Dyslexia symptoms: The signs you are dyslexic based on your age

Signs of dyslexia in primary school children

If your child is primary school age and seems to be struggling with spelling, reading, writing or numeracy, that doesn’t mean they are dyslexic.

Not all dyslexic children display the same strengths and weaknesses at school, but the general signs of dyslexia at this age are:

• Speed of processing: slow spoken and/or written language
• Poor concentration
• Difficulty following instructions
• Forgetting words

They may struggle with written work, having messy handwriting, lots of crossing out, spelling mistakes throughout, poor pencil grip, or badly set out written work.

A dyslexic primary school child may show slow reading progress, pronouncing words wrong, no expression when reading, missing out words, and failing to recognise familiar words.

In maths, young dyslexic children might confuse symbols or find it difficult to remember anything in sequences such as days of the week, the alphabet, or times tables.
The child might find it hard to tell the time, know what day of the week it is or understand the concept of yesterday, today or tomorrow.

Dyslexic children can be dreamy, easily distracted, excessively tired, or even the class clown.

If all of this sounds familiar, you can find more signs and information here.