What are Adult Dyslexia Symptoms?
Many dyslexia sufferers can actually reach adulthood without truly being aware that they are suffering with the problem.
They might simply put it down to being a slow learner or not really academically minded but it’s important to realise that dyslexia has nothing to do with a lack of intelligence or intellect. Therefore, the sooner you recognise the symptoms, the easier it will be to assess your difficulties and to gain help and support to overcome them.
Writing and Spelling Difficulties
Whilst some people might simply not be very good at writing and spelling, they are only usually troubled by longer and more complex words. If you suffer from dyslexia, however, you can often find that it’s the shorter, more basic words that you’ll often have difficulty with too. For example, some sufferers will tend to spell words exactly as they sound as in ‘nock’ for ‘knock’ whilst other problems including failure to recognise characters so ‘baby’, for example, might be spelt ‘bab’.
Reading Difficulties
Dyslexics can have a very problematic time with reading. A clear sign that you may have a problem with dyslexia is where it can take you ages to read and comprehend even the most basic text.
Maths and Numerical Difficulties
Not only is it often difficult for dyslexia sufferers to work out answers to basic arithmetic questions, they can also get visually confused by the numbers they see on a screen or page. For example, a common mistake is reading or writing the number ‘6’ for the number ‘9’ or putting numbers in the wrong sequence in which they appear. Another symptom of dyslexia is an inability to be able to count backwards as well as forwards.
Comprehension Difficulties
Many dyslexia sufferers will often find it difficult to concentrate and to understand even the most basic of instructions. You may be told something fairly straightforward and asked to repeat it back but will be unable to do so or you may get flummoxed by the sequence of a particular instruction or procedure.Even in general conversation, if you often find that people accuse you of not listening to them when you’re engaged in conversation or find that you respond to them completely ‘off-topic’ then that is another possible symptom.
Directional Difficulties
Another common symptom of dyslexia is a sufferer’s inability to remember their left from their right. Some will even find it difficult to correctly illustrate the difference between up and down. Therefore, people who experience these kinds of problems will often find it difficult to drive and even to navigate their way around a strange place on foot.Obviously, not all dyslexia sufferers are going to display each and every one of these problems. Furthermore, some of the issues mentioned above could sometimes be put down to other reasons such as having other things on your mind at the time.
However, if you can relate to any of the symptoms mentioned above and if you feel they occur regularly, it’s well worth you applying for a dyslexia screening or assessment test as the sooner it’s established if you are suffering from dyslexia, the quicker action can be taken to offer you support and to help you overcome the problem or, at least, teach you how to manage it more effectively.
