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Seven Common Signs of Dyslexia

1. He/She has trouble rhyming 

Research suggests that difficulty with speech sounds is one of the main characteristics of dyslexia. For a dyslexic child, rhyming or working with syllables is tough because they do no detect the component sounds in words, know as phonemes. This lack of "phonemic awareness" is a common symptom of all dyslexics, and teaching it is critical for their success in reading. A dyslexic child may find it hard to manipulate the sounds in words even though he/she knows the meaning. For example, he/she may say "pacific" instead of "specific."

2. He/She doesn't recognize words accurately

The process of sounding out a written word is called decoding, and decoding problems are a key sign of dyslexia. A child may compensate by using context or picture clues to guess at words. For example, if the story shows a house, he/she may replace the word "house" for "home" when reading. 

3. He/She transposes letters and has difficulty decoding words

Another common sign of dyslexia is letter transposition, such as substituting "b" or "d" with "p." Take special note if this occurs past the first or second grade. 

4. He/She's a poor speller

Dyslexics often rely heavily on phonetic spelling, such as "complumnt" for "compliment." Other signs include omitting or adding letters and spelling the same word in different ways in the same writing sample. 

5. He/She struggles when reading aloud

If a child is having a hard time sounding out words, not recognizing common sight words like "the" or "why" or is skipping small words, this is a sign of decoding problems. 

6. He/She acts out at homework time

To avoid reading and the effort and embarrassment that can accompany it, dyslexic children often have trouble doing homework. They may become easily distracted, refuse to work, or make excuses, making homework take far longer than it should. 

7. He/She's really bright in other areas, compared to her reading level

Dyslexia is not linked to intelligence. It is an issue related to reading only, which is why it is common to see dyslexics excel in other subjects. 

Additional information about dyslexia can be found at the following website: 

https://www.learningally.org/Portals/6/Docs/DyslexiaResources/LA_ParentWhitepaper_2017.pdf

Rogers Pathway to Dyslexia Identification Chart

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