Dyslexia struggles with reading, writing, and spelling, affecting about 1 in 10 people across all backgrounds, regardless of intelligence, often due to how the brain processes language, leading to challenges with decoding words, phonics, and sequencing, impacting school and life, though it's a neurological difference, not a lack of ability, with many famous successful individuals having it.
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.
Treatment for Dyslexia
Yet people with dyslexia can overcome many of the symptoms with lessons, practice and patience. “A person's reading can get better with high-quality instruction that helps them with the parts of reading they struggle with, coupled with a lot of practice reading,” says Norton.
Good days and bad days
You may find that some days your partner's dyslexic difficulties will be more pronounced than others. Remember - one way of thinking isn't better than another.
In reality, dyslexia can affect memory, organisation, time-keeping, concentration, multi-tasking and communication. Dyslexic people can experience processing overload and 'zone out', and often use time management tools such as the 'Pomodoro technique' or colour coded calendars to help manage this.
Dyslexic individuals often excel in creative fields like art, design and storytelling. Our brains are wired to think visually, making us great at generating unique ideas and seeing connections where others might not.
Yes, trauma – both physical and emotional – have been cited in potentially causing the onset of dyslexia. Trauma Dyslexia, also commonly referred to as acquired dyslexia, can develop after a person has experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI), such as a fall from a ladder, a car accident, a sports injury, etc.
Establish a routine
Dyslexic learners may find it difficult to maintain concentration for long periods of time and may get tired quickly, so it's a good idea to create a routine which emphasises 'a little and often' rather than trying to squeeze too much work into a longer session.
Bill Gates, one of the richest people in the world didn't let his dyslexia hold him back.
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!
Read to Students
While dyslexic students may struggle to read independently, they benefit greatly from someone reading to them. While they may be reading below grade level on their own, their listening comprehension is usually equal to or above that of their peers.
The recommended seven hands-on learning strategies that can promote learning and support for struggling readers during literacy instruction include Build the Words, Feel the Words, Whole Body Letters, Five Finger Retell, Sight Word BINGO, Elkonin Boxes, and Word Swat.
Some examples of positive coping strategies are: Working harder or smarter. Getting organised. Having a positive attitude towards new challenges. Compensating for dyslexic difficulties through the use of appropriate technology (click here for some examples)
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”.
General signs to look for are:
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.
Albert Einstein was dyslexic. Like many of the world's 7.5 million children with learning disabilities he was thought to be unintelligent by his teachers. Fortunately, his parents placed him in a special school where he was taught in accordance with his disability.
Did you know that 25-40% of CEOs are dyslexic? Neither did I until I started working with them. Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, and Richard Branson are a few you might know of who were and are. And countless non-famous women CEOs you've never heard of (but that's a story for another time), as well.
Woodrow Wilson, 1856-1924, (learning disability)
28th President of the United States from 1913-1921 who is known to have a (learning disability) (dyslexia).
Three dimensional thinking and making connections
Many people with dyslexia demonstrate better skills at manipulating 3D objects in their mind. Many of the world's top architects and fashion designers have dyslexia.
Confusion between left and right. Struggling with tasks like tying shoes. Mixing up sounds and syllables in long words. Trouble memorizing important things like their address or phone number.
A recent study found that children with ADHD and people with dyslexia had higher rates of daytime sleepiness than children without ADHD.
Firstly, it is theorised that dyslexics may have high levels of emotional intelligence, sensitivity, and awareness of others' emotions because they frequently experience 'secondary symptoms of dyslexia'.
Unhealed trauma often appears as chronic people-pleasing, relationship struggles, anxiety, self-destructive coping, or persistent shame and emptiness. Trauma rewires the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex, affecting memory, emotion regulation, decision-making, and social interactions.