Dyslexia is a specific learning difference that can affect an individual’s ability to correctly identify and manipulate the sounds that make up spoken language. This in turn can negatively affect reading and spelling skills.

Dyslexic adults are not less intelligent than other people, their brains simply process language in a different way. But because not everyone who has dyslexia is aware they are struggling with a specific learning difference, some individuals may believe they are stupid, not cut out for school, or are simply not skilled enough when it comes to reading and writing.

For dyslexic children and adults who don’t get the help they need, this can lead to feelings of low self-worth and a lack of confidence in the classroom or workplace. That’s why diagnosing dyslexia is an important first step, followed by seeking out support from local groups and national organizations, such as the British and American Dyslexia Associations.

No two individuals with dyslexia will have exactly the same needs, but with access to the right accommodations and an effective strategy program, dyslexic adults can boost literacy skills, increase confidence and gain a better understanding of their own strengths and abilities.

Dyslexia is one of the most common language-based learning differences. While everyone learns to read and write at different rates, children with dyslexia usually have a harder time sounding out words and sight reading than their peers. They may be inconsistent when it comes to spelling, writing a word correctly one day and incorrectly the next, and can take longer to stop reversing letters in early writing. When the dyslexia is mild, individuals can often “get by” at school and may go on to have ordinary careers.

Nonetheless, children and adults with mild dyslexia tend to have a harder time manipulating the sounds in words, including rhyming words. Spelling ability might be below average and reading will often take them more time.

They may be reluctant to read out loud or commonly misread words if they do participate in group reading activities. Memorizing new language, particularly service words that aren’t as amenable to mnemonic devices, can be problematic, as can be remembering and reporting details.

Writing by hand requires a child to correctly identify the sticks, curves and/or circles that make up a letter, then reproduce those shapes in a particular orientation, using a set sequence of pen strokes. Before the skill is automatized, the handwriting process can be quite mentally taxing. New writers are also struggling to develop the fine motor skills needed to grip a pen or pencil and the language encoding skills required for reading and spelling.

Add to this the challenge of writing in a straight line and creating letters of the same height and width, and you’ll find that reversing letters is a common mistake for beginners to make. This is particularly the case for symbols built from the same set of shapes, including b/d, p/q, f/t, i/j, m/w and n/u. Nonetheless, most children grow out of letter reversal by age 7 and it only becomes a cause for concern when errors occur beyond first and second grade.

A guest post from the authors of ‘The Illustrated Guide to Dyslexia and Its Amazing People'

Following a blog can keep you informed about the latest research and help you stay abreast of dyslexia related events and important dates, such as Dyslexia Awareness Month and Dyslexia Awareness Week in early October. If you’re active or thinking of becoming active in a dyslexia campaign, it’s a great way to connect with other advocates, particularly those working outside of your area. 

Blogs are also an ideal way to go about researching, as they are typically full of can-do posts that avoid the dense format of reference material. You may discover authors who are themselves dyslexic and thus write in a more intuitive manner.

For parents of children who have just received a diagnosis, it can be helpful to read about the experiences of other families who have embarked on a similar journey.

Dyslexia is a specific learning difference that can affect both children and adults and cause difficulties with reading, spelling and math. It’s important for parents and teachers to understand that dyslexia does not affect intellect. Rather, it is a different way of processing language in the brain.

Often individuals who are dyslexic struggle to split words into their component sounds. For children who are learning how to read and write, this can cause frustration and poor performance in activities involving literacy skills. Because reading is required across the curriculum, students may quickly fall behind their same-age peers and lose confidence in the classroom.

That’s why it’s important to recognize the symptoms early on so children can gain access to appropriate coping strategies and accommodations that can help them achieve their full potential at school.

Giftedness is often defined as an intellectual ability linked to an IQ score of 130 or more. However, not all gifted children excel in an academic area. Signs of a gifted child also include a high creative, artistic, musical and/or leadership ability relative to same-age peers.

Giftedness can be focused in a single skill, or it can be more general. It's also important for parents and educators to understand that giftedness can sometimes come alongside specific learning differences that affect performance at school.

In these situations it's important to help a child develop their talents while also overcoming any challenges posed by a learning difficulty.

In some cases of giftedness, it may be appropriate for a child to attend a special program or a school specifically for gifted children. The aim is to ensure ample opportunities for advancement in a classroom environment that is sensitive to the child's needs and provides adequate stimulation.

With access to the right resources and emotional and academic support, every gifted child can achieve their full potential at school.

In the UK, the definition of disability is covered under the Equality Act of 2010 and hinges on how “substantial” the effect of the disability is deemed to be. It includes provisions for people with dyslexia who implement coping strategies but also considers workplace contexts and situations in which said strategies cannot be used.

In the US, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) discusses how a disability affects the individual, specifically if it interferes with their “life activities.” Dyslexia is currently evaluated on a case-by-case basis and most dyslexic individuals are considered to have some impairment in learning, reading and/or writing.

Many parents and teachers struggle to distinguish between specific learning difficulties that affect literacy skills. This confusion is made even worse when they have such similar names. While dyslexia is traditionally associated with reading, dysgraphia affects writing. Both are language disorders that can cause a child to struggle in the classroom, but they are separate conditions with unique neurological and behavioral profiles (1).

Children with dysgraphia may have trouble with letter formation and word spacing in handwriting. They can experience difficulty with written expression, from translating ideas into language, and organizing their thoughts, to using grammar, capital letters, and punctuation correctly. For students with dyslexia, it is often English spelling and sounding out words in reading that are problematic.

Being able to spell correctly depends somewhat on an individual having phonemic awareness. This is the ability to hear the sounds that make up words.

However, English words are not always spelled in the way they are said, which means there is sometimes memorization involved too.

The significance of spelling derives mainly from its communicative function. It provides a standardized guide for written language to ensure everyone can read and understand each other’s writing. Before there were dictionaries, people tended to invent their own spelling and literate individuals were often taught different forms depending on where they lived.

This made it hard to know which word someone was referring to! It's also still evident in the way certain English words are spelled in the UK vs. the US, for example colour/color, favourite/favorite and licence/license.

When spelling becomes a source of difficulty or stress at school, it’s important to remind students that spelling is just one aspect of knowing a word.

Computers and mobile devices can help increase accuracy in writing, and phonics-based instruction, spelling programs and apps can boost spelling skills and knowledge of rules and exceptions.

Additionally, learning how to touch-type is useful, particularly when specific learning difficulties like dyslexia are present. This is because typing harnesses muscle memory in the hands to encode spelling as a pattern of keystrokes.