1. There are many common symptoms of dyslexia. Some of these include a child who is late to recognize letters, has weak spelling, has trouble learning to recognize words, has difficult rhyming, and reads slowly and deliberately. It is important to remember that a complete examination is needed to truly determine rather or not there is a dyslexic problem.

2. Although we do not know what causes dyslexia, research has informed us that the problem lies within the brain. For unknown reasons, letters and sounds are not able to be remembered easily. It does not mean that they are not smart, because many of these children have the ability to speak with excellent vocabulary and understand text that is read to them. Even into adulthood, however, they may struggle with spelling and reading.

3. No two dyslexic people are alike. One may have a slight case of dyslexia, only struggling with one aspect of the learning disability. Another person may have dyslexia on a much greater level, causing many learning problems. To take this one step further, another individual can have dyslexia and also other learning disabilities such as Attention Deficit Disorder. Do not assume, therefore, that you understand the full scope of a person’s problems because they have dyslexia. Only a professional is able to truly diagnosis learning disabilities.

4. Dyslexia is either present at birth or is acquired due to hearing loss. However, because dyslexia is related to writing and reading words and other forms of communication, parents often do not know that there are problems until their children are older.

5. People do not outgrow dyslexia, because the source of the problem is within the brain. However, many people learn to overcome the obstacles of dyslexia and are able to read and write well and have successful careers. Because the disability has become recognized and understood, it has become much easier to get help for dyslexia.

6. The main problem with this disability is not a visual problem, as many assume. The problem with dyslexia is the processing of sounds. For example, just because a child reverses their letters sometimes does not mean that he or she is dyslexic. Many children do this when they are first learning to write. It could be an indication of a bigger problem, but is certainly not enough evidence to give a diagnosis.

7. There are many ways to help dyslexics today. For example, dyslexic people have found online grammar checker to be extremely beneficial. This is because even though dyslexics make many spelling errors, even ones that they recognize, they do not know how to correct the mistakes. With the use of a spelling checker, people are able to see what they have done wrong and how to correct the mistakes. Another way they can be helped is through text to speech download programs. These helpful programs let writers know when they have made an error by reading the words back to them.

8. Contrary to popular belief, boys are not necessarily more prone to dyslexia than girls. Studies show us that there is a fairly equal number of boys and girls who have the disability. The only thing that may cause this to appear so, is because boys tend to act out more as a result of their problems, while girls will often try to hide their problem quietly.

9. Studies vary of how much of the population suffers from this disorder. Some studies show that dyslexia occurs in only about 4-8% of the population, while others indicate figures as high as 17%.

10. People with dyslexia tend to suffer with low self esteem because of their learning problems. The best way to help them is to give them much praise, credit and encouragement. Understanding that they have a disability, do not expect too much, but do everything to set them up for success.

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