What does dyslexia

look like in the

classroom?
All students with dyslexia have the same
core characteristic:

persistent problems with phonological

processing.

This means they will have difficulties with

decoding (when reading) and spelling
(when writing).
 Characteristics of dyslexia
Some of the characteristics of dyslexia are known as
persisting factors.
As well as the core phonological processing difficulties, these
can include:
 variable performance (eg from one day to the next)
 poor retention of previously learned reading & writing skills
 unexpectedly poor output for considerable effort (which may
result in fatigue and loss of motivation)
 difficulty with word storage (eg retaining word patterns)
 difficulty with sequencing and with retaining a sequence
(such as the letters in a word) over time.
 Things to note:
 These indicators may be related to dyslexia at different
times during schooling, but many form a continuum across
all ages. Children develop at different rates.

 The presence of one or several of these characteristics does

not mean that a student has or will develop dyslexia.

 The presence of many characteristics will indicate a need to

carry out a close assessment of the student.

 Teachers should pay particular attention to students who

consistently have difficulties, despite focussed instruction.
 First year of school
 Difficulty with certain spoken language skills, such as
understanding vocabulary and grammatical awareness
 have very poor reading (compared with expectations for
the age) even of very familiar words
 have extremely messy handwriting with poorly formed
letters
 have great difficulty spelling simple, common words
 often mix up letters or figures
 have a poor sense of rhyme
 are unsure of the sound a letter or combination
represents (for example, h or sh).
 After first year of school
 slow to identify connections between sounds and
letters
 constantly make inconsistent spelling errors (eg spell
a word different ways within 1 piece of writing)
 leave letters out of words or write them in the
wrong order and are unable to see the errors
 have good ideas but take longer than average to do
written work
 make reversal or confusion errors in reading or
writing
 read very slowly and consistently make decoding
errors

 have difficulty decoding single words in isolation

 show frustration with, or avoidance of, text tasks
 appear to be fatigued by the effort needed to
complete a reading or writing task

 lack confidence and appear to be developing a poor

self-image.
 Secondary Students
 struggle to express their ideas in writing (although
they may be able to express themselves well orally)

 use incorrect letter order in words when writing but

are not able to see what is wrong

 have trouble finding a word in the dictionary

 become tangled with multisyllabic words (in oral and
written language)
 may read, but very slowly, with limited
understanding (often because of the time and
effort required to access the words)

 are able to understand a class text that is read to

them but unable to read the text themselves

 have poor confidence and self-esteem, which may be

seen as lack of motivation, disengagement or
challenging behaviours.
 Dyslexia not always the
answer!
 When a student has persistent difficulties with reading and
writing (spelling), there can still be many other possible
causes.
 Characteristics or indicators of dyslexia can be helpful for
initially identifying or screening students who may need
further assessment.
 Teachers and RTLB cannot diagnose dyslexia.
 Whether a child is diagnosed with dyslexia or not, the
strategies that you will hear about later can be used for all
children needing extra support in literacy and learning in
general.