Person in a yellow shirt writing on paper with a beige pen at a wooden table.

Signs of dyslexia (Secondary school age)

Information from the British Dyslexia Association.

Dyslexia is a combination of abilities as well as difficulties. It is the disparity between them that is often the give-away clue. A dyslexic learner, despite certain areas of difficulty, may be orally very able and knowledgeable, creative, artistic, or sporty. Alongside these abilities will be a cluster of difficulties - these will be different for every person.

Dyslexia can only be diagnosed through a Diagnostic Assessment. However, there are indicators which can help you to identify a young person who may be dyslexic.

Written work

  • Has a poor standard of written work compared with oral ability

  • Has poor handwriting with badly formed letters or has neat handwriting, but writes very slowly

  • Produces badly set out or messy written work, with spellings crossed out several times

  • Spells the same word differently in one piece of work

  • Has difficulty with punctuation and/or grammar

  • Confuses upper and lower case letters

  • Writes a great deal but 'loses the thread'

  • Writes very little, but to the point

  • Has difficulty taking notes in lessons

  • Has difficulty with organisation of homework

  • Finds tasks difficult to complete on time

  • Appears to know more than they can commit to paper

Reading

  • Is hesitant and laboured, especially when reading aloud

  • Omits, repeats or adds extra words

  • Reads at a reasonable rate, but has a low level of comprehension

  • Fails to recognise familiar words

  • Misses a line or repeats the same line twice

  • Loses their place easily/uses a finger or marker to keep the place

  • Has difficulty with pin-pointing the main idea in a passage

  • Has difficulty using dictionaries, directories, encyclopaedias

Numeracy

  • Has difficulty remembering tables and/or basic number sets

  • Finds sequencing problematic

  • Confuses signs such as x for +

  • Can think at a high level in mathematics, but needs a calculator for simple calculations

  • Misreads questions that include words

  • Finds mental arithmetic at speed very difficult

  • Finds memorising formulae difficult

Other areas

  • Confuses direction - left/right

  • Has difficulty learning foreign languages

  • Has difficulty finding the name for an object

  • Has clear difficulties processing information at speed

  • Misunderstands complicated questions

  • Finds holding a list of instructions in memory difficult, although can perform all tasks when told individually

Behaviour

  • Is disorganised or forgetful e.g. over sports equipment, lessons, homework, appointments

  • Is easily distracted. May find it difficult to remain focused on the task

  • Is often in the wrong place at the wrong time

  • Is excessively tired, due to the amount of concentration and effort required

A cluster of these indicators alongside areas of ability may point to possible dyslexia and further investigation is recommended.