Facts About Dyslexia NOT Myths!
Dr. Scott Smith
photo:brainHQ-Posit Science
Myth: Dyslexia doesn’t exist.
- Fact: Dyslexia is one of the most researched and documented conditions that impacts children. It is related to neurophysiological differences in brain functions. Dyslexia is a hereditary condition which can have a frustrating impact on families.
Myth: Dyslexia is related to IQ.
- Fact: Dyslexia is not related to intelligence. Children who are dyslexic often feel dumb which can have negative effects on them for the rest of their lives. Often children with dyslexia have average or above average intelligence and are able to process information quite rapidly.
Myth: Dyslexia is caused by bad parenting, diet, or watching to much TV.
- Fact: Poor parenting and watching to much TV aren’t good for any child, however there is no correlation between them and dyslexia. TV often provides the dyslexic with information they are seeking. Diet and parenting skills have not shown to have any impact on dyslexia but may contribute to other developmental attributes in a child. If a parent or close family member is dyslexic there is a higher probability a child might struggle with dyslexia.
Myth: Dyslexia can be helped with medication.
- Fact: There are NO medications for dyslexia. Many children who struggle with dyslexia often struggle with attention problems such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) which medications can have an impact on. The medications will only address the attention issues and will have no impact on the ability to read, spell, and write.
Myth: Dyslexia is a visual problem.
- Fact: Dyslexia is a language processing disorder within the brain and not a visual issue. A child may have a visual issue which may need attention but with dyslexia the confusion is in the processing of written materials within the brain. Reversals of written letters is not considered a sign of dyslexia. Children often reverse letters or numbers while they are being introduced but with instruction in most cases students who are not dyslexic will overcome the reversals.
Myth: Dyslexia is found in boys more often than girls.
- Fact: Boys and girls are both equally affected by dyslexia. It often appears that boys are more impacted but the research has shown that boys tend to act out their frustrations in class leading to behavior struggles and therefore get screened and diagnosed earlier that girls. Girls who struggle often become more quiet and avoid drawing attention to themselves. Girls often go undiagnosed until high school or college.
Myth: Dyslexics are lazy; they just need to work harder.
- Fact: This perhaps can be the most damaging myth. Research has shown by the use of functional MRIs and brain mapping that slower readers use different parts of their brains when reading and working with language. The findings provide evidence that people with dyslexia are not poorly taught, lazy, or stupid, but have an inborn difference in brain function that has nothing to do with intelligence. The sad irony of this myth is that most dyslexic kids are trying harder than other kids – yet are still falling below the mark. Adding to this unfortunate truth, the accusation of being lazy and has added insult to injury.
Myth: Dyslexia is untreatable.
- Fact: There is no miracle ‘cure’ for dyslexia. It is not a disease that can be treated with a pill. It is a way of thinking, the way the brain is wired, and how it processes information. Research has shown that the brain can actually be rewired to process the written word the same way as ‘good readers’ if the individual is taught with systematic, explicit, sequential phonics taught in a multi-sensory way.
Myth: People outgrow dyslexia eventually.
- Fact: Dyslexics may struggle less with reading and writing than they used to as they get older but dyslexia is never outgrown. Research shows that if a child is struggling with reading, writing, and spelling in mid-first grade, there is a 90% chance that the child will still be struggling in 8th grade and into adulthood. With early intervention, kids with dyslexia can avoid the embarrassment of falling behind their peers. They also learn and progress much more quickly in the younger years. Don’t worry though – it is never too late to learn to read!
Myth: Preschool and primary age children are too young to exhibit characteristics of dyslexia.
- Fact: Dyslexia characteristics can be identified in preschool/primary grade children. Research has proven that children with a dyslexic brain struggle with the processing of language. This is especially true with English speaking children. They had difficulty in storing the language sounds and then being able to reproduce these sounds. One of the first areas of struggle is often with rhyming and hearing the ending part of the words. They will also struggle with being able to hear the sounds within words, as well as segmenting single syllable words into their individual sounds. With explicit instruction they are able to build pathways in the brain and step over that barrier. They will also often struggle with rapid naming. This can be objects or letters. They need to train their brain to focus and learn how to rapid name and then they are able to transfer that skill as well when they begin reading.
Myth: Dyslexia is a learning disability.
- Fact: Dyslexia is a brain processing difference and people with dyslexia can be trained to read. Dyslexia isn’t a learning disability, its a learning difference. Focusing on the inherent strengths of the dyslexic brain instead of labeling the weaknesses that have traditionally been defined in schools is what makes the difference in learning for dyslexic individuals. We know the brain will overcome struggles with the correct accommodations when people are dealing with stroke or brain injuries. Unfairly, some say accommodations for kids with dyslexia are a crutch. On the surface, allowing certain students more time on a test seems unfair. We have learned that students with dyslexia are just as intelligent as their peers, however because of slower processing speeds, they may need more time on tests to be able to reflect what they really know. The difficulties in taking notes can be so profound that students will often miss the entire meaning of a lecture just trying to copy down the pertinent words. Accommodations for dyslexia allow students with dyslexia to perform at their intellectual ability.
- Dyslexia involves a spectrum of processing struggles. All dyslexic people may not struggle from the same set of processing issues. Dyslexia in a child’s school years can be hard for a child to cope with. Without the right interventions, students with dyslexia can struggle with reading, writing, spelling and other subjects without ever realizing that there is a reason for their difficulties. This can lead to feelings of severe inadequacy and anxiety. Parents and teachers, who can clearly see that the dyslexic student is intelligent, often fall into believing myths about struggling students. Often students may master reading and be good readers but may not catch on to spelling patterns, causing them to be poor or struggling spellers. These students may fall on the dyslexic spectrum and can overcome the struggle with explicit linguistic instruction. In many cases, once students gain an understanding of the code used in spelling, they overcome that deficiency.
Myth: Dyslexics just need more time to develop.
- Fact: When children begin to display struggles with reading in kindergarten and first grade providing them more time to develop is often detrimental to their learning. Having a dyslexic student repeat a grade thinking they will understand the reading skill with time if false, actuality it is a sign this student need a different form of instruction to meet their learning needs and develop pathway in the brain. Waiting makes it harder for the child to create those pathways. They can still be created but often with difficulties.
- Dyslexia in the school years can be hard. Without the right interventions, students with dyslexia can struggle with reading, writing, spelling and other subjects without ever realizing that there is a reason for their difficulties. This can lead to feelings of severe inadequacy and anxiety. Parents and teachers, who can clearly see that the dyslexic student is intelligent, often fall into believing these myths about that student. With intensified and explicit instructing during the early school years, students showing the characteristics of dyslexia have a stronger chance of not struggling as a reader and feeling like they are less than their peers.
References/Resources:
Davis, R. D., & Braun, E. M. (2010). The gift of dyslexia: Why some of the smartest people can't read-- and how they can learn
Rayner, K.,Foorman,B,. Perfetti,C.A., Pesetsky, D., Seidenberg, M.S., (2001). How psychological science informs the teaching of reading. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, vol. 2, no. 2, (PDF)
Seidenberg, M., (2017). Language at the speed of sight: How we read, why so many can’t and what can be done about it. Basic Books.
Shaywitz, S. E. (2005). Overcoming dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level. New York: Vintage Books.
