Let’s take a moment to review a basic principle of statistics:  Correlation Does Not Equal Causation.  This simply means that just because two events are correlated or associated in some way (e.g., occur at the same time) does not mean that one causes the other.  When two things are correlated, it could be that one causes the other, but it could also be that a third event causes both things to occur.  For example, there are many who believe that children develop dyslexia because their parents did not read to them.  In fact, many children with dyslexia do not have parents who read to them.  Does that mean the cause of dyslexia is a lack of parental reading during childhood?  Sounds logical.  But in reality, there are also children with dyslexia whose parents read to them daily throughout childhood.  So if dyslexia can occur even when parents read to children, why does there seem to be more children with dyslexia whose parents do not read to them?  It turns out that a third factor…genetics…is actually causing the dyslexia as well as the lack of parental reading.

In freshman biology class we learned about genes and how the genes we got from our parents determined our physical features such as eye color, hair color, height, etc.  As science progresses, we are constantly learning about the genetic aspects of many other physical characteristics—characteristics that place us at risk for diabetes, heart disease, depression, ADHD, and even learning disabilities.  Yes…there is a genetic component to learning disabilities, including dyslexia.  The reason why many parents of children with dyslexia do not read to them is because they (the parents) have dyslexia.  Research indicates that ¼ to ½ of children with a dyslexic parent will also have dyslexia, and that 1/3 to ½ of parents of dyslexic children have dyslexia.  There is also a higher likelihood of dyslexia when relatives other than parents (e.g., aunts, uncles, grandparents) have dyslexia.  While many parents (and especially grandparents) may have never been diagnosed with dyslexia, if they struggled with reading or did not do well in school (despite being of normal intelligence), they likely had dyslexia and their child is at risk for reading problems. 

One of the first questions I ask parents when they call is, “Is there a family history of reading difficulties?”  If the answer is yes, I know there is a good chance that the child is struggling with a learning disability and that assessment and intervention need to occur now.  While I wish that schools took family history into consideration when deciding which children qualify for early services, that simply is not the case yet.  Parents must therefore take the initiative and be proactive in monitoring their child’s early reading skills (e.g., can he rhyme in kindergarten, does she know her letter sounds by the end of kindergarten, is he learning his sight words on time, can she “sound out” simple words by the end of kindergarten, etc.) so that intervention, if needed, can occur as early as possible.  The good news is that we know exactly how to teach individuals with dyslexia to read…and the earlier we start helping them, the greater their success with reading.