If the following behaviors are unexpected for an individual’s age, educational level, or cognitive abilities,they may be risk factors associated with dyslexia. A student with dyslexia usually exhibits several of these behaviors that persist over time and interfere with his/her learning. A family history of dyslexia may be present; in fact, recent studies reveal that the whole spectrum of reading disabilities is strongly determined by genetic predispositions (inherited aptitudes) (Olson, Keenan, Byrne, & Samuelsson,2014).

•  Delay in learning to talk

•  Difficulty with rhyming

•  Difficulty pronouncing words (e.g., “pusgetti” for “spaghetti,” “mawn lower” for “lawn mower”)

•  Poor auditory memory for nursery rhymes and chants

•  Difficulty in adding new vocabulary words

•  Inability to recall the right word (word retrieval)

•  Trouble learning and naming letters and numbers and remembering the letters in his/her name

•  Aversion to print (e.g., doesn’t enjoy following along if book is read aloud)

•  Difficulty breaking words into smaller parts or syllables (e.g., “baseball” can be pulled apart into “base” “ball” or “napkin” can be pulled apart into “nap” “kin”)

•  Difficulty identifying and manipulating sounds in syllables (e.g., “man” sounded out as /m//a//n/

•  Difficulty remembering the names of letters and recalling their corresponding sounds

•  Difficulty decoding single words (reading single words in isolation)

•  Difficulty spelling words the way they sound (phonetically) or remembering letter sequences in very common words seen often in print ( e.g., “sed” for “said”)

Many of the previously described behaviors remain problematic along with the following:

•  Difficulty recognizing common sight words (e.g., “to,” “said,” “been”)

•  Difficulty decoding single words

•  Difficulty recalling the correct sounds for letters and letter patterns in reading

•  Difficulty connecting speech sounds with appropriate letter or letter combinations and omitting letters in words for spelling (e.g., “after” spelled “eftr”)

•  Difficulty reading fluently (e.g., slow, inaccurate, and/or without expression)

•  Difficulty decoding unfamiliar words in sentences using knowledge of phonics

•  Reliance on picture clues, story theme, or guessing at words

•  Difficulty with written expression

Many of the previously described behaviors remain problematic, along with the following:

•  Difficulty reading aloud (e.g., fear of reading aloud in front of classmates)

•  Avoidance of reading (e.g., particularly for pleasure)

•  Acquisition of less vocabulary due to reduced independent reading

•  Use of less complicated words in writing that are easier to spell than more appropriate words (e.g., “big” instead of “enormous”)

•  Reliance on listening rather than reading for comprehension

Many of the previously described behaviors remain problematic, along with the following:

•  Difficulty with the volume of reading and written work

•  Frustration with the amount of time required and energy expended for reading

•  Difficulty with written assignments

•  Tendency to avoid reading (particularly for pleasure)

•  Difficulty learning a foreign language