Reading Disorder (Dyslexia)
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a reading disability. It is very common. Dyslexia is also called developmental reading disorder.
If you have dyslexia, you have more trouble reading that most people do. The disorder affects your job and other daily activities.
What is the cause?
The exact cause is not known. It is not caused by vision problems. In dyslexia the problem is in the way the brain translates letters and sounds.
Like other learning disorders, it tends to run families. It is more likely if you were born with fetal alcohol syndrome, certain birth defects, or if you were exposed to lead poisoning as a child.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms may include
- Mixing up numbers like 35 and 53 when dialing the telephone
- Making mistakes writing the date, or mixing up dates and times and missing appointments
- Having a hard time filling out forms
- Having a hard time telling left from right
- Reading word for word and taking longer than other people to read a page of a book
- Having trouble understanding what you read
How is it diagnosed?
The disorder is usually detected in children early in grade school by parents or teachers.
Your healthcare provider will ask about your symptoms and medical history and examine you. You may have tests to check your vision or look for other medical problems. Your provider may refer you to a specialist for testing and treatment.
How is it treated?
Reading disorders are usually treated with one-on-one practice in reading skills. Adults with an untreated reading disorder may have fewer career choices.
How can I help myself?
- Find out what services are offered through your community to help people with reading problems. Take a class with other adults who have problems reading. Talk about what you are reading and ask questions. This helps you understand what you are reading.
- Read books or magazines about what interests you, such as sports, art, animals, or science. Read for fun, as well as for practice.
- Practice reading all kinds of things, such as labels, signs, magazines, Yellow Pages, or web sites.
Reading Disorder (Dyslexia): References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC. Retrieved November 2014
National Center for Learning Disabilities. (n.d.). What Is Dyslexia? | Difficulties Reading. Retrieved November 2014 http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia
“Developmental Reading Disorder – PubMed Health.” Web. 01 June 2011. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002379/>.
Learning Disabilities: From Identification to Intervention by Jack M. Fletcher Phd, G. Reid Lyon PhD, PhD Lynn S. Fuchs, and PhD Marcia A. Barnes
Dyslexia, Learning, and the Brain by Roderick I. Nicolson and Angela Fawcett; MIT Press; 2008
Brain imaging findings in dyslexia. Sun YF, Lee JS, Kirby R. Pediatr Neonatol. 2010 Apr;51(2):89-96.
Dyslexia: a new synergy between education and cognitive neuroscience. Gabrieli JD. Science. 2009 Jul 17;325(5938):280-3.
Massachusetts General Hospital Comprehensive Clinical Psychiatry; Theodore A. Stern MD, Jerrold F. Rosenbaum MD, Maurizio Fava MD, Joseph Biederman MD, Scott L. Rauch MD; Mosby; 2008