Dyslexia
Understanding dyslexia
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that primarily affects reading and writing skills, but it doesn't only affect those. Dyslexia is really about information processing: dyslexic people may have difficulty processing and remembering information they see and hear, which can affect learning and the acquisition of literacy skills. It can also impact other areas, such as organisational skills. Approximately 10% of children have dyslexia.
The Delphi definition (2024)
"Dyslexia is a set of processing difficulties that affect the acquisition of reading and spelling." This is the headline definition from the 2024 Delphi consensus study (Carroll et al.), which brought a wide range of experts together to reduce confusion about how dyslexia is defined.
Signs of dyslexia
Primary ages 5–11
- Learning letters
- Hearing the sounds in words, rhyme, etc.
- Pronouncing words, especially longer words
- Spelling and copying
- Slow reading, poor decoding and/or comprehension
- Sequencing stories; learning times tables
- Left/right confusion
- Organisation difficulties
- Remembering instructions; not finishing work
Secondary ages 11–16
- Poor reading fluency and comprehension
- Reluctant reader
- Remembering instructions, phone numbers, etc.
- Slower handwriting speed
- Poor organisation and expression of written work
- Remembering and meeting deadlines
- Low self-esteem; daydreaming
- Discrepancy between oral and written ability
Dyslexia checklists from the British Dyslexia Association
Early yearsFoundation stage checklist (PDF)- PrimaryPrimary school checklist (PDF)
- SecondarySecondary school checklist (PDF)
- AdultsAdult checklist (PDF)
Ways to get support for children
- Understand the signs of dyslexia and the difficulties associated with it
- Intervention using a targeted, structured programme that meets individual needs
- Appropriate assistive technology
- Give time to process information and formulate an answer
- Alternative methods of recording ideas and work
- Talk to your school's SENDCo
Causes
What causes dyslexia?
Dyslexia comes from differences in how the brain develops and processes written and spoken language. It is about how the brain is wired, not about intelligence or effort.
Developmental Most common
Most people with dyslexia are born with it.
Genetics
Dyslexia often runs in families. Many genes each play a small part, shaping how the brain develops the skills used for language and reading.
Brain differences
Brain imaging shows that dyslexic readers process written words differently. The connections on the left side of the brain that link speech sounds to letters can work less efficiently.
Early development
The chance of dyslexia is higher after premature birth or low birth weight, and after exposure to nicotine or alcohol before birth.
Acquired Rare
Occasionally, reading difficulties start later in life. This can happen after a brain injury, a stroke or an illness that affects the brain. It is called acquired dyslexia, and it is different from the developmental dyslexia most children have.
Dyslexia and the brain
In a typical reader, a fast “reading highway” develops mainly on the left side of the brain. In a dyslexic reader this highway is wired a little differently. Brain imaging shows three areas on the left side working differently during reading.
1The sound-processing area
Parietal-temporal
Where: Near the top-middle of the brain, just above the ear.
What it does: A translator. It matches the letters your eyes see to the sounds of spoken language. This is called decoding.
In dyslexia: Less active. Translation is slower, so pulling words apart into their sounds takes much more effort.
2The visual word form area
Occipital-temporal
Where: Towards the lower back of the brain.
What it does: An automatic camera. Once a word has been seen enough times, this area recognises it instantly, like a friend’s face, so reading becomes quick and fluent.
In dyslexia: Less active. Words are not recognised instantly, so reading can feel slow and laboured, as if seeing each word for the first time.
3The speech and production area
Broca’s area, frontal lobe
Where: At the front of the brain, near the forehead.
What it does: Speech production: forming and saying words.
In dyslexia: Often more active. Because the areas at the back are doing less of the work, the front of the brain steps in, working extra hard to “say” words silently in the reader’s head.
What gets in the way
The underlying skills that affect reading and writing
Difficulties with reading and writing usually trace back to one or more of these eight areas. Most children have a mix of strengths and difficulties across them, and a difficulty in one can make others harder.
Memory and processing
Working and short-term memory
Holding information in mind while you work with it.
Can affect
- Spelling
- Decoding
- Building sentences
- Comprehension
- Using several sources
- Drafting and editing
Processing speed
How quickly information is taken in, understood and acted on.
Can affect
- Work rate
- Reading fluency
- Writing fluency
- Comprehension
- Using several sources
- Drafting and editing
Word-level processing
Phonological awareness
Hearing, telling apart and working with the sounds in spoken words.
Can affect
- Decoding
- Spelling
- Word reading
- Reading fluency
- Learning new vocabulary
Visual processing
Seeing, remembering and telling apart letters and other visual symbols.
Can affect
- Word recognition
- Spelling
- Reading fluency
- Letter confusion (b/d, p/q)
- Automaticity
- Keeping your place in text
Self-management
Executive function
Planning, organising, staying focused, self-regulating and adapting.
Can affect
- Planning and structuring
- Drafting
- Editing and proofreading
- Checking for meaning
- Comprehension
- Time and attention
Motor skills and sensory processing
Planning and coordinating movement, and responding to sensory information.
Can affect
- Handwriting
- Posture
- Writing fluency
- Writing stamina
- Using writing tools
- Attention
- Self-regulation
Language
Vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure
Knowing and using words, grammar and sentence patterns.
Can affect
- Understanding
- Word choice
- Sentence structure
- Punctuation
- Tense and grammar
Language comprehension and expression
Understanding and using language in everyday, functional ways.
Can affect
- Comprehension
- Understanding text types
- Expressing ideas
- The writer's voice
Every child's profile is different. A Learning Needs Assessment builds a clear picture of your child, so support can target what matters most.
Adapted from an original resource by Louise Selby, Dyslexia Specialist (louiseselbydyslexia.com).
Myths & facts
Dyslexia myths, busted
Dyslexia attracts more than its fair share of half-truths. Some are harmless. Others delay the moment a child gets the right help, or send families down expensive dead ends. Here are the ones parents ask about most, and what the evidence actually says.
Myth"Children grow out of dyslexia"
Fact: Dyslexia is lifelong. Children don't grow out of it, but with the right support they learn strategies that work around it, and many go on to thrive. What changes over time is not the dyslexia, it's how well equipped the person is to manage it. That is exactly why early, structured support matters.
Myth"Dyslexia isn't real"
Fact: Dyslexia is one of the most heavily researched learning difficulties in the world, with decades of evidence from education, genetics and neuroscience behind it. It exists in every culture, across every level of ability and every background.
Myth"Dyslexia is just about reading and spelling"
Fact: Reading and spelling are the visible part. Dyslexia can also affect working memory, processing speed, sequencing (days of the week, months, instructions) and organisation. A child who loses track of multi-step instructions, or who takes far longer than classmates to get ideas onto paper, may be showing dyslexia too.
Myth"A doctor can diagnose dyslexia"
Fact: Dyslexia is not a medical condition or an illness, so your GP cannot identify it. Identification comes from a qualified specialist assessor, using standardised tests of reading, spelling, phonological skills, memory and processing.
Myth"Dyslexia comes on its own"
Fact: Dyslexia often travels with other specific learning difficulties, such as dyscalculia, ADHD or Developmental Language Disorder. Not every dyslexic child has a second difficulty, but co-occurrence is common enough that a good assessment always looks at the whole picture. There's more on this on the SpLDs page.
Myth"Dyslexia mainly affects boys"
Fact: Dyslexia affects girls and boys alike. Girls are simply identified later, on average around two years later, often because they work quietly and mask their difficulties rather than acting out. If you have a daughter who works twice as hard for half the result, don't let "she's doing fine" put you off asking questions.
Myth"Coloured overlays and tinted lenses treat dyslexia"
Fact: Overlays can ease visual stress, an uncomfortable glare or movement some people experience when looking at text. But visual stress is not dyslexia, and an overlay does nothing for the underlying difficulty with processing the sounds in words. An overlay might make a page more comfortable to look at; it won't teach a child to read. There's more on vision below.
Myth"There's no point getting a label"
Fact: Good support shouldn't have to wait for a label, and in school it doesn't need one. But identification still matters. For many children, learning there is a name for what they experience, that it is real, recognised and not their fault, is a turning point for confidence. And a detailed assessment shows exactly where the barriers are, so support can be targeted rather than generic.
Myth"All dyslexic people are secretly creative geniuses"
Fact: This one is well-meant, but it isn't supported by the evidence. Dyslexic people have the same wide range of strengths as everyone else. Some are wonderfully creative; some are brilliant at maths, sport or leading a team. Every child deserves to have their real strengths noticed, rather than a stereotype.
Myth"There's a special dyslexia font that fixes reading"
Fact: Research doesn't support any single "dyslexia-friendly" typeface, Comic Sans included. What reliably helps is clear formatting: generous spacing between letters and lines, short paragraphs and uncluttered pages. Preferences vary from person to person, so let your child find what feels comfortable.
Adapted from Dyslexia Scotland's myth-busting guide.
A closer look
Dyslexia and vision
Because dyslexia shows itself when a child looks at print, it is easy to assume the problem lies with the eyes. Letters that seem to "jump around", or b's and d's swapping places, sound like vision problems. They aren't.
Dyslexia is a language-based difficulty. It starts with how the brain processes the sounds within words and maps them onto letters, not with how the eyes see the page. Decades of research, summarised by the International Dyslexia Association, is clear on three points:
- There is no evidence that vision problems cause dyslexia.
- There is no evidence that eye exercises or vision therapy improve a child's reading or comprehension.
- There is no evidence that visual interventions, such as tinted lenses or overlays, treat dyslexia or other learning difficulties.
None of this means eyes don't matter. Every child struggling with reading should have a routine sight test, because an uncorrected vision problem makes everything harder, and a small number of children genuinely experience visual stress and find an overlay more comfortable. The key is to treat vision problems as vision problems, and dyslexia as dyslexia. Time and money spent on vision-based "cures" is time a child isn't getting the structured literacy teaching that actually works.
What this means for families
If your child is struggling with reading, a sight test is a sensible first step, but don't stop there. If their eyes are fine and reading is still hard, the answer lies in specialist, structured literacy support, not in overlays, tints or eye exercises. That is where an assessment earns its keep: it shows what is actually getting in the way.
Recommended reading
Books about dyslexia
Some books worth your time, grouped by who they are written for.
FAQ
Common questions
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that primarily affects reading and writing skills, but it does not only affect those. It is really about information processing, so a dyslexic child may have difficulty processing and remembering information they see and hear. Approximately 10% of children have dyslexia.
What are the signs of dyslexia in a primary school child?
Between the ages of 5 and 11, look for difficulty learning letters, hearing the sounds in words and rhyme, pronouncing longer words, spelling and copying, slow reading with poor decoding or comprehension, sequencing stories, learning times tables, left and right confusion, organisation difficulties, and trouble remembering instructions or finishing work.
What are the signs of dyslexia in a secondary school child?
Between the ages of 11 and 16, look for poor reading fluency and comprehension, reluctance to read, difficulty remembering instructions and phone numbers, slower handwriting speed, poor organisation and expression of written work, trouble meeting deadlines, low self-esteem or daydreaming, and a discrepancy between oral and written ability.
Is dyslexia linked to intelligence?
No. Dyslexia exists in every culture, across every level of ability and every background. Dyslexic people have the same wide range of strengths as everyone else, and every child deserves to have their real strengths noticed rather than a stereotype.
What should I do if I think my child is dyslexic?
Talk to your school's SENDCo, and look at targeted, structured intervention that meets your child's individual needs. You can also see how I can help, or get in touch for a free consultation call.