Consumer Information on Dyslexia
About Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability caused by the brain’s inability to recognize words, letters, symbols, and/or sounds. These difficulties can cause repeated spelling errors, reading problems, and trouble sounding out words. Common characteristics include:
- Difficulty pronouncing words
- Difficulty with reading and reading comprehension
- Difficulty spelling
- Difficulty learning letter names and their given sounds
- Difficulty spelling words by sounding them out
- Difficulty sequencing letters in words
- Difficulty with handwriting
- Difficulty with rapid naming
- Difficulty rhyming
- Difficulty understanding right and left handedness
- Difficulty in mathematics
- Seeing or writing letters in reverse (for example, "d" for "b")
It is important to remember that many people without dyslexia may have 1 or 2 of the characteristics. People with dyslexia usually exhibit multiple characteristics that may or may not be listed above.
Dyslexia and Your Child
If you think your child is dyslexic, educate yourself about dyslexia, testing, and instructional methodologies.
You may want to talk to your child’s teacher or local school’s reading specialist. Discuss your concerns and describe your child’s behavior in detail. Give specific examples.
You may have to write a formal request to your child’s school asking for a dyslexia or specific learning disability test. You may also want to explore local dyslexia resources.
For more information, contact the Academic Language Therapy Association, the International Dyslexia Association, the Learning Disabilities Association of America, and the Learning Disabilities Association of Texas.
Treatment Options
Every person is unique and their treatment may require a specific technique. Multisensory (hear, see, say, touch, and movement) techniques are often used to actively engage the student in the learning process by using multiple senses at the same time.
You may want to review the Texas Education Agency’s Dyslexia Handbook for more information.