Supporting a Late Dyslexia Diagnosis

High school brings a unique mix of academic challenges and increasing independence. In an effort towards greater independence, many schools shift communication away from parents and directly to the student. While this change encourages self-advocacy, it can also make it harder for parents to spot when something isn’t going well. In this article, we’ll explore the key signs that your teen may be struggling in school, what types of support they might need, and how you can take action to ensure they get the help they need to be successful in high school, college, and beyond.

Have a Conversation with Your Teen

Start by having a conversation with your child and ask probing questions like:

• Do you sometimes read something but have no idea what you just read?
• Does it take you significantly longer to finish assignments compared to your peers?
• Do you ever mix up words that look similar?
• Do you often struggle with spelling when you don’t have spell-check?
• Is it hard to follow multi-step instructions, especially when they’re spoken?
• Do you feel like your grades don’t reflect how hard you work or how well you understand the material?

If your teen answers “yes” to many of these questions, there may be an underlying reading challenge—possibly dyslexia. In that case, an educational evaluation can help identify what’s going on and guide next steps. If dyslexia is confirmed, it’s important to understand that older students often have different needs than younger children with dyslexia. In the next section, we’ll explore what sets their experience apart—and how you can support them effectively moving forward.

Understanding How to Support a Late Dyslexia Diagnosis

“Unlearning” Tactics

On the one hand, older students have often developed sophisticated coping mechanisms to mask core issues. That means they might have to “unlearn” tactics before they can learn effective skills. Working with a Reading or Educational Therapist who can go beneath these coping mechanisms is essential. An analogy that I like to use with older students is to compare their foundational skills to Swiss cheese. There are holes in the foundational skills that need to be identified and filled. But how can they be uncovered without eliciting the dreaded teenage eye-roll? Many older students have strong sight word knowledge but may not be aware of ways to properly divide multisyllabic words. For this reason, a more circuitous route might yield more information. Does the student recognize all the letter(s) that can make a sound? For example, does the student know the (s) sound can be made by s, ss, se, and ce? If not, then a Reading or Educational Therapist can teach when to use the different rules. 

Morphology

Additionally, high school requires a more advanced level of word knowledge. Students encounter increasingly complex vocabulary, often rooted in Latin and Greek. Morphology offers a logical way to unlock the meaning of words and improve spelling. While a younger student might learn a word as a sight word, an older student benefits from breaking the word down into prefixes, roots, and suffixes. Consider the word “invisible.” Teaching that the prefix ‘in-‘ means not, the root ‘vis’ means to see, and the suffix-’ible’ means to be, provides lasting information that is transferable. Suddenly, the student realizes that ‘invisible’ means “not able to be seen” and they can apply this understanding to the words ‘vision,’ ‘visual,’ ‘revise,’ or ‘supervise.’ Morphology transforms words into puzzles that can be assembled or taken apart. Learn more about How Morphology is Essential for Supporting Dyslexia.

Fluency Practice

Another area in which older students can benefit from is fluency practice. Reading speed, accuracy, and expression need to be looked at separately. Let’s start with accuracy. It’s important because misreading more than 2% of words negatively impacts comprehension. It might seem obvious, but the goal of reading is to understand what is read. Unfortunately, many students glance at a word and don’t really read it. They’ll substitute a word that looks similar but may not make sense. It’s important to stop the student and have them read the word accurately, even if that means decoding the word syllable-by-syllable. If that step breaks the train of thought, the student needs to reread the sentence. Only once students are reading the words accurately can they move on to increasing their rate. Time and time again, I need to stress that reading is not about being fast. Yes, there is a minimum rate that must be achieved for comprehension to occur, but too often students rush through a passage, skipping the punctuation as a guide of when to pause. They are so focused on getting to the end that they miss what they are reading. Perhaps the most difficult part of fluency is finding a passage that is just right for the student. If you use something designed for a younger audience, you’ll quickly notice that your student shuts down. Magazine articles on popular culture can work well. Most older students know who Kim Kardashian is, and will not struggle to read the name (even if it has 4 syllables). 

Self-Advocacy

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, teaching self-advocacy is critical for older students. High schoolers are transitioning to greater independence. Empowering them to articulate their learning needs is essential. An experienced therapist will help students recognize their strengths, understand why certain strategies work for them, and model ways to ask for support. By teaching students to advocate for themselves, they will be equipped with a skill that will serve them throughout life. 

Supporting older students with a late dyslexia diagnosis isn’t just about fixing reading problems; it’s about validating their struggles, building their foundational skills through targeted instruction, and empowering them to become confident, self-aware advocates. If you’re a parent of a high schooler who’s still struggling, know that there’s hope and highly effective support is available. Learn more about how we support literary skills for teens and beyond.

Written by Tracy Young, MBA, CALT