What are the symptoms of dyslexia?
Nov 17, 2025
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Zhang Baohua
Introduction
Symptoms of dyslexia are generally manifested in difficulties with word recognition, poor reading fluency, weak reading comprehension, frequent writing and spelling errors, and the presence of auxiliary behaviors during reading. Individuals may struggle to accurately distinguish between similar character shapes—such as confusing "b" with "d" or "p" with "q"—or fail to quickly associate written symbols with their corresponding sounds, often needing to repeatedly verify even familiar words upon seeing them.
Dyslexia can generally manifest in difficulties with word recognition, poor reading fluency, weak reading comprehension, frequent writing and spelling errors, and the use of auxiliary behaviors during reading. A detailed analysis is as follows:
1. Difficulty with word recognition: Individuals may struggle to accurately distinguish between similar character shapes—such as confusing "b" with "d" or "p" with "q"—or fail to quickly associate written symbols with their corresponding sounds. Even familiar words may require repeated verification and cannot be instantly recognized, which affects the speed of initiating reading.
2. Poor reading fluency: Reading is often marked by frequent pauses and disordered phrasing, with common occurrences of skipping words, adding extra words, or repeatedly rereading the same section. The individual cannot read a passage smoothly, speaks significantly slower than peers, and has difficulty adjusting reading pace according to meaning.
3. Weak reading comprehension: Although the person can read the text aloud, they fail to understand its meaning. After reading, they are unable to summarize key points, identify the main idea, or comprehend character relationships. They lack sensitivity to underlying logic and emotional expressions in the text and still struggle to grasp core information even after multiple readings.
4. Frequent writing and spelling errors: Handwriting may appear slanted or poorly structured, with frequent misspellings or incorrect characters—for example, writing “太阳” (sun) as “太日”—omitting strokes, reversing components, or mixing up letter sequences when spelling words. Moreover, individuals often fail to detect these errors independently.
5. Use of auxiliary behaviors during reading: Readers may rely on tools such as fingers or rulers to point at each word sequentially, or need to frequently shake their heads or move their lips silently to progress through text. Without such aids, reading efficiency drops significantly. Some individuals may also experience physical symptoms such as eye strain or headaches.
If children or adults consistently exhibit the above symptoms over a prolonged period, especially when these issues affect learning or work performance, they should seek professional evaluation of their reading abilities promptly. Targeted interventions and training can help improve symptoms effectively.
