| Pre-K to Grade 1 |
- Curiosity
- A great imagination
- Creative
- Eager to embrace new ideas
- Maturity beyond their years
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General
- Has a family history of reading/spelling difficulties
- Confuses left and right; delay in hand dominance
- Has trouble reciting the alphabet, numbers, days of the week, or other sequences
- Has trouble learning common nursery rhymes such as “Jack and Jill”
- Has difficulty recognizing rhyming patterns (cat, bat, rat)
Speaking
- Is late learning to talk
- Mispronounces words by mixing up sounds (mawn lower)
- Has trouble naming letters, matching letters to sounds, or blending sounds
- Confuses names or pronunciations of letters with similar sounds (p/b; z/s; v/f; d/t)
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| Grades 1 to 3 |
- The ability to solve practical problems
- Strong listening comprehension
- Easily understands new concepts
- Large oral vocabulary for his/her age
- Enjoyment in solving puzzles
- Talent at building models
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General
- Lacks fast, effortless recognition of numbers and simple math facts
Speaking
- Mispronounces words by mixing up sounds (cinnamon for synonym)
- Has difficulty breaking spoken words apart into sounds or syllables
Reading/Spelling
- Has difficulty sounding out simple words (cat, map, nap)
- Complains about how hard reading or spelling is, or avoids reading
- Has trouble reading/spelling sounds in sequence (left for felt)
- Reading is inaccurate, slow, and/or is not automatic
- Spells words incorrectly, even common high frequency words (was, were, then)
- Relies on pictures or memorization when reading
- Confuses similar-looking letters and words (b/d, p/q, was/saw)
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| Grades 3 to 6 |
- Large vocabulary for his/her age
- Strong comprehension of stories read/told to him
- Strong thinking skills: conceptualization, reasoning, imagination, abstraction
- Ability to get the “big picture”
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General
- Has trouble recalling dates, names, telephone numbers, random lists, math facts
- Has low self-esteem or anxiety
Speaking
- Confuses words that sound alike (tornado for volcano, lotion for ocean)
- Uses imprecise language (stuff, things)
- Oral language abilities much higher than writing skills
Reading/Spelling
- Reading is slow, inaccurate, or halting/choppy
- Has trouble reading unfamiliar words; difficulty sounding out multisyllabic words
- Lacks strategies for sounding out new words
- Avoids reading aloud
- Has poor spelling and/or handwriting
- Spells words the way they sound, rather than the way they look
- Avoids reading and writing tasks; strongly prefers word processing
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| Grades 6 to 9 |
- A high level of understanding of what is read aloud
- A sophisticated spoken vocabulary
- Strong in areas not dependent on reading, such as math, computers, and visual arts
- Strong in conceptual subjects, such as philosophy, science, social studies, and creative writing
- Exceptional empathy and warmth, emotional intelligence
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General
- Has trouble finishing tests on time
- Has difficulty learning a foreign language or reading music
- Has low self-esteem or anxiety
- Has to study more than peers
Speaking
- Pauses or hesitates when speaking, using um and like repeatedly
- Mispronounces multisyllabic, unfamiliar, or complicated words
- Uses imprecise language, for example, stuff, things
- Seems to need extra time to respond to questions
- Oral language abilities much higher than writing skills
Reading/spelling
- Reading and writing are slower than peers
- Needs to reread for meaning
- May answer higher-level questions about text but miss easier, literal questions
- Avoids writing; compositions are brief and simplistic
- Poor spelling and/or handwriting
- Suffers fatigue when reading; avoids reading
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| Grades 9 to 12 & Beyond |
- Successful when focused on a highly specialized content area
- Excellence in writing if content is the focus and spelling is not important
- Exceptional empathy and warmth, emotional intelligence
- Success in areas not dependent on rote memory
- Talent for high-level conceptualization and original insights
- Big-picture thinking
- Inclination to think outside of the box
- Noticeable resilience and ability to adapt
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General
- Has low self-esteem or anxiety
- Knowledge not reflected in standardized test scores
- Has to study more than peers
Speaking
- Not fluent, often anxious while speaking
- Pauses or hesitates when speaking, using um and like repeatedly
- Uses imprecise language, for example, stuff, things
- Struggles to retrieve words (“tip of my tongue” moments)
- Often pronounces names incorrectly; trips over parts of words; avoids saying words that might be mispronounced
- Has difficulty remembering names of people and places; confuses names that sound alike
- Struggles when put on the spot in conversations or writing
- Spoken vocabulary is smaller than listening vocabulary
Reading/spelling
- Reading requires great effort and at a slow pace
- Rarely reads for pleasure
- Avoids reading aloud
- Avoids writing; handwritten compositions are brief and simplistic
- Word processed compositions can be disorganized and lack cohesion
- Has poor spelling and/or handwriting
- Has difficulty determining the correct spelling of words, even when using a spell checker while word processing
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