It’s about neurology, not intelligence.
People with dyslexia often have to deal not only with the language-based learning disability, but with pernicious misconceptions and myths. For example, it’s commonly thought that people with dyslexia aren’t very intelligent. That’s inaccurate, says Joanne Pierson, project manager at DyslexiaHelp, a website at the University of Michigan under the auspices of the Services for Students with Disabilities office. “The underlying cause is in one’s phonological, or sound, processing,” she says. “At its core, dyslexia is a phonological processing disorder that manifests in difficulties learning to read and spell.”
Dyslexia involves an array of symptoms.
Dyslexia involves an array of symptoms that result in people having difficulty reading and with other language skills, such as spelling, writing and pronouncing words, according to the International Dyslexia Association. What causes dyslexia isn’t certain, but research highlights differences in the brain development and function of those with dyslexia. It’s estimated that up to 20 percent of the population experiences reading difficulties, such as slow or inaccurate reading, Pierson says. That doesn’t mean they have dyslexia, however, which affects 7 to 10 percent of the population. Here are eight misconceptions about the learning disability:
1. All kids who reverse letters or numbers have dyslexia.
While reversing certain letters like b’s and d’s can be a sign of dyslexia, it’s not accurate that all kids who reverse letters are dyslexic. It’s normal for children to flip letters while they’re learning to write until age 7, says Dr. Daniel Ganjian, a board-certified pediatrician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California. But if kids are still doing this after two years of writing instruction, it could be a warning sign of dyslexia.
2. Dyslexia can be outgrown.
The learning disability is a lifelong issue, Pierson says. Yearly monitoring of a student’s phonological skills from first through 12th grade shows that the disability continues into adulthood. While many people with dyslexia learn to read accurately, they may continue to read slowly. “Even though the disorder is present and it is lifelong, it does not have to be disabling,” Pierson says. “With the right interventions and strategies, we can teach people with dyslexia how to be successful readers and writers.”
3. People with dyslexia will never learn to read well.
Some will become terrific readers with the right educational intervention, according to DyslexiaHelp. Such intervention is systematic, explicit and evidence-based: “We call it ‘structured literacy.’ It’s designed to meet individual needs,” Pierson says. “We teach them to match sounds to letters and letter combinations and teach them spelling patterns and rules. We have them engaged in word study; we teach them how to take words apart and put them together again. We also teach them to use context so they can understand the word meaning in a particular context.”
4. People with dyslexia have a difficult time reading because they see things backwards.
Dyslexia is not a vision problem, contrary to this common misconception, Pierson says. Some typical learners (people who don’t have dyslexia) reverse letters and numbers when they’re first learning. A study published in the journal Pediatrics in 2015 found no connection between eye issues and dyslexia. Researchers at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom tested more than 5,800 children between the ages of 7 and 9 for a variety of vision challenges, and the 3 percent with dyslexia who had reading problems had little differences in their vision compared to kids without dyslexia.
5. Kids with dyslexia are lazy and should try harder.
Suggesting that kids with dyslexia have character issues or aren’t motivated enough to do good work is “profoundly harmful,” says Don Winn, an author of children’s books who is dyslexic himself. Lack of awareness about the disorder among some educators and parents has resulted in kids being incorrectly branded as “lazy.” What frequently happens is that these children learn they’re going to fail at the tasks of reading, spelling and writing and refrain from trying or from breaking a sweat on their studies to avoid failure, Pierson says, adding that research indicates dyslexia is not a matter of low intelligence or laziness.
6. Dyslexia is a medical diagnosis.
The learning disability isn’t characterized as a medical problem and isn’t typically diagnosed by doctors because they don’t have training in assessing, diagnosing or treating oral language, reading, writing or spelling issues, Pierson says. Dyslexia is typically diagnosed by a neuropsychologist, psychologist or someone with advanced training in language and literacy disorders, she adds. “Because dyslexia involves difficulty with reading, it’s not typically identified until children go to school and have to learn to read and write,” Pierson says. “There’s no medical test. We assess their phonological processing, oral language, reading, spelling and writing. Assessing whether a child understands what he or she is reading is also important when making the diagnosis.”
7. More boys than girls are affected by dyslexia.
While it’s true that reading disabilities are identified in boys more often than girls, studies suggest such identifications are biased, according to Pierson. The prevalence of the disorder is nearly identical in the two genders. Boys are apparently sent for testing more than girls because when they get frustrated that they’re unable to do classroom assignments or homework, they act out. Girls who have similar challenges tend to get quiet, move to a desk in the back of the classroom and try not to be noticed.
8. Dyslexia can be mitigated by fish oils, glasses with tinted lenses or balancing exercises.
There’s no scientific evidence that these approaches work. People with dyslexia require explicit and systematic instruction on phonological awareness, phonics, word reading and spelling patterns and rules, according to DyslexiaHelp. Students with dyslexia may need strategies for developing their vocabulary, reading comprehension and writing as well as verbal expression and word retrieval. “Many people make claims as to how to treat dyslexia, but the only way is through a structured literacy approach,” Pierson says.
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8 Myths and Misconceptions About Dyslexia originally appeared on usnews.com
