Dyslexia Spot the Early Signs Checklist

There are many areas to consider if you feel your child has dyslexia. Here are the factors
that are very common.

Don’t worry a lot can be done to improve your child’s learning and reading.

Speech and Language

Listening

How does your child listen?

Do they lose focus?

Do they misinterpret what you are saying ?
Do you need to repeat what you said?
Can your child take instructions?
Do you need to keep instructions simple?

Speech…

Was your child’s speech delayed?

Is your child's vocabulary age appropriate or is it immature for their age?

How is their pronunciation?

Verbal Storytelling

Do they structure their sentences with a beginning, middle and end?

Do they ramble?
Do they go off point?
Do they structure their stories with a beginning, middle and end?
Do they rush their stories ? Does it seem like they may forget if they do not rush?
Do they repeat phrases, for example “and then” ?

Social Communications

Do they communicate well socially?

Do they lead in play?
Or do they follow?
 Do they get upset if others don't follow when they wish to lead play?
Do they struggle to negotiate socially which may impact play?
Is behaviour sometimes an issue ?

Cognitive Skills and Executive Function

Can they control rash responses?

Can they adjust to rule changes in class and in play and be flexible?
Do they persist when they reach a problematic situation and show rigor?
Can they manage longer-term assignments?

Reading

Can they read?

Do they misread words?
Do they skip words when reading?
Do they skip suffixes e.g. /ed/ or /ing/ as in “walked” or “walking” at the end of words or
prefixes at the beginning of words e.g. /un/ or /re/ as in "untie" or "reschedule"
Do they struggle to decode?
Does decoding take longer than it should?
Do they finally decode a word after a lot of effort and not recognise it in a later sentence
or paragraph?
Is speed of reading or fluency an issue?

Reading Comprehension

Do they understand what they are reading?

Can they read "between the lines"
Can they understand the subtleties, nuances and inferences of what they read?
Do they struggle with worded Maths questions?

Writing

Do they have good handwriting?

Is their pencil grip strange?
Do they struggle with Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation?

After School Activities

In Sport, Can they follow instruction?

 Can they work as part of a team?
Do they prefer non team sports?

Other

Do they struggle with confidence and self esteem?

Can behaviour be a problem sometimes?

Can they become frustrated?