little attention to details or focus too much on them
May misread information
May not complete assignments; may complete them and not hand them in
May have an inadequate store of knowledge from previous reading
May have difficulty with planning and time management

Dyslexia Symptoms Adults

Difficulty in processing auditory information
Losing possessions; poor organizational skills
Slow reading; poor comprehension
Difficulty remembering names of people and places
Hesitant speech; difficulty finding appropriate words
Difficulty organizing ideas to write a letter or paper
Poor spelling
Inability to recall numbers in proper sequence
Lowered self-esteem due to past frustrations
May hide their reading problems; many subterfuges
May spell poorly; relies on others
Avoids writing; may not be able to write
Often very competent in oral language
Relies on memory; may have excellent memories
Often has good "people" skills
Often is spatially talented: engineers, architects, designers, artists and craftspeople, mathematicians, physicists, physicians (especially orthopedics surgeons), dentists.
May be very good at "reading" people (intuitive)
In jobs often working well below their intellectual capacity
May have difficulty with planning and organization
May have difficulty with time; often too early, late, or forgets appointments. Relies on digital watches; cannot tell time
Often, entrepreneurs may have lost one or more businesses they started

General Dyslexia Signs

Good at hands-on learning, they seem almost intuitive at figuring out how to do things.
Delay in learning how to tie shoes.
They can utilize the brain's ability to alter and create perceptions.
Highly aware of their environment but seem to be lost
Curious about how things work
Highly intuitive
They have vivid imaginations
Seems intelligent but reads slow
Uses analogies to talk and explain things. (3d)
Difficulty remembering words and learning new words, especially under stress.
Difficulty sequencing days of week, months of year.
Develops negative, emotional behavior due to academic performance.
Family blood relatives who also experienced difficulty in acquiring text skills.
Strong graphical skills.
Outstanding building of toy blocks, coloring, or drawing.
Outstanding view of the "big picture".
Views the world from different eyes or point of view.
Able to fix/tear apart things at an early age.
Wants to know how things work and can understand them.
Builds things or invents things
Creative
Left/Right confusions
Slow reader or learning to talk
The word "cat" written on a chalkboard can be perceived in 40 different ways by a dyslexic - with the letters reversed, upside down and sideways. Even though a dyslexic mind works faster than average, sorting though all those mental images to find the correct one makes him appear slow.
Dyslexics are also known for creativity, musical ability, and mechanical ability.
Doesn't always understand what is said to them
Loses reading place
Mixing the order of letters/ numbers
Difficulty finding appropriate words
Dyslexia is the ability to see a thing from many points of view all at once. The primary problem for the dyslexic is that he is capable of processing so much information that it gets garbled, distorted or frozen. There is so much input that, if not filtered, what begins as a special, insightful talent is reduced to a tragic mass of confusion and disability.
Difficulty organizing ideas to write a letter
Messy room, desk, locker or notebook
Difficulty expressing oneself
Slow learning the alphabet - reading problems
Transposes names of people or places
Hesitant in speech
Low self-esteem due to past frustrations.

In reading the above characteristics, it would seem that all characteristics of the dyslexic are negative. That is truly not so. DML, author of "Dyslexia My Life," is dyslexic. Once, as a guest on a television show, he was asked about the "positive" side of dyslexia. As part of his answer, he listed some famous dyslexics. The hostess of the show commented, "Isn't it amazing that all those people could be geniuses in spite of having dyslexia. The host had missed his point. The genius of these famous people didn't occur in spite of their dyslexia, but because of it, he insists.

Of course, having dyslexia won't make every dyslexic a genius, but it is good for the self-esteem of all dyslexics to know their minds work in exactly the same way as the minds of great geniuses. It is also important for them to know that having a problem with reading, writing, spelling, or math doesn't mean they are dumb or stupid. The same mental function that causes dyslexia is a gift in the truest sense of the word: a natural ability, a talent. It is something special that enhances the individual. Dyslexics don't all develop the same gifts, but they do have certain mental functions in common.

Here are the basic abilities all dyslexics share:
They can utilize the brain's ability to alter and create perceptions (the primary ability).
They are highly aware of the environment.
They are more curious than average.
They think mainly in pictures instead of words.
They are highly intuitive and insightful.
They think and perceive multi-dimensionally (using all the senses).
They can experience thought as reality.
They have vivid imaginations.
Assessing Strengths and Weaknesses

Although there are positive aspects to dyslexia before a dyslexic person can fully realize the positive side, the negative side should be addressed, and learning strategies that allow the dyslexic to overcome the problems should be employed. The first step in doing this is assessing the individual's difficulties.

This is why it is so hard to learn English. Interesting! Can you read this through correctly the first time?

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.

English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France.

Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet are meat. We take English for granted.

But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese?

One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick?"

"Dyslexia is not a disease to have and to be cured of, but a way of thinking and learning. Often it's a gifted mind waiting to be found and taught. "From the Author of the book DYSLEXIA MY LIFE