Dyslexia Myths

Dyslexia is a word most people have heard of, but unless the person knows someone who is dyslexic, they really cannot tell you much about it. This lack of understanding leads to myths and misconceptions. These range all the way, from “it does not exist” to “there is no cure.” Let us look at some of the more common myths and the corresponding facts about dyslexia.

Many people believe that dyslexia does not exist or it is very rare. This is a myth. Scientists have been aware of dyslexia as far back as the 1800s, and even then some believed that it was somehow related to the brain. In the United States, NIH research has shown that dyslexia affects 5-10% of the population, with estimates as high as 17% (Debunking the Myths about Dyslexia).

There is a lot of confusion over who is and who is not dyslexic, but there are other reasons children may struggle with reading. Even though dyslexia is the major reason for reading issues, there are some children that have fluency or comprehension problems. These can be caused by various factors, but these children do not have problems with the phonological component of language. Many people also think if a child reverses letters or sees words backwards, they are dyslexic. This phenomenon has nothing to do with dyslexia. It is quite normal for all children in the first two years of school to reverse letters or see words backwards. Most of these children will correct this issue after the second year in school. If it continues after that, it could indicate a learning disability and should be investigated. So what are the signs that do indicate that a child is dyslexic? Language is made up of sounds, and the phonological component is the ability to identify and manipulate individual sound units that make up a word. If you are dyslexic, you have problems processing the sounds of language. This includes being able to separate individual sounds or syllables. An example of this is how many sounds are in sleigh? There are three sounds; the s, l, and long a, which is the last four letters. Another problem is being able to link the letters to the sounds. A dyslexic person will confuse words that have the

With the varying degrees of dyslexia, some people are never diagnosed or not diagnosed until they are adults. A very bright child who is dyslexic may even be able to hide it for many years. Indicators start at home. First of all, dyslexia often is genetic. According to Dr. Shaywitz, if one parent is dyslexic then one-quarter and one-half of their children will also be dyslexic, and if one child in a family is dyslexic, chances are that almost half of the siblings are also dyslexic (qtd. in Allen). Other early indicators include delay in speaking and not being able to rhyme words. Starting in preschool or kindergarten, it includes not being able to remember sight words and having trouble learning letter names and sounds. Hopefully the teacher will notice the reading difficulties, but many times this is not the case. If the dyslexia is not severe, the teacher may not pick up on the indicators. There are also some teachers who have not been taught how to identify dyslexia. Even if the teacher does recognize the problem, there are certain guidelines that must be met in order to get the testing done. Some of these children will not meet these guidelines. Once a child meets the guidelines to be tested, there is no one test for dyslexia. However, there are various assessments that can be used and include tests for reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension, as well and spelling and language. The results