Dyslexia is diagnosed more frequently in boys, with studies showing males are 2 to 3 times more likely to have it, but this may partly be due to boys being referred more often for behavioral issues, while girls might mask difficulties, leading to underdiagnosis in females. Research suggests the underlying brain differences for dyslexia can be similar in both sexes, but girls may present differently, often being quieter or using coping strategies, meaning the true prevalence might be closer than clinical diagnoses suggest, according to researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center and National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Because dyslexia is two to three times more prevalent in males compared with females, “females have been overlooked,” says senior author Guinevere Eden, PhD, director for the Center for the Study of Learning and past-president of the International Dyslexia Association.
The sex difference in reading is fully mediated by processing speed, inhibition and verbal reasoning. Processing speed, which is also slower and more variable in males, mediates the sex difference in both dyslexia and ADHD.
About 60% of people with dyslexia are men, with women representing a similar percentage. People from different economic and ethnic backgrounds suffer from dyslexia at about the same rate. Children that grow up in poverty are 40% more likely to have reading and language learning difficulties.
Initially, it was thought that dyslexia occurred much more often in boys than girls. However, recent research suggests that dyslexia is only slightly more common (1.5 to 1) in boys than girls.
Common Misconceptions about Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a sign of low intelligence: Dyslexia does not impact your child's intelligence in any way. As a matter of fact, many dyslexic students are super intelligent and bursting with talent. The only challenge they have is that their brains process language differently.
Famous actors like Johnny Depp, Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom all have dyslexia. Pablo Picasso's teachers described him as “having difficulty differentiating the orientation of letters”.
Both mothers and fathers can pass dyslexia on to their children if either parent has it. There is roughly a 50% – 60% chance of a child developing dyslexia if one of their parents has it.
One in five people are dyslexic, including over 50 percent of NASA employees.
Understanding and supporting individuals with Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, and Dyspraxia is essential for fostering an inclusive and effective learning environment. These disorders can also coincide with other conditions such as ADHD and Autism, requiring a comprehensive approach.
Dyslexia is not a disease. It's a condition a person is born with, and it often runs in families. People with dyslexia are not stupid or lazy. Most have average or above-average intelligence, and they work very hard to overcome their reading problems.
Dyslexia in children with autism
However, research to date suggests that children with autism are not at increased risk for dyslexia. In fact, many children with autism have excellent basic reading skills. Some even have what we call “hyperlexia.” They learn to read at very early ages without being taught.
The double-deficit hypothesis of dyslexia posits that both rapid naming and phonological impairments can cause reading difficulties, and that individuals who have both of these deficits show greater reading impairments compared to those with a single deficit.
Many people do have these symptoms, but some people also don't – and likely even more people learn to mask them from an early age so that's it's difficult for even themselves to work out something might be different. And this throws up some difficulties when it comes to diagnosing girls who have dyslexia.
Dyslexia is not exclusive to any particular level of intelligence; it can affect individuals with average, above-average, and highly gifted intellect.
The big news from a recent Hollywood Reporter article on actress Jennifer Aniston is her revelation that she struggled with dyslexia as a young person. She didn't receive a diagnosis, and the comfort and understanding that it can bring, until her early 20s.
But if a child has a low IQ and additional problem with dyslexia, that just is going to mean that they're going to have even more difficulty learning to read. But knowing that, most people with dyslexia are, at least, average or above-average IQ. So, it is not related to intelligence at all.
NASA embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace and provides equal opportunity in Federal employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity1 or pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, or status as a parent.
Bill Gates, one of the richest people in the world didn't let his dyslexia hold him back.
No, dyslexia is not a form of ADHD; they are separate neurodevelopmental conditions, but they often co-occur (comorbid) because they share some symptoms like attention issues and can affect similar brain functions, though their core problems differ: dyslexia is a language-based learning disorder, while ADHD involves inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Many people have both, making proper assessment crucial for targeted support, as dyslexia impacts reading/language processing, while ADHD broadly affects executive functions like focus and self-regulation.
Consistent with earlier work showing that RAN, letter name knowledge, and phonological awareness are core predictors of dyslexia (Catts, Fey, Zhang, & Tomblin, 2001; Pennington & Lefly, 2001), these studies highlight the slow development of language, phonological awareness, and decoding-related skills, including poor ...
Research by the University of Strathclyde has found that people with dyslexia are much better at being curious and exploring new ideas and more likely to be found in careers where this is an advantage, such as art, media, architecture, creativity, engineering and inventing things!
Ryan Gosling has accumulated praise for movies like The Notebook, La La Land, and Barbie. However, behind this fame, his life's story was full of bravery. The Hollywood hunk faced dyslexia and Adhd as a kid. School was difficult, and bullying made it worse.
Actress Jennifer Aniston has publicly shared that she was diagnosed with dyslexia in her 20s, a diagnosis that explained lifelong struggles with reading, writing, and retaining information, leading her to believe she wasn't smart until discovering the learning disorder. She discovered this during an eye exam, where she realized her eyes jumped words when reading, and the diagnosis helped her understand past difficulties, transforming her self-perception.
Gwen Stefani opened up about a challenge in high school that became a “superpower” when she began to harness her creative energies. The 54-year-old pop star and The Voice coach explained that she struggled with undiagnosed dyslexia. In a new interview, she revealed when she first realized what was going on.