The National Institute of Health estimates that approximately 15% of the U.S. population is affected by learning disabilities.  Of students with learning disabilities who receive special education services, 80-85% have a basic deficit in language and reading.  Every year, 120,000 additional students are found to have learning disabilities, a diagnosis now shared by 2.4 million school children.  Many children are never properly diagnosed or treated, or “fall through the cracks” because they are not deemed eligible for services. Dyslexia occurs among all groups, regardless of age, race, or income.  Recent research has established that dyslexia can run in families.

Few people with dyslexia exhibit all of the characteristics of the disorder. Some common signs include:

• Lack of awareness of the sound structure in words
• Difficulty decoding words – reading
• Difficulty encoding words – spelling
• Difficulty expressing thoughts orally and in writing
• Reading that lacks fluency (slow/labored)
• Unexpected gap between intelligence and academic achievement grades
• Confusion about directions in space or time (right/left, up/down, early/late, months/ days, yesterday/tomorrow)

There are many more characteristics that describe people with dyslexia. Dayton READ encourages diagnoses by qualified physicians and diagnosticians knowledgeable in the area of dyslexia.

The word dyslexia is derived from the Greek “dys”(poor or inadequate) and “lexis” (words or language). Dyslexia is a learning disability characterized by problems in expressive or receptive, oral or written language. Problems may emerge in reading, spelling, writing, speaking, listening or even mathematics. Dyslexia results from differences in the structure and functions of the brain. Although visual and auditory processing problems may exist, language-processing difficulties distinguish dyslexics as a group. This means that the person with dyslexia has problems translating language to thought (as in listening or reading) or thought to language (as in writing or speaking).

Dyslexia is not the result of low intelligence. An unexpected gap exists between learning aptitude and achievement in school. The problem is not behavioral, psychological, motivational, or social. People with dyslexia do not “see backwards.”

Dyslexia is not a disease and it has no cure. People with dyslexia are unique, each having individual strengths and weaknesses. Dyslexia describes a different kind of mind, often gifted and productive, that learns differently. Dyslexics often show special talents in areas that require visual, spatial, and motor integration. Many dyslexics are creative and have talent in areas such as art, athletics, architecture, graphics, electronics, mechanics, drama, music, or engineering.