October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month.
Dyslexia is a neurological condition that affects language processing, particularly reading and writing skills. All children are unique, develop literacy skills at their own pace, and can fall into a wide continuum of typical development. Even so, there are signs of possible dyslexia that are important to be aware of during early childhood because early intervention can significantly improve a child’s academic outcomes. Let’s take a closer look at some signs of possible dyslexia in early childhood. This information should NOT be used for diagnostic purposes, but rather as a set of indicators to consider when discussing children’s development with families, practitioners and medical professionals.
1. Delayed Speech and Language Development:
Delayed speech and language development can be caused be a host of different reasons. One of those could be dyslexia because children with dyslexia can struggle to learn and use words appropriately for their age, leading to difficulties in forming sentences and expressing themselves effectively.
2. Difficulty Learning Rhyming Words:
Difficulty with learning nursery rhymes or playing rhyming games that require recognizing and producing rhyming patterns can be a sign of phonological processing challenges, a key feature of dyslexia. Having difficulty with recognizing and generating rhyming words is a precursor to future difficulties with decoding words and understanding phonemic awareness, which are critical components of reading.
3. Confusing Letters, Letter Sounds and Numbers:
Consistently reversing letters or numbers and struggling to associate letters with their corresponding sounds could be signs of dyslexia. For example, children might reverse or confuse letters like ‘b’ and ‘d’ or numbers like ‘6’ and ‘9’. This is normal during the emergent and pre reading and writing literacy stages, but if it is less common well into the early reading and writing stage. Issues with letter/sound recognition can affect children’s ability to recognize letters and decode words which makes learning to read fluently challenging.
4. Difficulty Sequencing and Memorizing:
Sequencing skills are crucial for reading and writing. Children who find it challenging to learn and remember the order of letters, numbers, or days of the week or who have difficulty learning the alphabet in the typical sequence may have dyslexia. Struggling to recognize and name letters and having difficulties with sequencing and memorization can impact children’s ability to develop essential pre-reading skills.
5. Struggling with Fine Motor Skills:
Fine motor challenges that impact children’s ability to write, color, or draw could be the result of the underlying neurological
differences associated with dyslexia.
Monitoring children’s development in these five areas can inform decisions about whether additional assessments are needed. If dyslexia is a concern, families can seek professional assessment and assistance from speech-language pathologists, educational psychologists, or pediatricians. Timely and targeted interventions can support children with dyslexia to develop the skills they need to excel academically.
Lynne Hall, Research Associate, holds a Master of Science in Education and an Indiana instructional teaching license (Early Childhood Education and Services; Elementary/Primary Generalist; Elementary/Intermediate Generalist). She formerly taught preschool in a variety of settings for over 15 years. Her expertise includes early literacy instruction, equity in early childhood education, and inclusive classroom practices.
Email her at hallma@iu.edu
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