Understanding Dyslexia: Signs and Strategies for Support

Dyslexia is a disorder that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. These difficulties lead readers to over-rely on context and guess at words, resulting in slow reading and difficulties with accuracy and prosody, all of which can affect comprehension. 

Dyslexia Education

Dyslexia Facts:

  • Dyslexia runs in families.
  • Dyslexia can be mild or moderate for some, but severe for others.
  • Dyslexia has nothing to do with a person’s level of intelligence.
  • Dyslexia affects 20% of the population.
  • Dyslexia occurs in people of all backgrounds and intellectual abilities.
  • Dyslexia is a lifelong condition, but with evidence-based intervention and accommodations, students with dyslexia will achieve success.
  • Dyslexia has nothing to do with not working hard enough.

Signs of Dyslexia:

Some of the signs of dyslexia include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Mixing up sounds and symbols in long words.
  • Slow to make the connections between letters and sounds.
  • Confusion of left versus right.
  • Letter or number reversals continuing past the end of first grade- d for b.
  • Recency Effect- when a word is pronounced in the reverse order with the most recent sound vocalized first- pit for tip.
  • Slow, choppy, inaccurate reading.
  • Terrible spelling.
  • Can’t remember sight words or homonyms.
  • Word finding difficulty when speaking.
  • Poor written expression- a large discrepancy between verbal skills and written composition.

Dyslexia Help:

Some of the signs of dyslexia include, but are not limited to the following:

  • If you suspect your child has dyslexia, visit our Identifying Dyslexia page for more information on our screening and assessment options.

  • For information about tutoring that works for students with dyslexia, visit our Dyslexia Intervention page.

  • For any other questions about dyslexia, or for a free consultation, contact us.