What Is Dyslexia? | Lydie Sax

10% of people in the UK have dyslexia.

People with dyslexia can still become terrific readers with the right support.

Many dyslexics have very high IQs and go on to accomplish outstanding things. Many famous authors, researchers, actors, politicians and athletes are also dyslexic.

Signs of dyslexia can be spotted in children as early as 5 years old .

Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that can make reading, writing and spelling more challenging. People with dyslexia have difficulty with phonological processing, making it hard to decode and recognise words. People with dyslexia may also struggle with comprehension, writing, and other language-based tasks.

It's important to say though, that dyslexia has no impact on intelligence. Loads highly successful people have dyslexia, including academics, politicians, entrepreneurs, comedians, actors, athletes and artists.

Here are some common signs that might mean someone has dyslexia:

Reading slowly and making mistakes, like saying “buppy" instead of "puppy"
Struggling to spell words, like writing "wrd" instead of "word"
Having a hard time understanding rhymes and sounds in words
Having trouble following spoken instructions, like when a teacher gives directions
Forgetting things easily, like phone numbers or multiplication tables

Not everyone with dyslexia will have all of these signs, and dyslexia can show up in different ways for different people. If you think your child might be struggling with dyslexia, talk to the school or apply for an assessment through the British Dyslexia Association.

If you're looking for more information about dyslexia, or some interactive website to help your child, these are some good places to start...