CHARACTERISTICS OF DYSLEXIA, Fourth – Fifth Grade

The following signs may be associated with dyslexia if they are unexpected for the individual’s age, educational level, or cognitive abilities.

• Has a history of reading and spelling difficulties;
• Avoids reading aloud;
• Reads most materials slowly; oral reading is labored, not fluent;
• Avoids reading for pleasure;
• Lacks a strategy to read new words;
• Oral reading filled with substitutions, omissions, mispronunciations and disregard for punctuation;
• May have inadequate vocabulary;
• Mispronunciation of long, unfamiliar, or complicated words;
• The fracturing of words –leaving out parts or confusing the order of the parts; for example amulium for  aluminum, pisghetti for spaghetti, etc;
• Uses imprecise language, such as vague references to stuff or things instead of the proper name of an object;
• Not being able to find the exact word, such as confusing words that sound alike: saying tornado instead of volcano, substituting lotion for ocean, or humanity for humidity;
• Difficulty spelling phonetically;
• Good written expression when content is more important than spelling;
• Poorer performance on multiple choice tests than other types of tests;
• Inability to finish tests on time;
• Excellent comprehension of stories read or told to him;
• Strong thinking skills: conceptualization, reasoning, imagination, abstraction; Good math skills, but difficulty with word problems; Has the ability to get the “big picture”;
• Stronger ability in areas not dependent on reading, such as math, computers, art;
• Is good at understanding new concepts;
• Exhibits curiosity;
• Has great imagination;
• Has the ability to figure things out;
• Has surprising maturity;
• A family history of reading problems in parents or siblings