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See the overlap of "warning signs" and why you
need to deal with more than reading skills.

Not everyone shows all of them...
but useful to check out those you notice and how they
can affect life, not just reading.

Pre-School  "Warning Signs" of Dyslexia

Early Warning Signs

  • Lots of ear infections

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  • Did not crawl much

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  • Spoke late or difficulty with speech, alphabet, words, nursery rhymes, songs, rhythm clear sounds

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  • Difficulty listening, sitting still, following  more than one instruction

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  • Easily distracted by noise or movement

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  • Looks at pictures in stories but looks away if you are pointing out words letters or words

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  • Enjoys you reading aloud, but does not attempt to read

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  • Confuses left/right, up/down

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  • Difficulty with sequencing, alphabet, numbers, tying shoelaces

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  • Mixes up long words (sequences of syllables)

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  • Substitutes words e.g. "home" for "house"

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  • Often (but not always) good socially 

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  • History of dyslexia/reading difficulties in the family 

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Primary School "Warning Signs" of Dyslexia

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  • Slow, hard to read handwriting

  • Reverses letter and numbers

  • Slow, choppy, inaccurate reading/ poor comprehension

  • Guesses words, skips or misreads  words

  • Can't sound out new words, can't remember words

  • Problems copying from the  board, taking notes

  • Disorganised 

  • Feels sick thinking about going to school

     

High School "Warning Signs" of Dyslexia

  • ​Previous list +

  • poor vocabulary, poor written work

  • verbal skills better than written skills

  • poor grades

  • wants to leave school

  • may be labelled inattentive/lazy

"Warning Signs" of Dyslexia in Adults

  • Previous list +

  • Slow reader/ poor speller

  • Needs to re-read to understand

  • Trouble writing memos, letters or filling forms

  • Poor awareness of surroundings

  • Becomes anxious about reading

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Warnig Signs of Visual Peceptual Difficulties

"Warning Signs" of Visual Perceptual Difficulties

1

Receiving information

  • words may move of appear to lift from the page

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  • can't pay attention "distractability"

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  • over-sensitivity to lighting

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  • misinterprets what is written

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  • confuses similar looking words 

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  • relies on memory, so can confuse order of things

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  • needs more repetition 

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  • slow hesitant reading aloud -

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  • misreads, skips or re-reads words and lines  

2

 Communicating/writing

  • writing uphill or downhill

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  • unequal spacing when writing

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  • errors in copying

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  • spells the same word differently

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  • misaligned numbers in columns

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  • confuses word sequences

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  • leaves out words or parts of words

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  • reverses some letters

It's upsetting whe effort doesn't bring success

3

Behaviour & Motor Skills

  • problems with balance

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  • difficulty judging distances  

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  • poor depth perception

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  • problems using escalators and stairs

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  • procrastinates

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  • “hyperactivity” or hypoactivity

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  • avoids bright environments - ​overactive 

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  • fidgety, clumsy, “uncoordinated” 

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  • hard time with organization, structure especially on paper

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  • poor sports skills, difficulty catching and throwing, 

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"Warning Signs" of difficulties processing spoken language

Warning signs of poor processing of spoken language

1

Receiving information

  • short attention span 

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  • distractibility

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  • over-sensitivity to sounds

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  • misinterprets questions 

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  • confuses similar sounding words 

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  • needs more repetition 

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  • hard to follow more than one or two instructions

We can help deal with sensitive hearing

2

 Communicating/writing

  • flat monotonous voice 

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  • difficulties with speech 

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  • poor vocabulary ​​

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  • overuses stereotypes

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  • can’t sing in tune

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  • confuses letters/sounds

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  • has to sound syllables

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  • confuses word sequences in sentences=
    poor reading comprehension 

  • poor reading aloud because needs time to analyse words for speech-sound 

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  • poor spelling 

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3

Behaviour & Motor Skills

  • difficulty getting up in the morning

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  • procrastinates

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  • “hyperactivity” or hypoactivity

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  • avoids noisy environments

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  • overactive or withdraws in a noisy environment​​

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  • poor sense of rhythm 

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  • hard time with organization, structure 

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  • confuses left and right or mixed dominance 

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  • poor team sports skills

Accurate listening is important for spelling and reading

Take home Adults:

If you identify three of four of those "warning signs"  in you or your child, and you suspect that they are hindering achievement, please contact. We are here to help.

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