What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia refers to a disorder characterized by disability in reading. This is a very common learning disability and is found to affect a large percentage of people in the country. Children with this learning disorder are found to have normal vision and intelligence. In many cases, the condition remains undiagnosed until adulthood. Complete cure for this condition is not available. Dyslexia is found to be more common among boys than girls.

It is commonly difficult to recognize this condition in children. However, there are early warning signs that the child may be suffering from this learning disorder. In most cases, school teachers are the first ones to notice the disability in children; this is because the condition primarily becomes apparent when the child starts reading in class. Some of the early signs of dyslexia include late talking, difficulty learning new words, and difficulty rhyming. As the child starts school, the symptoms become more apparent.

Symptoms of dyslexia include:

• Inability to read as per the expected level for the age of the child
• Difficulty understanding and processing information
• Difficulty understanding more than one instruction at a time
• Inability to sequence information
• Difficulty understanding similarities and differences between letters
• Seeing reverse forms of letters
• Inability to spell words

Most children with this disorder have a difficult time reading and ultimately delay their ability to read compared to other children who do not have this disorder. In teenagers, the symptoms of dyslexia resemble that of children and it will continue in adulthood.

The common symptoms of dyslexia in adulthood include:

• Difficulty reading
• Inability to manage time
• Difficulty summarizing
• Difficulty learning a foreign languages

Dyslexia is an inherited disorder and runs in families. Studies have shown that specific genes are associated with the development of this disability. The inherited genes are associated with the part of the brain that controls reading. People with a reading disability also have structural differences in the left hemisphere of the brain. When left untreated, dyslexia may lead to many issues, including a difficulty learning and social problems. They often find it difficult to keep up with other children of their age. As adults, these individuals will be affected by the lack of basics due to their inability to read and comprehend what was being taught in school. Presence of this disorder may increase the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Dyslexia can be treated successfully with special education.