What Is Dyslexia?

One dictionary defines dyslexia as “a disturbance of the ability to read.” Though often viewed as a reading disorder, dyslexia can involve much more.a

The English word’s roots come from the Greek dys, meaning “difficulty with,” and lexis, “word.” Dyslexia includes difficulties with words or language. It even involves problems with placing things in their right order, like the days of the week and the letters in a word. Dyslexia, according to Dr. H. T. Chasty of Britain’s Dyslexia Institute, “is an organising disability which impairs short term memory, perception and hand skills.” Little wonder that those who have dyslexia find it frustrating!

Take the case of David. How did this formerly avid and fluent reader come to need his wife’s help to learn to read all over again? A stroke damaged an area of David’s brain linked to the use of language, and this made his progress in reading agonizingly slow. Yet, longer words gave him less of a problem than shorter ones. Despite his acquired dyslexia, David’s conversational ability and his sharp intellect never suffered. So complex is the human brain that researchers have yet to comprehend all that is involved in processing the sounds and visual signals it receives.

Julie and Vanessa, on the other hand, had developmental dyslexia, which became apparent as they grew. Researchers generally accept that children who by the age of seven or eight exhibit normal intelligence but display uncharacteristic difficulty in learning to read, write, and spell may be dyslexic. Often, dyslexic youngsters write a mirror image of the letter they are trying to copy. Imagine the frustration Julie and Vanessa felt when schoolteachers mistakenly labeled them stupid, slow, and lazy!