Can you tell if your preschooler is dyslexic? Dyslexia is not usually diagnosed at such an early age. Learning is unique to every child and some may appear slow in some areas but catch up by the next year. Many children exhibit more than one sign of Dyslexia and turn out to have it. While for other children it is undeniable. My 7 year old is dyslexic and while she did show some signs of dyslexia in preschool, she was not officially diagnosed until she was 6 years old. Even at 6 years old, the reading specialist commented that I had good instincts because normally children this young are not diagnosed. I would not have suspected her to have dyslexia when she was three or four. However, many parents have asked if there are signs of dyslexia at a younger age. Well meaning parents want to catch it early to give their child the best chance of learning to read. However, be very careful diagnosing a child before the age of 5 or 6 years old. Your child may turn out to have no issues. Yet, there are common signs that dyslexics show even in the preschool years. I do not recommend using this as a diagnosis. Many of these signs are normal. My child is severely dyslexic and she only showed a few of these signs. So, take this list as a point of interest and something to consider if your child struggles in Kindergarten and 1st grade.
What are signs of Dyslexia in Preschoolers?
- History of delayed speech (not talking until well after age two)
- History of stuttering
- History of ear infections
- Difficulty with prepositions or directions such as confusing up, down, behind, on top, under, beside, in and out.
- Difficulty sequencing stories using story photo cards (such as what happened first, what happened next, what happened last), and problems following color sequences such as stringing beads in a sequence.
- A short attention span for their age
- Clumsiness with motor tasks such as running, jumping, climbing, catching, throwing or kicking a ball
- Mixing up familiar words or letters in words, such as saying “aminal” for “animal”
- Showing little interest in learning letters or words
- Difficulty memorizing songs or finger plays
- Difficulty learning words that rhyme such as “pig” and “big”
- Problems with self care skills such as learning to tie shoes or dressing