It is important to remember that all dyslexic children don’t show all of the symptoms described; that they may in fact display only some of the characteristics and that these symptoms can vary greatly and can be very inconsistent.
Motor skills, reading and writing
A child with dyslexia could have a very different way of holding their pen or pencil. They have trouble copying and writing and their handwriting could be so bad as to be wholly illegible. The child may be prone to motion sickness.
Reading could bring on physical symptoms such as stomach ache, dizziness and headaches. The child may find numbers, letters, words and other written things confusing and unintelligible.
The child may complain of things like the letters or the numbers moving when doing reading or writing work as well. Phonetics is a concept that is typically very difficult to grasp.
They may be ambidextrous and may have confusion telling left from right and may have difficulty with spatial concepts. The child may also seem physically uncoordinated and may perform poorly at physical activities such as team sports as well.
Symptoms related to speech, hearing and vision
Articulation or putting thoughts into words may be difficult for the dyslexic child. They may use the wrong word, may mispronounce words or stutter when under stress, and may leave sentences half, unable to express themselves fully.
Some dyslexic children have what is known as extended hearing – they may hear things that others may not be able to clearly perceive or may hear things that haven’t even been said. Being easily distracted is a characteristic and the child may be particularly easily distracted by sounds.
The child may appear not to be able to see very well, but tests may show normal vision. In fact the child may have very keen vision, but could have difficulty with peripheral vision and depth perception.
Difficulties with time management and numbers
Time related concepts such as punctuality, schedules, and doing things in order or sequence may be a problem. Dyslexic children frequently have a problem telling the time at an age when other kids seem able to manage pretty well.
Math can present problems – for instance the child may have the answer to a math problem but may not be able to reduce it on paper. There may be particular problems with algebraic formulas rather than simple arithmetic. Word problem tends to confound and counting and dealing with money can be problematic.
