Is Your Child Dyslexic?

By Sora Song

AGES 3 to 5 DOES YOUR PRESCHOOLER ...

1 Seem uninterested in playing games with language sounds, such as repetition and rhyming?

2 Have trouble learning nursery rhymes, such as "Humpty Dumpty" or "Jack and Jill"?

3 Frequently mispronounce words and persist in using baby talk?

4 Fail to recognize the letters in his or her name?

5 Have difficulty remembering the names of letters, numbers or days of the week?

AGES 5 to 6 DOES YOUR KINDERGARTNER ...

1 Fail to recognize and write letters, write his or her name or use invented spelling for words?

2 Have trouble breaking spoken words into syllables, such as cowboy into cow and boy?

3 Still have trouble recognizing words that rhyme, such as cat and bat?

4 Fail to connect letters and sounds? (Ask your child: What does the letter b sound like?)

5 Fail to recognize phonemes? (Ask your child: What starts with the same sound as cat--dog, man or car?)

AGES 6 to 7 DOES YOUR FIRST-GRADER ...

1 Still have difficulty recognizing and manipulating phonemes?

2 Fail to read common one-syllable words, such as mat or top?

3 Make reading errors that suggest a failure to connect sounds and letters, such as big for goat?

4 Fail to recognize common, irregularly spelled words, such as said, where and two?

5 Complain about how hard reading is and refuse to do it?

AGE 7 AND OLDER DOES YOUR CHILD ...

1 Mispronounce long or complicated words, saying "amulium" instead of "aluminum"?

2 Confuse words that sound alike, such as tornado for volcano, or lotion for ocean?

3 Speak haltingly and overuse vague words such as stuff or things?

4 Have trouble memorizing dates, names and telephone numbers?

5 Have trouble reading small function words, such as that, an and in?

6 Guess wildly when reading multisyllabic words instead of sound them out?

7 Skip parts of words, reading conible instead of convertible, for example?

8 When reading aloud often substitute easy words for hard ones, such as car for automobile?

9 Spell terribly and have messy handwriting?

10 Have trouble completing homework or finishing tests on time?

11 Have a deep fear of reading aloud? --By Sora Song

Sources: Overcoming Dyslexia, by Sally Shaywitz, M.D.; Straight Talk About Reading, by Susan Hall and Louisa Moats