Dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty in reading for an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader. Dyslexia takes away an individual’s ability to read quickly and automatically, and to retrieve spoken words easily, but it does not dampen their creativity and ingenuity. It is most commonly due to a difficulty in phonological processing (the appreciation of the individual sounds of spoken language), which affects the ability of an individual to speak, read, spell and, often, learn a second language.

Dyslexia affects 20 percent of the population and represents 80–90 percent of all those with learning disabilities. It is the most common of all neuro-cognitive disorders.

Some of the brightest children struggle to read. Dyslexia occurs at all levels of intelligence—average, above average and highly gifted. Many gifted people at the top of their fields are dyslexic. While people with dyslexia are slow readers, they often are very fast and creative thinkers.

Most children and adults with dyslexia can learn to read—but with more effort than their peers. The typical child can learn to read “fluently,” meaning that reading is automatic, fast and pleasurable. By contrast, many dyslexic children remain “manual” readers who read slowly and with great effort. Early intervention is the key to helping students stay at or near grade level.

Dyslexia can’t be “cured”—it is lifelong. But with early screening, early diagnosis, early evidence-based reading intervention and appropriate accommodations, dyslexic individuals can become highly successful students and adults.

This is unfortunately a myth that seems to have nine lives. Many young children reverse letters when learning to write, regardless of whether or not they have dyslexia. In fact, most children with dyslexia do not reverse letters.

Dyslexia is a highly heritable condition, meaning if one person in your family has it, chances are someone else in the family likely has it as well. While Dyslexia has been a known condition for over 100 years, many individuals have struggled with reading their whole lives without ever receiving a diagnosis. These are bright and creative individuals, have come up with coping mechanisms to help them get through life. While DNA is being studied to see if there are genes specifically related to dyslexia, none have been solidly identified, more study is needed.

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Books

• Overcoming Dyslexia 2^nd edition- Sally Shaywitz
• The Dyslexic Advantage- Brock I. Eide
• Smart But Scattered- Peg Dawson, Richard Guare

Children’s books

• Fish in a Tree- Lynda Hunt
• Extraordinary People Made by Dyslexia- Kate Griggs
• Hacking the Code: The Ziggety Zaggety Road of a Dyslexic Kid- Gea Meijering
• How to Teach a Troll to Read- Kelly Stuckey

Websites

• The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity
• Colorado Springs Children’s Hospital