What is dyslexia and how is it diagnosed?

Dyslexia makes reading hard, it is not about being smart. People with dyslexia have smart brains, their brains just read in a different way. A lot of people have dyslexia, according to some studies approximately 20 out of 100 people have it. Dyslexia can run in families. Getting help early makes a big difference.

Some ideas about dyslexia are wrong. People with dyslexia do not just mix up letters. Lots of kids do that anyway when they learn to read. Eye problems do not cause dyslexia, and being lazy does not cause it either. Signs of dyslexia look different at different ages. Small children may have trouble with rhyming and learning the alphabet. In school, dyslexic students may read slowly or say a different word that has the same beginning and ending letters. They may not want to read out loud. Teens and adults can learn to hide it well, but reading is still hard work for them.

There is not one specific test for dyslexia. Instead, a battery of tests are given and the process usually takes a full day. This testing is often conducted by a pediatric neurologist or educational diagnostician. They check how someone reads, spells, and hears sounds in words. They also look for other reasons for the trouble. Like eye problems or ADHD.

Not all that long ago, most educators and doctors weren't aware of what dyslexia was, much less what to do about it. Dyslexic children were often thought of as unintelligent by teachers and mocked by their peers. Today there is more awareness, but not all doctors will test for dyslexia. Depending on the state, the waiting list for seeing a doctor may be a year or more, testing can be very expensive and many insurance companies won't cover the costs.

Advocating for a struggling reader, even without a confirmed diagnosis, is so important. The sooner a dyslexic reader can get appropriate help the better, it is much better to develop good reading habits than to have to re-learn once bad habits have been formed.