Pictures of the brain show that when people with dyslexia read, they use different parts of the brain than people without dyslexia. These pictures also show that the brains of people with dyslexia don't work efficiently during reading.
So that's why reading seems like such slow, hard work. Most people think that dyslexia causes people to reverse letters and numbers and see words backwards. But reversals happen as a normal part of development, and are seen in many kids until first or second grade. The main problem in dyslexia is trouble recognizing phonemes pronounced: FO-neems. These are the basic sounds of speech the "b" sound in "bat" is a phoneme, for example.
So it's a struggle to make the connection between the sound and the letter symbol for that sound, and to blend sounds into words. This makes it hard to recognize short, familiar words or to sound out longer words. It takes a lot of time for a person with dyslexia to sound out a word. Because word reading takes more time and focus, the meaning of the word often is lost, and reading comprehension is poor. It's not surprising that people with dyslexia have trouble spelling.
They also might have trouble expressing themselves in writing and even speaking. Dyslexia is a language processing disorder , so it can affect all forms of language, spoken or written. Some people have milder forms of dyslexia, so they may have less trouble in these other areas of spoken and written language.
Some people work around their dyslexia, but it takes a lot of effort and extra work. Dyslexia isn't something that goes away on its own or that a person outgrows.
Fortunately, with proper help, most people with dyslexia learn to read. Dyslexia seems to run in families. What researchers do not know, however, is how genes affect the risk for dyslexia. For example, it might be that particular risk factors in the environment activate genes for dyslexia, or that some illnesses change the way genes behave, leading to dyslexia.
It is unclear whether genes change the structure of the brain, the way the brain processes information, or whether something else causes the brain to struggle with reading. Adults with dyslexia often have a wide range of nonspecific mental health , emotional, and work difficulties.
They may have low self-esteem, experience shame, humiliation, or lack confidence in their ability to perform at work or school. They may appear highly intelligent or score well on intelligence tests but underperform at work or school. Young children with dyslexia have trouble detecting that words rhyme. They may mispronounce words and may not be able to talk correctly until well into preschool years.
They commonly have difficulty sounding out words and may not read until after their peers do. Frustrated by the challenges of learning to read, some children with dyslexia develop behavior problems. Dyslexia is treatable but not curable. However, a range of treatments and therapies are available that can help people with dyslexia read and learn.
Some medications can improve symptoms of some of the conditions people with dyslexia may also have, such as ADHD, but there is no medication currently approved for treating dyslexia alone. Although no specific treatment can cure dyslexia, some people do find that their symptoms change or improve with time. Treatment for dyslexia begins with proper diagnosis. Simply knowing that the problem is due to dyslexia can help some adults with dyslexia feel better about their difficulties.
Other factors that might help a person with dyslexia include:. Being in a supportive environment might help a person with dyslexia work around the condition. For example, offering alternative methods of communication or learning can help a person with dyslexia perform better and learn more easily.
In addition to the signs already seen in childhood, dyslexia signs in young adulthood can include:. A lack of a uniform definition of dyslexia makes it hard for researchers to study. Various estimates suggest that as many as 5 to 10 percent of the population may have dyslexia. Learn more about dyslexia in adults ». For children with learning problems, the earlier you intervene, the better. Understand that it takes time for doctors to make a diagnosis of dyslexia. Your pediatrician might refer you to any of the following specialists:.
Adult education programs can help most people significantly improve their reading and writing ability at any age. Talk to your family doctor about getting an evaluation. Dyslexia in kids can cause difficulties with learning to read and write in school. While dyslexia does run in families, there are effective treatments….
Dyslexia and ADHD often occur together. Knowing if a child or an adult has one or both conditions is key to developing an effective treatment plan. If you're ready to start working on reading skills with your toddler, we've got some suggestions for how to teach your young child to read.
Hyperlexia is characterized by high-level reading skills, but other communication delays may be present at the same time. Learn about the signs…. This learning style is often referred to as learning with the hands or physical learning.
Basically, people with bodily-kinesthetic intelligence can…. Learning disorders can have varying degrees of severity, and some are more common than others. This content does not have an Arabic version.
Overview Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words decoding. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Share on: Facebook Twitter.
Show references Dyslexia. Merck Manual Professional Version. Accessed June 8, Hamilton SS. Reading difficulty in children: Clinical features and evaluation. Accessed June 12,
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