Dyslexia facts for kids
Dyslexia is a very common problem that affects how our brain understands words. The main signs of dyslexia are difficulties with reading and writing. In the United States, it's thought that between 5% and 9% of schoolchildren have dyslexia. Some estimates even suggest it could be as high as 50%.
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What is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a cognitive disorder. This means it affects how your brain processes information. It's not a sign of low intelligence. Instead, it's about how the brain handles language and sometimes visual information. Because of these challenges, people with dyslexia might sometimes feel upset or frustrated.
How Experts Define It
Different groups describe dyslexia in slightly different ways.
- The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says dyslexia is "difficulty with phonological processing (working with sounds), spelling, and/or quickly connecting what you see to what you say."
- The British Dyslexia Association calls it "a learning difficulty that mainly affects reading words accurately and smoothly, and spelling." They also mention problems with understanding sounds, remembering words, and how fast you process words.
Some definitions talk about developmental dyslexia. This is a learning difference someone is born with. There's also acquired dyslexia, which is when someone loses the ability to read due to brain damage. Most of the time, when people say "dyslexia," they mean the developmental kind.
Signs and What to Look For
Dyslexia can show up in different ways at different ages.
Early Childhood Signs
In young children, signs that might point to dyslexia later on include:
- Starting to speak later than other children.
- Having trouble telling left from right.
- Getting directions mixed up.
- Not easily noticing sounds in words (like rhyming).
- Getting easily distracted by background noise.
It's a common myth that dyslexia means writing or reading letters backwards. Many children do this as they learn. It's not a main sign of dyslexia.
School-Age Challenges
Children with dyslexia in school might find it hard to:
- Identify or create rhyming words.
- Count the number of syllables in words (like "syl-la-ble").
- Break words into individual sounds (like "c-a-t").
- Put sounds together to make words.
- Remember words or name things quickly.
They often struggle with spelling. This is sometimes called dysorthographia or dysgraphia. It means they have trouble remembering how words look when spelled correctly.
Teen and Adult Experiences
Problems can continue into teenage years and adulthood. People with dyslexia might find it hard to:
- Summarize stories.
- Memorize things.
- Read aloud smoothly.
- Learn new languages.
Many adults with dyslexia can read well and understand what they read. However, they might read slower than others. They also often do worse on spelling tests or when reading made-up words. This shows their brain processes sounds differently.
How Language Affects Reading
How a language is written can make it easier or harder for someone with dyslexia to learn to read.
- Languages like English and French have "deep" spelling rules. This means letters can make different sounds depending on the word. This makes them harder to learn for people with dyslexia.
- Languages like Spanish, Italian, and Finnish have "shallow" spelling rules. Letters usually make the same sound. This makes them easier to learn.
- Writing systems that use many symbols, like Chinese characters, can also be challenging for dyslexic learners.
Other Conditions That Can Happen With Dyslexia
Dyslexia often occurs with other learning differences. It's not always clear if they have the same brain causes. These include:
- Dysgraphia: This causes problems with writing or typing. It can also affect eye–hand coordination or doing tasks in a certain order. For dyslexics, dysgraphia often comes from trouble automatically writing letters and organizing thoughts.
- ADHD: This disorder involves trouble paying attention, being overly active, or acting without thinking. Dyslexia and ADHD often happen together. About 15% to 24% of people with dyslexia also have ADHD. And about 35% of people with ADHD have dyslexia.
- Auditory processing disorder: This is a listening difficulty. It affects how the brain processes sounds. This can lead to problems remembering sounds or putting sounds in order. Many people with dyslexia have these issues.
- Developmental coordination disorder: This affects balance, fine motor skills, and coordination. It can also cause problems with speech sounds, short-term memory, and organization.
What Causes Dyslexia?
Scientists have been studying the causes of dyslexia for a long time. They look at how the brain works and if genetics play a role.
Brain Differences
Modern brain scans, like fMRI, show differences in the brains of children with reading difficulties.
- Some dyslexics show less brain activity in parts of the left side of the brain used for reading. These areas include the inferior frontal gyrus and the inferior parietal lobule.
- Some theories suggest that problems with the cerebellum (a part of the brain that helps with movement and automatic tasks) might affect how some dyslexics form words or make reading automatic. However, more research is needed to fully support this idea.
Genetics and Dyslexia
Research suggests that dyslexia can run in families. This means genes play a part.
- Scientists have found tiny differences in the brain's language centers in some people with dyslexia. These differences might happen before or during the sixth month of a baby's brain development.
- Several genes have been linked to dyslexia, such as DCDC2 and KIAA0319.
Genes and Environment Working Together
Studies on twins show that both genes and a person's environment (like how much support they get from parents or teachers) affect reading ability. A good environment can help reduce the challenges of dyslexia.
How Dyslexia is Managed
With the right help and strategies, people with dyslexia can learn to read and write well.
Support and Techniques
- Learning different ways to read and write can help.
- Special tools and technology can also make things easier.
- Reducing stress and worry can sometimes improve how well someone understands what they read.
For languages that use an alphabet, the main goal is to help children understand the connection between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes). They learn how sounds blend together to make words. Early help for young children can greatly reduce reading problems.
Special Fonts
Some people find that special fonts help them read. Fonts like Dyslexie and OpenDyslexic are designed to make each letter look more unique. This can help people with dyslexia tell similar letters apart. Sometimes, the benefit might also come from the extra space between words in these fonts.
There is no proof that music education helps improve reading skills for teenagers with dyslexia.
Images for kids
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Corpus callosum view, front part at top of image
See also
In Spanish: Dislexia para niños
