What to look for, who can tell you, and what to do meanwhile
Something about your child’s reading worries you, and the word in your mind is dyslexia. This page goes slowly on purpose. It cannot tell you whether your child has dyslexia. It can tell you what the common signs are, who can check, and what helps while you wait.
The common early signs are trouble with rhymes, trouble learning letters and their sounds, and trouble sounding out simple words. Many children show one or two of these and do not have dyslexia.
Only formal testing by a trained specialist can say. Ask your child’s school for an evaluation. While you wait, keep up a few minutes of step-by-step practice with sounds and letters every day.
We do not test, screen or diagnose. Nothing on this website can tell you whether your child has dyslexia. That includes our free checks. They show which reading step to practice. They say nothing about why that step is hard.
The International Dyslexia Association describes dyslexia as a learning disability that is based in language. It makes reading hard, and often spelling and writing too.1
It is not about being smart, and it is not about trying. The association says dyslexia is not caused by a lack of intelligence or of the wish to learn.1 The U.S. child health institute, the NICHD, says people with dyslexia have normal intelligence.4
It also runs in families.1 If you or a close relative found reading very hard, that is worth telling the school.
These lists come from the National Center on Improving Literacy.2 Read them as things to notice, not as a score. A child can show several and not have dyslexia.
The NICHD gives a shorter list for reading disorders at any age: problems sounding out words, difficulty with sounds and the letters that make them, poor spelling, slow reading, trouble reading aloud with expression, and trouble understanding what was just read. It adds that people often have different mixes of these.3
In the source’s own words“Not all students who have difficulties with these skills have dyslexia. Formal testing of reading, language, and writing skills is the only way to confirm a diagnosis of suspected dyslexia.” International Dyslexia Association1
Many parents first think of dyslexia when a child writes b for d. The International Dyslexia Association calls it a myth that people with dyslexia “read backwards.”1 It says spelling can look jumbled because students have trouble remembering which letters stand for which sounds.
If b and d are the main thing you see, there is a free check for that one mix-up: Why does my child mix up b and d? It is not a test for dyslexia.
A diagnosis comes from testing, not from a list of signs. The NICHD says providers usually use a series of tests, and may also look at family history and at how a child has responded to teaching.4 The International Dyslexia Association says the testing can be done by trained specialists at school or outside it.1
A review by two reading researchers notes that dyslexia is usually diagnosed only after a child has been in school for some years.6 That is one more reason to speak up early about what you see.
This is general information for parents in the United States. It is not legal advice, and states and districts differ.
The International Dyslexia Association says parents can ask for a full evaluation at any point, even while a child is already getting extra reading help.1 The NICHD notes that each state has a Parent Training and Information Center, and points parents to the Center for Parent Information and Resources for the laws and policies.4 You can also tell your child’s doctor what you see.
Waiting is the hard part. The International Dyslexia Association says there is no benefit to a child when special teaching is put off for months while testing goes on.1 So do not wait to practice.
The same association describes the teaching that helps as systematic and explicit, with a lot of structured practice and with mistakes corrected right away.1 The research review says much the same: work on the sounds in words, tied to letters, with step-by-step teaching of letter sounds, alongside reading books.6
At home, in plain words, that means:
Step-by-step practice with sounds and letters, a few minutes a day, is what our free checks and plans give. They are practice, not treatment. They do not replace a trained teacher or specialist, and we cannot promise what they will do for your child.
None of these steps tells you whether your child has dyslexia. They show which reading step to practice, and give you the practice.
We read each of these ourselves before writing this page. Every numbered mark above points to one of them. Follow the links to read them too.
More from our Reading Lab: Dyslexia: early signs and what helps · When to worry about reading
We do not offer one, and nothing on this website can tell you whether your child has dyslexia. The International Dyslexia Association says formal testing of reading, language and writing skills is the only way to confirm it. That testing is done by trained school or outside specialists.
The International Dyslexia Association says that with proper help, many people with dyslexia can learn to read and write well. It describes that help as teaching by a systematic and explicit method, usually from a teacher, tutor or therapist trained for it.
Not on its own. The International Dyslexia Association calls it a myth that people with dyslexia read backwards. If mixing up b and d is the main thing you see, we have a free check for that one mix-up. It is not a test for dyslexia.
No. The International Dyslexia Association says dyslexia is not due to a lack of intelligence or of the wish to learn. The U.S. child health institute, the NICHD, says people with dyslexia have normal intelligence.
You do not have to wait. The International Dyslexia Association says parents can ask for a full evaluation at any point, and that there is no benefit to a child when special teaching is put off for months while testing goes on. So ask, and keep up short daily practice in the meantime.
No. Our free checks, 10-day plans and The One Sheet give step-by-step practice with sounds and letters. They are practice, not treatment. They do not replace a trained teacher or specialist, and we cannot promise what they will do for your child.
“Behind in reading” can mean eleven different things, and each one needs different help. Check off what is true for your child. You will see what to work on first, and what can wait.
