Despite decades of research, there are still many prevalent misconceptions about dyslexia.  Dyslexia is a learning disability that is characterized by difficulties related to recognizing words, reading fluently, sounding out words, and spelling.  The cause of dyslexia is neurologically based (i.e., in the brain), and is not due to poor parenting or not reading enough to your child when he/she is young.  Contrary to popular belief, dyslexia is not rare, nor does not it involve seeing things backwards.  Individuals with dyslexia “see” things just as clearly as other individuals, though they cannot connect the letters they see with the sounds made by those letters.  (There is a subset of individuals with reading difficulties who have problems related to visual tracking, which causes letters to blur, wiggle, or otherwise move on the page; this is related to visual processing, rather than the typical auditory processing weaknesses in dyslexia).  Although individuals with dyslexia will not “outgrow” their reading difficulties, they can learn to read with appropriate, research supported reading instruction.  Early identification is extremely important for several reasons:  (1) the young brain appears more easily “changeable” and able to benefit from intervention, (2) there is less of a “gap” between the child and his/her classmates in terms of reading ability, such that the child is not significantly “behind” yet, and (3) emotional distress and frustration related to academic difficulties can be avoided before self-esteem is damaged.  Below are some early key signs of dyslexia:

*Family history of dyslexia

*Unable to recognize letters in own name by age 4

*Does not seem to “get” or enjoy rhymes

*Cannot identify rhyming words

*Cannot identify which words start with the same sound

*Cannot name all upper and lower case letters by Kindergarten

*Unable to break words into component sounds; cannot count syllables in words by end of Kindergarten

*Does not know the sounds of all the letters by end of Kindergarten

*Unable to learn sight words in Kindergarten

*Cannot sound out simple words (e.g., cat) by end of Kindergarten

*Does not enjoy reading

*Reads more slowly than same age peers

*Unable to understand what is read

*Poor spelling

Although I have heard it argued that identifying a reading problem as ‘dyslexia’ is not important, research argues to the contrary.  Not all reading disorders are dyslexia; in fact, some reading disorders are related more directly to other language disorders.  In order to most effectively correct a learning disability, it is critical to know what processing difficulties are responsible for the problem (e.g., auditory processing, memory, receptive language, etc.).  If a child’s reading difficulty is appropriately identified as dyslexia, then parents and educators can know exactly what research supported reading instruction is necessary.  If you suspect your child may be showing signs of dyslexia, learn as much as you can about dyslexia, and seek an appropriate evaluation.  An excellent resource for understanding dyslexia is Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shawitz, MD (2003).