Common Misconceptions About Dyslexia
We often get asked, when a child struggles with reading or is flipping letters, if they have dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disability that makes it difficult to read, write and spell.
Below are some common misconceptions about dyslexia:
- Dyslexia is a sign of low intelligence: This is one of the most persistent myths. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability as it relates to reading, and it affects people across the intelligence spectrum. Many individuals with dyslexia have average or above average intelligence.
- Dyslexia only affects reading: Dyslexia does mainly impact reading and language-based processing skills, but it can also affect writing, spelling and even math. Individuals with dyslexia might have difficulty with organizing their thoughts or sequencing information.
- Dyslexia relates to seeing letter and/or numbers backwards: This is the most common myth. It can show up as issues with flipping letters, but dyslexia is more about processing language. For students who struggle with flipping letters, it can be dyslexia, but our testing usually indicates this is more of a memory issue – especially for younger students.
- Dyslexia can be outgrown: Dyslexia is a lifelong condition. Individuals can develop coping strategies and improve reading skills, but dyslexia doesn’t just go away.
- Dyslexia is related to laziness or lack of motivation: Those with dyslexia often work harder than their fellow students to achieve the same outcomes. Their difficulties are not due to a lack of effort but neurological differences in processing language.
If you have a child with dyslexia or are worried this could be the case, what are some strategies to help?
These struggles usually relate to cognitive skill weaknesses in memory, auditory processing and sometimes visual processing. Because our training is 1-on-1 and targets the areas that are deficient, our clients see significant gains in reading skills. Our training identifies and addresses the root cause of either dyslexia or general reading struggles.
In fact, recent peer-reviewed research with over 3,500 struggling readers (in the 25th percentile in reading or lower) found statistically significant changes in both reading skills and cognitive skills after just 24 weeks of training with ReadRx.
If you are seeking reading help or dyslexia help, the key is to address the root cause.
When memory is low, the reading impact is an inability to retain sight words and later, difficulties with non-phonetic works (like “said” or “laugh”) and all the English language exceptions and rules. The impact is difficulty with word recognition, spelling and reading comprehension.
The other skill often impacting reading is auditory processing. Auditory processing is the brain’s ability to manipulate and segment sounds. When auditory processing is low, students struggle to blend sounds and can often struggle with the sequencing of the sounds when trying to decode or often adding sounds that are not in the word.
Our reading training follows the Science of Reading guidelines, but we go a step further by ensuring each child has a strong foundation of cognitive skills (like memory and auditory processing). Unless these cognitive skill weaknesses are addressed, students typically continue to struggle as expectations increase and the root cause is not addressed. In fact, students who are not caught up in reading by the end of 3rd grade, rarely catch-up.
Reading is a critical skill that enables lifelong learning and impacts other academic subjects (like math, history, etc.) as students advance. If your child is struggling and you are seeking reading help, there is an easy first step. Contact the LearningRx Savage location to schedule an initial assessment for only $99 (which is $100 off our standard price). The assessment will identify the root cause as to why your child struggles with reading and includes a follow-up consultation to answer your questions and provide recommendations as to how to get help. Contact LearningRx in Savage today to get started!
