Signs of dyslexia (adult)

Everyone's experience of dyslexia will be individual to them but there are common indicators. A cluster of these indicators alongside abilities in other areas could suggest dyslexia, and should be investigated further.

Do you:

• Confuse visually similar words such as cat and cot
• Spell erratically
• Find it hard to scan or skim text
• Read/write slowly
• Need to re-read paragraphs to understand them
• Find it hard to listen and maintain focus
• Find it hard to concentrate if there are distractions
• Feel sensations of mental overload/switching off
• Have difficulty telling left from right
• Get confused when given several instructions at once
• Have difficulty organising thoughts on paper
• Often forget conversations or important dates
• Have difficulty with personal organisation, time management and prioritising tasks
• Avoid certain types of work or study
• Find some tasks really easy but unexpectedly challenged by others
• Have poor self-esteem, especially if dyslexic difficulties have not been identified in earlier life

If you feel this reflects you, you can get an indication if you may be dyslexic from our adult dyslexia checklist and/or a dyslexia screener. These are not a diagnostic tool but can also be used to indicate whether further investigations should take place.

If a checklist and/or screener indicates you are likely to be dyslexic, a formal Diagnostic Assessment is the only way to confirm whether or not the difficulties you encounter are due to dyslexia. A formal diagnosis will, in turn, help you to get the right support within the education system, and in the workplace. Find out more on the BDA Assessments webpage.