Dyslexia Checklist – Secondary

Instructions for use

This checklist should be used to gather information and as a first step in identifying the needs of pupils who are achieving below the expected level in the classroom and to inform planning.

It is not a diagnostic tool and using it does NOT equate to an ‘assessment’.
Use of the checklist should always be followed by the appropriate recommendations and steps.

Health and Wellbeing

Areas that may be affected	Yes	No
Lacks confidence – avoids reading; is very reluctant/unwilling to participate in reading activities and/or to read aloud
Work avoidance tactics
Gives up easily/loses interest
Does not appear to enjoy engaging with age-appropriate books/text independently
Change in behavior when involved in literacy tasks
May appear reluctant to write; dislikes or avoids writing activities
Family history of similar difficulties
Low self-esteem
Aggressive or non-compliant behaviour

Not all areas may be applicable to each learner and some factors are less persistent as the learner develops some strategies.

Processing of language-based information (auditory and/or visual)

Areas that may be affected	Yes	No
Appears to have difficulty processing verbal questions
Word finding difficulties often persist. On occasions, the learner may use the wrong word
Difficulties in following a sequence of instructions
Appears to misunderstand/misinterpret information provided/shared/discussed
Difficulty talking about experiences and events in a logical order
Difficulties in recognizing the relationships between onset and rime – c/at and b/at; m/at and s/at
Confusion of similar sounding letters – d/t; f/v/th; short vowels
Consistent confusion of letters and numbers similar in shape: b/d, /p/q; u/n/m/w, 2/5 , 6/9
Inconsistent use of upper- and lower-case letters
Misreads or reverses words which are visually similar – ‘was’ for ‘saw’, ‘god’ for ‘dog’
Regular reversal of words – ‘was’ for ‘saw’, ‘god’ for ‘dog’ in writing
Difficulty copying
Problem with note taking
Persistent difficulty with spelling
Spelling may be bizarre and hard to decipher or phonetically accurate but misspelt
Difficulty coping with the amount of reading required
Difficulty in recognizing familiar words which have been read earlier in the passage
Slow writing speed; often does not complete written work; produces the bare minimum

Phonological Awareness

Areas that may be affected	Yes	No
Difficulty with keeping a simple rhythm e.g., clapping to the beat
Difficulty with identifying and or generating rhyme
Difficulty isolating words when listening to a sentence being spoken
Difficulty with recognizing alliteration
Difficulty identifying where a specific sound is heard in an orally delivered word
Difficulty manipulating sounds in words and sentences

Oral language skills and reading fluency - Oral language

Areas that may be affected	Yes	No
Verbal communication due to history of speech and language difficulties
Articulation unclear
May often use the wrong word
Expresses good ideas orally, but in writing may use simple sentence structure and/or ‘safe’/immature vocabulary
Word finding difficulties

Oral language skills and reading fluency - Reading fluency

Areas that may be affected	Yes	No
On-going difficulty with acquiring phonic skills - identifying/linking sounds to letters, blending letter sounds and syllables to decode words
Difficulty in associating letters and sounds
Visual confusion over small words
May make random guesses at words, using initial letter cues
Tends to lose the place; omits words, skips lines; may experience problems with tracking text along a line from left to right
Substitutes or inserts words when reading
Slow reading speed - lacks fluency – reading is hesitant; ‘sounds out’ each word aloud; reads word-by-word – may read without understanding
Difficulty in recognizing high-frequency irregular words (sight vocabulary)
Disregards punctuation; reads without expression
Relies on context and/or picture cues to help with unfamiliar words and aid comprehension
Poor comprehension due to lack of fluency; difficulty with summarizing events or identifying the main points
Needs to re-read several times to aid comprehension
Does not appear to enjoy engaging with age-appropriate books/text independently
Difficulties with the consolidation of previous words learnt

Short-term and working memory

Areas that may be affected	Yes	No
Appears to forget information previously learnt
Difficulty remembering subject specific vocabulary
Problem recalling facts
Problem recalling/following instructions
Confusion over using full stops and capital letters
Difficulty remembering sequential information e.g numbers, times tables, science procedures, historical facts
Experiences significant problems in writing when having to think about content, organization, spelling, punctuation and handwriting simultaneously
Inconsistent/inappropriate use of or lack of punctuation
Copying from the board and/or books is inaccurate and/or laborious
Inconsistent /inappropriate use of upper- and lower-case letters when writing
Grammatical sentence structure in writing is weak or confused
Inconsistent spelling – a word may be spelled in several different ways in the same piece of writing
Has difficulty remembering spelling of common irregular words e.g. said, they, with
Difficulties in remembering equations

Sequencing and directionality

Areas that may be affected	Yes	No
May have difficulty following the sequence of a story
Has difficulty retelling a story in a logical sequence
Expression of ideas, feelings and thoughts may be disorganized and poorly sequenced
Has difficulty in following the reading and writing direction of left to right and top to bottom
Misses out words or phrases in sentences
Tends to recall events out of sequence; thoughts/ideas may not be logically ordered
Difficulty with word order/sequencing of events in writing

Number skills

Areas that may be affected	Yes	No
Difficulty in understanding relationships between initial number bonds
Difficulties learning specific number language, symbols and procedures
Problems learning number facts and procedures
Difficulty remembering a sequence of numbers
Slow at computing (due to pace of processing)
Difficulty in understanding the concept of time

Organizational ability

Areas that may be affected	Yes	No
Difficulty remembering where things are in the classroom and home
Difficulty organizing things needed for activities for which they are responsible
Organizational difficulties, remembering homework, equipment, etc
Difficulties in carrying out some everyday routines
Difficulty with planning, structure and organisation of written work
Difficulty in remembering school and exam timetables
Difficulties with time management
Poor concept of time

Motor skills and co-ordination

Areas that may be affected	Yes	No
Difficulty in forming letters and numbers correctly and legibly
Difficulty and/or extreme tenseness in holding pencil
Difficulties using the keyboard, tablet or mouse
Reluctance to participate in PE
Gross motor coordination difficulties e.g., star jumps, catching, throwing, balance
Fine motor coordination difficulties e.g., handwriting
Tenseness in holding pencil or pen
Difficulties producing clear, legible handwriting
Sometimes writing is unreadable to the learner just a few minutes after completion
Poor spatial awareness on a page – placement on page, writing on lines, rows of sums, spaces between letters and numbers
Poor spatial awareness
Starting a sequence of actions and forgetting where they got to in the sequence
Difficulty with spacing between words
Difficulty finding way around school/campus

Strengths	Yes	No
Has good verbal skills – likes to talk or tell stories
Good critical and reasoning skills
Is good in drawing or painting or sketching
Capacity to perceive information 3-dimensionally
Is good with her/his hands, for e.g., fixing or repairing things, like to work with tools, etc?
Is always full of ideas about various things
Is creative
Has good imagination
Has good interpersonal skills
Has good visual memory
Has a high sense of curiosity and wants to know about things
Has good general knowledge
Has good sports/drama/dance skills
Is intuitive

Additional Comments

Dyslexia Checklist – Secondary

Instructions for use

Address

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