Symptoms and Signs of Dyslexia (Ages 1-7)

These symptoms and signs of dyslexia will help you identify whether your child has dyslexia or not. Unrecognized dyslexia can be a real problem and even lead to trauma. So have a look at all of these signs and symptoms! As soon as a child is diagnosed, it is possible to get the right kind of help, and your child will also get access to accommodations like, for example, extra time, audiobooks, and more. Do not fall into the trap of thinking "he will catch up" or "let's wait a little longer and if it does not go away, let's get a dyslexia diagnosis". If it is dyslexia, it will not go away, and without professional help, your child will likely not catch up. You, as a parent, can prevent a lot of the embarrassing situations and mistreatment that dyslexics encounter simply because their dyslexia goes undiagnosed. Dyslexia is a challenge, but that does not mean that your child can't be vastly successful in what they do. The first step, is simply to identify.

⏰ Timetable:
00:00 - Intro
00:39 - Why is early diagnosis important?
02:13 - Signs of dyslexia in early childhood
03:31 - Signs of dyslexia in kindergarten and first grade

🙋🏼‍♂️ My name is Arije, and I am a dyslexic with an MA in Education Studies. I aim to share all my tips for learning, coping, teaching, and more on my channel. My aim is to help you understand what dyslexia is and how to work with those that have it. Because I believe that, as the most common hidden learning disability, dyslexia needs to be seen to be understood.

COACHING & CONSULTATION

🔹 If you got value out of this video, have a look at my channel!

Here's some of the literature I consulted to create this video:
Alexander-Passe, N. (2015). Investigating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) triggered by the experience of dyslexia in mainstream school education. Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy, 5(6), 1-10.
Battistutta, L., Commissaire, E., & Steffgen, G. (2018). Impact of the Time of Diagnosis on the Perceived Competence of Adolescents with Dyslexia. Learning Disability Quarterly, 41(3), 170-178.
Lovett, M. W., Frijters, J. C., Wolf, M., Steinbach, K. A., Sevcik, R. A., & Morris, R. D. (2017). Early intervention for children at risk for reading disabilities: The impact of grade at intervention and individual differences on intervention outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 109(7), 889.
Shaywitz, S. E. (2003). Overcoming dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level, Knopf.

[surveyormarkable]

My son (now 25) has very profound dyslexia. I noticed several things he struggled with as a preschooler. His spoken language was not delayed but there were some odd issues. He could not remember color names. He’d ask for the crayon “the color of grass” but could not say “green.” This persisted well into elementary. Have you ever encountered that? Our state, at that time, did not recognize dyslexia as an ‘eligible disability’ meaning the schools did not have to address it and we could not even use the term in his IEP meetings. We continued to fight the same battles with every new school and every new teacher through high school. The PTSD is very real. Teachers and peers can say things that cut so indelibly. He has forged a very successful career as a scenic artist (without college!) but still struggles with self confidence. Thanks for your videos. It is interesting to hear you discuss what we lived for so many years.

[chellej]

My 6 year old is struggling with her phonics her teacher said she is showing signs of dixlexia lots of b and d mixed up just small signs. But what struck me the most was the shame part, she has completely withdrawn from reading writing & anything school related she has even told her teacher she hates her & she never acts out like this but i can now see the pressure she is under not doing as well as the others! its constantly being pointed out in front of the other children when the teacher pulls us aside in front of her friends in the playground. Now I feel just awful for her she is so intelligent so imaginative great story teller huge personality, Thankyou for this insight I will be handling it so much differently than before

[pipilongstocking]

Your videos are extremely helpful. Just found out I have dyslexia along with other learning difficulties. Wishing that I knew sooner so I could've tried harder at finding a better way of learning. School was a nightmare. Hoping your videos will help others out and have better experience at school and learning.

[TheJustineCredible]

I wish my dyslexia had been diagnosed much earlier than it was.
I wasn't diagnosed until I was 18yrs old. I struggled throughout school. Granted, my dyslexia was fairly mild but it affected how I learned and socialized. I struggled with language skills early on. I had delayed speach. Which, at the time, was brushed off as "she's a second child, she'll pick up language when she's ready"
This was partly true, I did pick up spoken language eventually, but not until I was about two. I also had trouble with identifying colors. My eye sight was checked for colorblindness, which I didn't have so my parents were completely frustrated.
My mother being a writer, an editor, and an educator took my delay in language skills as a personal attack, rather than something in me that needed to be addressed. She, like many of my teachers, chalked my delays up to being "lazy" or "not applying" myself. I would spend HOURS crying over school textbooks and any reading assignments. I managed to find ways around having to read by talking to my friends, taking mental notes on what they would say about assignments.
By the time I graduated high school (yes, I actually managed to graduate) I actually only had a fifth grade reading level.

The astonishing thing was that I attended college.
I actually remember going in for my English assessment test and that is where it was discovered that I was infact dyslexic.
Once my mother realized that my delay in reading and writing wasn't a result of my being lazy or not applying myself, she put forth a great deal of effort to help "retrain" how I learned to read.
We tried several methods but eventually landed on one that seemed to really do the most good for me.
I won't recommend anything as my mom wasn't trained or lisenced in any form of laguage therapy. But, at least we managed to get me to a point where I no longer shy away from reading or writing and I have found pleasure in reading.

[robyn]

I value this information. I have never been diagnosed with dyslexia. Though my parents were instructed to give me similar treatment as someone with dyslexia. My family has a history of struggling with language (speaking, reading and writing) and had to work extra hard to be a similar level of the standard. Now I have an understanding what to look out for in my child. Thanks.

[hannahteddyschachter]

Thanks Arije. This is extremely helpful and your editing skills are 👌!

[Olivetree]

Your video is extremely informative and well made. As a fellow specialist educator I congratulate you. As you have encouraged people to share this on their social media I will do exactly that as I can’t do it better myself.

[sarahkercheval]

Love how you filmed yourself moving outside 😂 awesome vids 😍❤️❤️❤️❤️ ty so
Much !!

[laurapoles]

My lil brother showed all these symptoms since very small, so we made sure he would always be supported in every aspect. He wants to become an architect and I'm sure he will accomplish great things. Do you have any tips for neurodivergent/dyslexic young adults starting their careers and work life? 
Beautiful Nature!

[xic]

My son is 10, today when l discussed with a friend about his learning in school, she told me he could be “ dyslexia “ this is the first time l heard this word in my life, then l started to look into it, the more l learn the more l feel he might be the case . As he is definitely smart boy showing a lot ability and skill in some area, but not interested in school learning and hard to concentrate

[jpitt]

What an excellent video outlining Dyslexia. This hit home so hard for our situation - thank you Arije-Aike for making this wonderful resource.

[WeReadTheClassics]

Thank You for your video. I am in the process of having my 2nd grade identical daughters’ evaluated.

[TiredMomma]

I am so thankful my youngest had an early intervention to help him with his delayed speech and langauge for preschool. Signs of speech delay was noticable around 1yr, then again at 15 and 16 months, then it became more clear at 18 months where testing first began. By age 2 we began trying different things to encourage him to speak, not just whine or point to things he wanted.
His hearing was a concern but I knew it was fine. The proof when they believed me that his hearing was just fine happened when I opened something in the kitchen that had a specific sound and he know just what that sound was and would come running down the hallway from his bedroom. 😄

In Kindergarten into 2nd grade, he was in what is called the Pinoccio program, to help his speech, language and social skills (still struggled with noticable anxiety issues that created shut downs).

We thought he might need back in Pinoccio for social again this school year but seeing how he did it for K-2nd, I wanted to try something different, and it's working oddly enough.
One day, well more like for over a week, he did not want to do anymore cursive handwritting in class, or for homework. His teacher extended the due date for that 1 piece of paper he needed to do. The day came where it was due and he had a shut down in class and wouldn't speak, keeping his head down. She was at the point she didn't know what to try and contacted me right away. I said how I didn't have any luck at home but I had a new idea that was given to me by my step mother. That idea worked. I said try telling him of famous people he might like who also had to do cursive as an adult. He likes Abraham Lincoln and hearing that he had to write in cursive perked him up apparently. And now I don't hear him complain anymore, lol.

Hearing how now famous people had learning struggles seems to help those who are currently struggling, to have someone they can relate to and know things worked out and that gives them hope and a bit of motivation to keep trying at their own pace.
However, I still can't find anyone that I can talk to who also struggles with the math dyslexia issue. I never got diagnosed in school but even in 12th grade they still knew something was wrong, but blamed it on my ADD. I struggled with math from the very start when learning my numbers. I remember trying to match numbers 1-9 as a toddler.... yea I have very early memories, including still in diaper memories, and my potty training began just after 2 like most kids and I did very well, compared well girls just do better at it.

[demetriusmcbride]

Thanks a MILLION!! I now feel more equipped to have a conversation with my 5year olds kindergarten teacher.

[JenLovesPizza]

Just found out my 3rd grader is dyslexic. Sadly she was in kindergarten during Covid and 1st grade so I think a lot of the issues were missed. In 2nd grade the teachers were still trying to catch up on teaching kids social issues. Now she’s in 3rd grade and her teacher is like uh oh there is an issue. Oddly tho, all her state testing the school uses for reading and math is well above average. She consistently scores in 80th or higher percentile. During her dyslexia testing with neuropsych, she scored well above average in problem solving skills which I think has helped her keep her dyslexia under wraps for so long. Some things I did notice as a preschooler-2nd grade was writing letters and numbers backwards. She still does it to a degree but is able to catch herself more now. She also would repeat numbers backwards when reading them. 63 would be read back as 36. This is something she still struggles with. She had a hard time decoding words, spelling words and her handwriting is absolutely horrid. A lot of this was dismissed early on as “age appropriate”. I knew in my heart something was off but it wasn’t extreme enough to warrant major concerns since she was still young. She did receive speech services starting at 3-8 years old for articulation. She would talk a lot as a toddler but you couldn’t understand a word she was saying. I’m so thankful her 3rd grade teacher identified the issue. My daughter also has been diagnosed as adhd inactive type.

[SimsWorldBDMom]

Hi. Very helpful video. Can you please make some videos on tips and method of teaching kids in primary level with dyslexia?

[melaniep.]

I'm very grateful to have come across your channel!

[amandagaudry]

Really grateful for this having been shared. I homeschool and have had a suspicion my youngest son is dyslexic recently but had no way of knowing for sure. Now I have a concrete enough idea of the signs that I am going to have him tested so he can receive supports.

I also took the test you posted that is used to test for it. I definitely scored a 6/9, though I have always been far ahead in my reading skills, having read my first book at age 3.

I do have to reread things often to grasp and remember details in material I read, as well as often seeing words in a sentence that aren't actually there but the letters, that make up the word are within the paragraph I am reading. I find this fascinating and am curious as to why this did not manifest as a struggle for me in most ways.

[thomsonclan]

I knew my son had dyslexia before he started school, I would love a video on early interventions, we use boxes font, multi sensory (writing in salt, play doh to form the letters, playing games running to the words)
He’s now 8 I have asked school for a laptop and for him to speak out what he wants to write, is this the right direction? Also having the book read to him and more working on comprehension rather than reading it.
I have dyslexia so my reading up how to help is hard work, I often cry at his parents evening because I don’t want history repeating itself
Thank you auto correct on my ipad you can read his 🤩 diagnosed at 16 with dyslexia and dyscalculia

[lotuslotuschan]

Love this video. If i had this video 9 years ago, it would have been so easy…