Some common dyslexia characteristics in children

This checklist is not an assessment. Each dyslexic individual is different therefore you will probably find that only some of the characteristics apply.

1. Behaviour
   
2. Reading
3. Handwriting
4. Spelling
5. Writing composition
6. Punctuation
7. Maths
8. Talents

Behaviour

• Daydreams or drifts off into own private world
  Forgets easily, particularly recent things but may have a good memory for things which happened a long time ago
• Finds it difficult to deal with more than one instruction at a time
• Extremes in mood, lack of calm “middle ground”
  Little sense of time
• Can be very stubborn
• Can be quiet, withdrawn and anxious
• Doesn’t like change
  
• Has tantrums
  
• Easily distracted
  
• Intolerant of noise
  
• Appears not to listen
  
• May have speech problems
  
• May lack co-ordination and spill things or knock things over
  
• May have allergies
  
• May have stress related illnesses
  
• A child might seem to be completely different when attending school to how they were pre-school.

Reading

• Cannot master reading at all or mastered it very late
• Can read to self but “out loud” makes lots of mistakes
  
• Can read stories but has problems with exam questions and anything technical
  
• Can read perfectly but doesn’t get much meaning from what has been read
  
• Needs to re-read to make sense
  Skips lines
  
• Loses place
  
• Dislikes reading and tries to avoid it
  Starts OK but gets progressively worse
  
• Reverses syllables or words
  
• Leaves out, misreads or substitutes small words such as “was” and “they”
  
• Can read a word on one page and misread the same word on another.

Handwriting

• Handwriting may be illegible
  
• Handwriting legible only if very slow
  Heavy pressure on page (presses very hard with pen or pencil)
  
• Difficulties joining letters
  
• Strange spacing
  
• Letters formed strangely to disguise spelling problems
  
• Writing process highly stressful and very tiring.

Spelling

• Words spelt as they sound
  
• Bizarre spelling producing unrecognisable words
  
• Letters repeated: “rememember” for “remember”
  
• Letters left out “rember” for “remember”
  
• Letters reversed “brid” for “bird”
  
• Mistakes made with small words such as “thay” for “they”
  
• Spellings rote learnt for tests but can’t then apply them in writing.

Writing composition

• Writing disorganised and writer gets lost in the process
  
• Difficulties starting
  
• Sentences muddled
  
• Content pictured as a whole but unable to get it down sequentially
  
• Thoughts too fast for pen
  
• Small words missed or used wrongly
  
• Frequent crossings out
  
• Writer can’t see mistakes
  
• Finds writing is immensely frustrating and will be avoided where possible
  
• Finds writing is a slow process and may involve many drafts if despair doesn’t set it first.

Punctuation

• Punctuation is not used at all
  
• Some punctuation is used but is not understood
  
• Writer has no sense of where the marks should go, even though they have been told.

Maths

• May be excellent at maths
  
• May find all of maths difficult
  
• Cannot grasp what is required from the maths question
  
• Loses track when following procedures e.g. long multiplication
  
• Directional difficulties e.g. instead of going from right to left with addition, subtraction and multiplication, will work the other way
  
• Gets muddled between maths symbols
  
• Difficulties learning times tables
  Problems with place value (hundreds, tens and units)
  
• Reverses numbers
  
• Makes many small mistakes
  
• Finds mental maths difficult because the sum “goes” before the calculation is complete
  
• Can get the answers but can’t show the workings out.

Talents

• Often have excellent “people skills”
  
• Can be good at problem solving
  
• Can think three dimensionally giving rise to talents in such areas as design, computing, acting etc.
  
• Can be very good at sport
  
• Can be good at art, particularly 3D
  
• Are often highly intuitive
  
• Are very curious about how things work
  
• Highly aware of their environment and often notice details
  
• Thinks in an original way
  
• Thinks holistically
  
• Often very good at “lego” as a child.

Professional services described as Davis®, Davis Dyslexia Correction®, Davis Symbol Mastery®, Davis Orientation Counselling®, Davis Math Mastery SM and Davis Learning Strategies® may only be provided by persons who are
employed by a licensed Davis Specialist, or who are trained and licensed as Davis Facilitators by
Davis Dyslexia Association International.