RET Center Press - FAQ - Learning Disability - Dyslexia - Dysgraphia - Paradox? - IDA - Organization - Memory

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin.
It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and / or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.
These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.
Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

Dyslexia Research Definition: Adopted by IDA Board, November 2002; Adopted by the National Institutes of Health, 2002

Other valuable and relevant concepts pertaining to dyslexia:

Even though there is a phonological deficit, many times the "equipment" for understanding, forming concepts, and interpreting written text is unaffected. This may be why accurate identification may be delayed in many students: it is delayed in spite of the richness and depth of the student's intellectual abilities.
- Sally Shaywitz (a prominent researcher), refers to dyslexia as "a glitch in the language system".
Imaging studies reveal markedly different brain activation patterns in dyslexic readers compared to those in good readers.
- Shaywitz', Overcoming Dyslexia, page 81
Dyslexia is not only common, it is persistent.
Individuals with reading difficulties differ from one another and from typical readers along an entire continuing rather then being organized into one or two clearly defined groupings.
Many symptoms accompany dyslexia. It is important to recognize that each dyslexic student is different for every other dyslexic student. A single dyslexic individual will not demonstrate all of the symptoms, nor does anyone symptoms indicate dyslexia. Each symptomrepresents an aspect of normal development; but in the individual with dyslexia, the symptoms may persist past the time when it is normally integrated into the system.
The following references are among those that describe diagnostic procedures:
- Dyslexia Testing: A Process, Not a Score
- Overcoming Dyslexia
- Straight Talk about Reading
- The Neuropsychology of Reading Disorders
- The Source for Dyslexia and Dysgraphia (LinguiSystems)
- Articles online at the International Dyslexia Association and the Inland Empire Branch of IDA
- Articles online at LDonLine