7 Signs That Your Child’s Reading Struggles May Be Dyslexia (Not Laziness)

Parents often reach out to us feeling worried, confused, and emotionally exhausted. After months—or even years—of watching their child struggle with reading, spelling, and schoolwork, many wonder the same thing:

“Will my child eventually catch onto these skills in their own time?… or could it be something more?”

Reading is a foundational skill. We rely on it to learn nearly every other subject in school and to become independent learners. When children struggle with reading, it’s easy for gaps to grow quickly — especially as academic demands increase.

Around third grade, students are expected to shift from learning to read to reading to learn. Unfortunately, the curriculum does not slow down when a child is struggling. Without targeted support, many students begin to fall further behind each year.

This is why it’s so important to recognize early red flags that may point to dyslexia or another specific learning disability in reading.

Dyslexia is not a lack of intelligence or effort. In fact, many dyslexic children are:

• Bright and curious

• Creative problem-solvers

• Verbally strong communicators

• Average to above-average in IQ

What they struggle with is how the brain processes written language.

Signs That Your Child’s Reading Struggles May Be Dyslexia

Here are 7 common signs that your child's reading struggles may be dyslexia or a specific learning disability in reading. If you find that your child has some of these tendencies, feel free to schedule a call with us. No pressure, or commitment- just a conversation to talk through your concerns and possible solutions.

1. Reading Is Slow, Choppy, or Exhausting

Your child may read accurately one day and struggle the next. Reading often requires intense concentration and leaves them mentally drained.

2. Strong Oral (Spoken) Skills, Weak Written Skills

Many dyslexic children have excellent vocabulary and storytelling abilities but struggle to decode (sound out) and encode (spell) words on the page.

3. Difficulty With Phonics and Sound Patterns

Despite repeated instruction, phonics “doesn’t stick.” For many kids with dyslexia, blending sounds, recognizing letter patterns, and spelling remain hard.

4. Guessing Words Instead of Sounding Them Out

Children may rely on context clues or pictures because decoding feels too difficult. Unfortunately, some schools still use this teaching practice which leads to uncertainty and bad reading habits... but that's a blog for another day.

5. Poor Spelling That Doesn’t Match Reading Level

Spelling errors may seem random and inconsistent—even for words they’ve practiced and seemed to know before. This can also include difficulty writing complete sentences.

6. Avoidance, Frustration, Anxiety or Low Confidence

Emotional signs often appear first: tears during homework, avoidance of reading, or saying “I’m bad at school" or "I'can't read".

7. Progress Stalls Despite Extra Help

If school-based intervention or general tutoring hasn’t helped, it may be because your child needs structured literacy, not more practice.

What Should you Do?

If you’ve made it this far, you’re already taking an important step — seeking information and asking questions.

Here’s what we recommend:

Talk With Your Child’s Teacher

Ask specific questions like:

• How is my child performing compared to grade level norms?

• What reading skills are most difficult for them?

• What interventions have already been tried?

• Are progress data being collected?

It's also a great idea to put any request for documentation in writing.

Pay Attention to Patterns, Not Just Grades

Many dyslexic students “fly under the radar,” especially if they are well-behaved or have strong verbal skills. Grades alone don’t always reflect reading difficulty.

Make sure to pay attention to:

• Homework time and emotional response

• Avoidance behaviors

• Fatigue after reading

• Inconsistent performance

Consider a Formal Evaluation or Screening

A comprehensive evaluation or structured literacy screener can help identify:

• Phonological processing weaknesses

• Decoding and encoding gaps

• Underlying dyslexia indicators

This information is critical for determining the right kind of intervention. At Hammond Bell, we offer a free screener when our students start lessons. Feel free to reach out directly if you'd like more information about this.

Check out one of our past blogs that covers testing and screening.

Seek Evidence-Based Intervention

Not all tutoring is created equal. Dyslexic learners need instruction that is:

• Explicit

• Systematic

• Multisensory

• Diagnostic and individualized

Without this, students often work harder without making lasting progress.

What Helps Dyslexic Readers

Decades of research show that dyslexic students benefit most from structured literacy instruction, such as Orton-Gillingham–based tutoring.

This approach:

• Teaches phonics in a clear, logical sequence

• Uses visual, auditory, and hands-on strategies

• Builds skills cumulatively and to mastery

• Targets the root cause of reading difficulty

It is not about “more reading.”It’s about teaching reading differently.

You’re Not Too Late

Early identification helps—but it’s never too late to intervene effectively. Now that you're aware of the signs that your child’s reading struggles may be dyslexia, we hope that you feel empowered to take the next steps in helping them succeed.

If you’re wondering whether dyslexia tutoring could help your child, we’re always happy to talk through your concerns and answer questions. No pressure, no prep needed- just a call to see how we can help!