Family History

Early Childhood

• Difficulty learning to talk and incorrectly pronouncing words

• Difficulty following directions and sequencing

• Difficulty retrieving names of things like letters of the alphabet

• Difficulty with time management and organization

Preschool through 1^st grade

• History of a speech and language impairment (remediated or persistent)

• Trouble learning common nursery rhymes

• Difficulty learning & remembering names of the letters in the alphabet (Alphabet song)

• Seems to be unable to recognize letters in his/her own name

• Mispronounces familiar words; persistent “baby talk”

• Doesn’t recognize rhyming patterns

• Reading errors that show no connection to the sounds of the letters on the page

  • Will read “puppy” instead of “dog” because in the illustration there is a dog.

• Does not associate letters with sounds

2^nd grade & Beyond

• Slow in acquiring reading skills. Reading is slow and awkward.

• Doesn’t have a strategy for reading new words.

• Trouble reading unfamiliar words, often making wild guesses

• Avoids reading out loud

• Needs extra time to respond to questions

• Searches for a specific word and ends up using vague language such “stuff” or “thing”

• Pauses, hesitates, and/or uses lots of “umms” when speaking

• Confuses words that sound alike “tornado” for “volcano”, “lotion” for “ocean”

• Mispronunciation of long, unfamiliar, or complicated words

• Messy handwriting