This is not a diagnostic tool
Only a qualified educational psychologist or specialist assessor can diagnose dyslexia. This article exists to help you notice patterns worth raising with your child's teacher or a professional — not to replace that assessment.
Most early reading struggles are normal developmental variation, not dyslexia. But a specific cluster of signs — especially together, and especially persisting despite good, consistent practice — is worth a professional look rather than waiting it out.
Signs worth a closer look (as a cluster, not in isolation)
- Persistent difficulty with rhyming games, well past when peers pick it up
- Trouble remembering letter-sound links despite lots of repeated, correctly-paced exposure
- B/d or p/q confusion that persists strongly past age 7-8
- Strong spoken vocabulary and ideas, but a much harder time getting those ideas into decoded text
- A close family member (parent, sibling) with dyslexia
- Slow, effortful decoding that doesn't speed up with consistent practice the way it does for peers
What's usually NOT a concern on its own
Normal variation, not a red flag alone
occasional b/d mix-up before age 7a slower start that steadily improvesone tricky sound taking longer than othersneeding more repetition than a sibling did
What to actually do if you're concerned
- Start with the teacher. They see your child's progress against a wide baseline of peers and can flag patterns you might not have context for.
- Ask about school-based screening. Many schools can run an initial screening before a full external assessment is needed.
- Request a referral if concerns continue. An educational psychologist or specialist reading assessor is the only route to an actual diagnosis.
Whether or not dyslexia turns out to be part of the picture, our guide for struggling readers and multisensory phonics activities both offer approaches that help broadly, not just for one specific cause.