What Is Dyslexia? Symptoms, Signs, and Myths for Kids

When a child learns they have dyslexia, the way it is explained can shape how they understand themselves as a learner. Some parents worry that sharing the diagnosis may lead to labels, fear, or discouragement. Yet when dyslexia is explained in an honest, age-appropriate, and empowering way, it can help children make sense of challenges that may have confused or frustrated them.

In this article, I’ll share ways to help your child understand dyslexia, recognize signs that may feel familiar, and replace common myths with more accurate and hopeful information. You are also welcome to use my kid-friendly graphics to guide the conversation. 

What Are the Benefits of Telling Your Child They Have Dyslexia?

Understanding dyslexia can help children make sense of experiences that may have confused or frustrated them. Instead of wondering why certain tasks feel harder, they can begin to understand how they learn and what kinds of support may help.

Talking openly about dyslexia can help children:

• Replace negative labels with understanding. A child who has wondered whether they are lazy, careless, or not smart enough can begin to see that there are real reasons certain tasks require more time or effort.
• Correct myths and misunderstandings. Learning what dyslexia is—and what it is not—can reduce fear and confusion.
• Recognize their own strengths and challenges. Children can begin to understand what comes naturally, what requires more effort, and which strategies and supports work best for them.
• Develop self-advocacy skills. Understanding their learning needs can help children ask for appropriate instruction, accommodations, and support.
• Feel less alone. Learning about successful people with dyslexia can help children see that dyslexia does not limit what they can accomplish.
• Appreciate their individual strengths. Many people with dyslexia show strengths in areas such as verbal communication, creativity, big-picture thinking, problem-solving, building, design, or other forms of reasoning.

When children understand their dyslexia, the diagnosis can become more than a label. It can become a tool for self-understanding—one that helps them recognize what they need, advocate for themselves, and approach learning with greater confidence.

Help Your Child Recognize the Signs of Dyslexia

Learning about dyslexia can help children make sense of challenges that may have confused or frustrated them. Review the signs below together and invite your child to notice which ones feel familiar. You might ask, “Does this ever happen to you?” or “Which of these sounds most like your experience?” You may:

• Mix up similar letters, such as b and d, or words such as was and saw.
• Find reading aloud difficult or uncomfortable.
• Struggle with math word problems, even when you understand the math.
• Have trouble understanding jokes, sarcasm, inferences, or information that is not stated directly.
• Find it difficult to follow a series of written or spoken directions.
• Mispronounce words or have trouble remembering how to say them.
• Find rhyming words difficult.
• Confuse directions such as left and right.
• Know a word or name but have trouble retrieving it quickly.
• Find spelling difficult or inconsistent.
• Have struggled to learn how to read or find that reading still takes extra effort.

The goal is not for your child to identify with every sign. Dyslexia looks different from one person to another. Instead, this conversation can help your child recognize their own experiences and begin to understand that there are reasons some tasks may feel more difficult.

What are the Four Myths and Truths about Dyslexia?

Show your child the graphic below and read the list of myths and truths out loud. Ask them to respond to each of the myths - "Have you ever felt this way?" Then read the truth and address any questions.
Myth #1: People with dyslexia are not smart.
Truth #1: Many dyslexic individuals are extremely bright and creative. In fact, many kids with dyslexia are gifted. Watch a video on famous people with dyslexia: Click Here
Myth #2: People with dyslexia

cannot learn to read or write.
Truth #2: With the right intervention and instruction, people with dyslexia can become excellent readers and writers.

Myth #3: People with dyslexia see things backwards.
Truth #3: Dyslexia is not a vision problem. It has to do with how the brain makes sense of what is seen. Click here to learn more about visual processing.

Myth #4: People with dyslexia are lazy and should try harder.
Truth #4: Kids with dyslexia learn differently. When they are asked to learn in a way that does not work well for them, it can take more time.

Finding Multisensory Tools for Kids with Dyslexia

The right tools can make learning more accessible, engaging, and successful for children with dyslexia. Multisensory activities combine different ways of processing information—such as seeing, hearing, touching, moving, and verbalizing—to help learners build skills through multiple pathways.

If you are looking for additional support:

• Explore Dyslexia Resources – Discover engaging, multisensory lessons, games, and activities designed to support learners with dyslexia.
• Download the Free Dyslexia Graphics – Use the kid-friendly signs, myths, and truths from this article to help explain dyslexia and guide conversations.
• Try Free Sample Activities – Explore activities that can help strengthen skills often involved in reading and learning.

Are You Unsure Where to Begin?

Dyslexia does not look the same in every learner. One child may struggle primarily with sound-based language skills, while another may have difficulty with visual processing, rapid naming, memory, or a combination of underlying cognitive challenges. This is why a strategy that works beautifully for one learner may not be effective for another.

The key is to move beyond the label of dyslexia and understand the individual learner. Identifying a student’s unique pattern of strengths and challenges can help parents, educators, and therapists choose interventions that are more targeted and meaningful.

Three commonly discussed patterns include auditory/phonological, visual/perceptual, and rapid automatic naming difficulties, but many learners have overlapping challenges. Understanding the individual profile can provide a clearer starting point for support.

Continue Your Journey

Understanding dyslexia is an important first step. From there, the right resources can help you explore a learner’s needs, strengthen underlying skills, and provide more targeted support.

If you would like to continue exploring, these resources can help:

• Dyslexia Type Remedial Assessment (DLTRA) – Explore a learner’s unique pattern of dyslexia-related strengths and challenges and receive targeted recommendations for support.
• Dyslexia Resources – Discover multisensory lessons, activities, and tools designed specifically for learners with dyslexia.
• Reading & Spelling Resources – Strengthen foundational literacy skills through engaging, multisensory instruction.
• Cognitive Remedial Resources – Target underlying cognitive and processing skills that can affect reading and learning.