#Equity In Education

If you know a person with 3 or more of these signs and symptoms, we encourage you to learn more about dyslexia and other language-based learning differences.

IN PRESCHOOL

picture of kids learning
  • Delayed speech
  • Difficulty rhyming and learning nursery rhymes
  • Unable to recognize letters in his/her name
  • Mispronounces familiar words; persistent “baby talk”
  • Difficulty remembering the names of the letters
  • Confusion between left & right
  • Difficulty learning to tie shoes
  • Close relative with dyslexia

EARLY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

picture of kids learning
  • Slow, choppy, inaccurate reading (frequent guessing at words; skips or misreads prepositions (at, to, of );
  • unable to sound out even simple words like cat, nap, or map
  • Complains that reading is hard, that s/he hates reading, and acts out when it is time to read or do homework
  • Difficulty finding the correct word when speaking
  • Does not understand that words can be broken apart
  • Does not associate letters with letter sounds
  • History of reading difficulties in siblings or parents
  • Letter or number reversals continuing beyond 1st grade

LATE ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL

picture of kids learning
  • Very slow at acquiring reading skills
  • Reading is slow and awkward
  • Trouble reading unfamiliar words; guesses at long or unfamiliar words
  • Has no attack plan for new words; unable to sound out
  • Avoids reading out loud
  • Dreads going to school; complains of stomach aches or headaches
  • Slow, non-automatic handwriting
  • Extreme difficulty learning cursive writing
  • Trouble with rote memorization (multiplication tables, sight words, dates, phone numbers, etc.)
  • Terrible spelling
  • Mispronunciation of unfamiliar words
  • Difficulty finding the right word when speaking; says words like “stuff” and “thing” instead; misspeaks using similar sounding words, e.g. “lotion” for “ocean”, “tornado” for “volcano”
  • Low self-esteem

HIGH SCHOOL

picture of kids learning
  • All of the above symptoms
  • Struggles to finish tests on time
  • Extreme difficulty learning foreign languages
  • Needs extra time to respond to questions; hesitates before speaking; uses lots of “um’s”
  • Poor handwriting
  • Big discrepancy between verbal and written skills
  • Poor grades
  • Talks of dropping out of school

BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL

picture of kids learning
  • Childhood history of reading and spelling difficulties
  • Reading is slow and requires great effort
  • Rarely reads for pleasure
  • Avoids reading out loud
  • Must re-read materials 2-3 times to understand
  • Terrible spelling
  • Confusion with directions