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Signs of dyslexia by age.
Dyslexia shows up differently as a child grows. In the preschool years it hides in speech and rhyme; once school begins it shows in the slow, effortful work of turning letters into words. What matters is rarely a single sign. It is a pattern that persists, often with a family history behind it. Below is what to watch for at each age, a free printable checklist, and what to do if several of these describe your child.
Before school: ages 3 to 5.
Long before a child reads, dyslexia can show in how they handle the sounds of language. At this age nothing here means a child will struggle, and many late talkers read fine. It is worth noting when several appear together, especially alongside a parent or sibling who found reading hard.
Late to talk, or slow to add new words compared with other children their age.
Trouble learning nursery rhymes, or noticing which words rhyme.
Difficulty remembering the names of letters, colours, or the letters in their own name.
Muddling the sounds in familiar words, saying aminal for animal or pasgetti for spaghetti well past the age most children stop.
Hard time learning the sounds each letter makes, even after lots of exposure.
Kindergarten and first grade: ages 5 to 7.
This is when reading instruction begins and the gap becomes visible. The clearest early sign is trouble connecting letters to their sounds and blending those sounds into words, while classmates start to click.
Struggles to learn or remember which sound goes with which letter.
Cannot blend sounds together to read a simple word like sat, or pull a word apart into its sounds.
Guesses at words from the first letter or the picture instead of sounding them out.
Reads a word on one page and does not recognise it on the next.
Reverses letters like b and d well past age seven, or writes some letters and numbers backwards long after peers stop.
Already avoids reading, calls it boring, or gets upset when asked to read aloud.
Second grade and up: ages 7 and older.
By now most children read with growing ease. A child with dyslexia often reads slowly and effortfully, spells poorly, and works twice as hard for the same result. Because so much effort goes into the words themselves, understanding and remembering what was read can suffer even when the child is bright and listens well.
Reads slowly, word by word, and tires quickly when reading.
Still guesses at or skips small words (the, of, was) and stumbles on longer ones.
Spells the same word different ways in the same piece of writing, or spells far below their speaking vocabulary.
Avoids reading aloud, hides books, or melts down at reading and writing tasks.
Trouble breaking a long word into parts, so multi-syllable words stall them.
Understands a story read to them far better than one they read themselves.
Reading and writing take so long that they cannot finish work others finish easily.
At any age: two things worth knowing.
Family history counts. Dyslexia runs in families. If a parent, sibling or close relative found reading or spelling hard, take early signs more seriously, not less.
It is not about being smart. Dyslexia is unexpected: it shows up in children whose thinking, talking and reasoning are strong. Many are quick, imaginative and verbal, which is exactly why the reading trouble surprises everyone and sometimes gets missed for years.
Print the checklist
Tick what you see, and bring it to a teacher or evaluator. Free, no sign-up. Nothing you tick is saved or sent anywhere.
Before school
Ages 3 to 5
Kindergarten and first grade
Ages 5 to 7
Second grade and up
Ages 7 and older
At any age
Background that raises the odds
There is no pass mark here. A cluster of signs that persists, rather than any single box, is the reason to ask a professional. Trust what you see over any count.
If several of these sound like your child.
First, breathe. Dyslexia is common and it is one of the most teachable of all reading difficulties: with the right kind of structured teaching, children learn to read. The earlier that teaching starts the easier the road, but it is never too late. Two next steps help most.
Ask about an evaluation. An evaluation is how a general worry becomes a clear picture of what is hard and what to do. Our guide walks through how to get your child evaluated, step by step, including who does these evaluations and the questions to ask.
Start the right kind of practice. The teaching that helps is explicit and ordered, sound by sound and pattern by pattern. Read structured literacy, explained, and signs a child is struggling with reading for what you can do starting tonight.
Questions people ask.
At what age can dyslexia be identified?
Early signs can appear in the preschool years, in speech and rhyme. Reading itself is usually assessed once instruction is under way, often from the end of kindergarten through second grade, though dyslexia can be identified earlier when signs are strong, and at any age after. Waiting for a child to fall far behind is not required to ask for help.
Are reversals like b and d a sign of dyslexia?
On their own, no. Reversing b and d, or was and saw, is normal up to around age seven. It becomes worth a closer look when it lasts well past then and appears alongside slow, effortful reading and trouble hearing the sounds in words.
My child is bright. Can they still have dyslexia?
Yes. Dyslexia is unexpected difficulty with reading in a child whose reasoning and language are otherwise strong. It is not related to how intelligent a child is, which is part of why it is so often missed in capable children.
Is this checklist a diagnosis?
No. It is an educational list of signs to help you notice a pattern. Only a qualified professional, through a full evaluation, can identify dyslexia. If several signs describe your child, use the checklist as a reason to ask for that evaluation.
Further reading from public authorities: the International Dyslexia Association, Understood and Reading Rockets all publish signs-by-age information that lines up with the pattern above.
Read next: How to get your child evaluated for dyslexia