37 Common Characteristics of Dyslexia, ©1992 by Ronald D. Davis. Used with permission.

General
• Appears bright, highly intelligent, and articulate but unable to read, write, or   spell at grade level.
• Labelled lazy, dumb, careless, immature, "not trying hard enough," or   "behaviour problem."
• Isn't "behind enough" or "bad enough" to be helped in the school setting.
• High in IQ, yet may not test well academically; tests well orally, but not written.
• Feels dumb; has poor self-esteem; hides or covers up weaknesses with   ingenious compensatory strategies; easily frustrated and emotional about   school reading or testing.
• Talented in art, drama, music, sports, mechanics, story-telling, sales,   business, designing, building, or engineering.
• Seems to "Zone out" or daydream often; gets lost easily or loses track of time.
• Difficulty sustaining attention; seems "hyper" or "daydreamer."
• Learns best through hands-on experience, demonstrations, experimentation,   observation, and visual aids.

Vision, Reading, and Spelling
• Complains of dizziness, headaches or stomach aches while reading.
• Confused by letters, numbers, words, sequences, or verbal explanations.
• Reading or writing shows repetitions, additions, transpositions, omissions,   substitutions, and reversals in letters, numbers and/or words.
• Complains of feeling or seeing non-existent movement while reading, writing,   or copying.
• Seems to have difficulty with vision, yet eye exams don't reveal a problem.
• Extremely keen sighted and observant, or lacks
• Depth perception and peripheral vision.
• Reads and rereads with little comprehension.
• Spells phonetically and inconsistently.