“What is Dyslexia?”

“What is Dyslexia?” is a question that gets asked often, and at Solve Learning Disabilities we understand Dyslexia through firsthand experiences. Our own journey began as we observed some of our children facing hurdles in their education. In searching for clarity, we found a rich community of people who were working to help those with learning disabilities and supply answers to the questions we had. Their dedication and support ignited a passion within us and inspired the founders of Solve Learning Disabilities (SLD) to create our website. We aim to demystify dyslexia, offering resources, guidance, and a haven for those seeking answers to the very question that one perplexed us.

What is the Definition of Dyslexia?

So, what is dyslexia? Dyslexia is a learning disability that causes people with it to struggle with reading. This disability is the cause of underdevelopment or weakness in the language areas in the brain, this underdevelopment causes people to struggle with reading, writing and even speaking. It is more common than one might think, with estimates suggesting that 1 out of every 10 people experience it. The condition, once considered lifelong and incurable, is now viewed in a new light.  New fMRI brain scanning technology has paved the way for groundbreaking approaches such as the “Unlock Brilliance Method”. This innovative method uses brain integration exercises to strengthen the language area of the brain and help reverse the effects of dyslexia. These exercises have been successful in many centers around the world, and they’re so quick and easy we were able to do them at home with my son.

Our Experiences with Dyslexia

Since his early years, my son has struggled with reading and writing. His intelligence was never in question—he was, undeniably, a bright child. This led us to speculate that maybe he had problems with his vision, but we were only half right in that assumption. We would see an optometrist regularly for many years, and although this did help it didn’t get us to the point that we wanted to be at. I began searching for answers for what my son could be struggling with and eventually I heard of something called dyslexia. “What is Dyslexia?” then became a nagging question in my head. Through research I learned that dyslexia was the very learning disability that caused my son to struggle through the years. With a name for our challenge, I now searched for a cure. That is when I stumbled upon the “Unlock Brilliance Method”. This method and its easy exercises allowed me to reverse the symptoms of dyslexia in my son, by committing just 15 to 30 minutes each day to simple exercises.

Summary

Today, my son is an avid reader and no longer struggles with writing, reading, and speaking. This is all thanks to the “Unlock Brilliance Method” and its practical exercises. This journey, marked by my son’s early struggles, fueled a collective passion in myself and fellow founders to create Solve Learning Disabilities. Our mission is to share what we learned and help others around the world. We offer free guides that could help anyone grappling with the question, “What is dyslexia?” and seeking ways to reverse it. At Solve Learning Disabilities, we invite you to learn ways to help people who struggle with dyslexia and to access more information on the subject. Join our community and be a part of the solution.

For the majority of us who don’t know what dyslexia is, understanding a dyslexic completely could be hard. Dyslexic people suffer from a learning disability which makes it difficult for them to process words and numbers properly. But it is more than that.

A Dyslexic finds it difficult to read, speak, and write words. Due to this, they have a poor speaking, writing, and reading ability. However, it would be wrong to regard Dyslexic people as less intelligent. In reality, they are extremely creative and intelligent people who prefer to think outside of the box.

What is “Dyslexic”?

Dyslexic is a person with Dyslexia. Many people regard dyslexia as a disease. However, dyslexia is not a disease. There is no bacteria or virus causing it. There is no genetic mutation whatsoever. There is no brain damage.

For decades it caused professionals to wonder what the cause was. In recent years, better brain scanning equipment has been developed that can scan the active parts of the brain during reading. This allows professionals to see the difference in a good reader vs. a struggling reader. Neurologists have found that it is weaker areas of the brain in the language areas and connection to memory that are contributing to dyslexia and other reading disabilities. There is also weakness between the right and left hemisphere of the brain that makes comprehending difficult.

This is precisely the reason why it does not become automatic to them. They find reading and retaining letters and words such a tedious task.

The good news is, now they know what is causing it which is leading to some wonderful interventions that are helping children all over the world.

What Problems do Dyslexic People Generally Face?

Most people believe that dyslexia causes the brain to perceive letters and numbers in a reverse order. However, reversals are one of the less common signs of Dyslexia and normal until around the age of 6. See the full list of Dyslexic Symptoms.

Their reading ability is slower as compared to other students in the class. Dyslexic children mix up the letters in words. For example, they read the word “now” as “won”. The words seem to blend all together with no meanings as such. As a result, it is not shocking to see when students with dyslexia make basic spelling errors over and over again.

They also face a lot of problems while expressing themselves in writing and speaking. These negative aspects make the dyslexic students extremely self-conscious. They avoid participating in classrooms and often withdraw socially.

Another characteristic that is commonly observed among dyslexic people is they don’t remember what they have read. Furthermore, solving basic math problems could be more problematic for dyslexic people.

What Positive Aspects Do Dyslexic People Have?

Dyslexics also exhibit amazing cognitive and intellectual strengths. Dyslexic people are great at analytic reasoning, spatial relations, critical thinking, lateral thinking, visual thinking, and creativity.

They can solve difficult problems with their strong reasoning ability and have a remarkable skill to look at problems from a different perspective. They also possess interests in creative fields like theater, music, and sports.

The key is to strengthen the parts of the brain that are functioning on a lower lever so the words and letters can be recognized, retained in memory and recalled instantly. This is why we are passionate about our movement to Solve Learning Disabilities.

Reverse Dyslexia with At-Home Intervention Exercises

There is still a lot of controversy among professionals as to what constitutes a true diagnosis of ‘Dyslexia’. The word ‘Dyslexia’ is generally used in broad terms by many to describe a child that struggles significantly when reading or learning to read. It does not have to be characterized by backwards letters. Seeing words or letters backwards is only one of the many Dyslexia Symptoms.

The letters may look strange to them or appear to move around. They may struggle in early reading, unable to connect letters with their sounds. See other Dyslexia Symptoms

But this is not always the case. Some do well with letters and small words, but Dyslexia becomes more apparent when they start to read whole sentences or more difficult words. They may have to sound out the same word every time they come to it and have low comprehension of what they read. Reading for Dyslexics requires a lot of time, energy, and hard work. Therefore, they exert more energy to read and fatigue quicker.

Practice, practice, practice is not the answer. These kids learn differently!

The Struggle is Real

It is so hard to watch your child struggle, hate, and avoid reading. We know that some of you might be just wondering if your child is dyslexic while the other half of you know and are lying awake at night worrying about your sweetie and praying they have a better day at school tomorrow. You’re feeling like it is killing their self esteem and ruining their school experience both academically and socially the older they get. It is causing problems in the family because they come home so agitated from feeling inadequate and scared of embarrassment at school. We get it. We have lived it. We have found some interventions that really worked and are passionate about sharing them with you.

Can my child’s Dyslexia be reversed?

Most Dyslexia interventions focus on repetition of phonics, syllables and site words. This is reasonable. Children with Dyslexia need extra support in these areas. However, practice, practice, practice is not the answer. These kids learn differently!

The new fMRI brain scanning equipment and professional studies coming forth are extending the frontiers of our knowledge on what we knew about Dyslexia.  We are in a new age where there is now enough understanding about Dyslexia to produce interventions that strengthen the weakness at the root of the problem…the brain. Check out our free Dyslexia Video Training.

Read more information on Primitive reflexes that affect dyslexia and Auditory processing and dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a common Learning Disability which involves issues with reading, spelling and writing. Dyslexia is on the rise. When not dealt with properly, it easily turns into bigger problems including behavior problems, and self-esteem issues.

However, it is not only children who have Dyslexia. Even teenagers and older adults have Dyslexia. It may be common to think that people with Dyslexia are less intelligent. In reality, they are highly creative, very intelligent and hardworking people.

Studies show that about 5 to 10% of Americans have symptoms of Dyslexia such as slow reading, trouble pronouncing, spelling, or mixing up words. There is still controversy over “What is Dyslexia?”

What is Dyslexia

There is no exact set of factors that cause Dyslexia. However, professionals have found that Dyslexics have something in common. It is the way their brain receives, processes, retains and recalls visual images. They are also different in the way they handle verbal input and parts of language. They may have Auditory Processing Issues that affect reading.  When children first learn to read, they learn to connect the sound with each letter, then learn to recognize words by site or sounding out phonics and syllables. The last step is to comprehend by combining those words in a meaning and retaining it in memory. However, kids with Dyslexia are below average in these functions. Thus, they face trouble reading, spelling and writing. See all of the Symptoms of Dyslexia.

Professionals have recently found that there are Dyslexia intervention exercises that can stimulate and strengthen these functions of the brain to produce smoother, more fluent reading and comprehension.

Problems of Dyslexia

Children, teens, or adults with Dyslexia face a number of issues related to reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Kids may under perform in their studies due to slow learning. They may have Retained Infant Reflexes that affect reading. Since reading is the most basic skill, children with Dyslexia may have difficulty keeping up with their peers.

Since children with Dyslexia can’t read properly, they lose self-confidence. If this condition is left untreated, Dyslexia may cause behavior problems, anxiety, depression, and aggression toward family and classmates. Out of embarrassment, children may withdraw from their friends, parents, and teachers.

Due to Dyslexia, a student may suffer from headaches or a stomachache while reading. Furthermore, many Dyslexics suffer from anxiety and fatigue quickly. All of this prevents the child from reaching their full potential if interventions are not done.

Positive Dyslexia Traits

Dyslexia isn’t all bad. It also has some positive attributes. People with Dyslexia are highly intelligent and creative. Their interests typically lean towards drama, sports, designs, music, sports, and business.

They are blessed with strong reasoning skills which help them solve any kind of problem quite easily. People with Dyslexia can easily adapt to new situations and have highly empathetic and warm personalities. They are also curious, imaginative, and think outside of the box.

Although these are beneficial traits, think how much more successful the child will be if they can read well too. If you observe the signs and symptoms of Dyslexia in your child, don’t allow it to go untreated.

Discover the Dyslexia Symptoms and other skills affected by it. Dyslexia is characterized by problems in reading, spelling and writing.

However, Dyslexia is not just about reading, it is much more than that. It is a Learning Disability that affects the way the brain processes written and spoken language, as well as memory. These children can often be misunderstood as lazy, inattentive or Attention Deficit.  On the contrary! Dyslexics are very intelligent, so it may confuse parents when their bright child struggles in reading and and other subjects.

Below is a list of Dyslexia Symptoms. A Dyslexic child will seldom have all of the Dyslexia Symptoms, but will display some of them.

Whether or not they are severe enough to be diagnosed with Dyslexia, it is important to do the interventions that will help them create stronger neurological connections in the areas of the brain that contribute to smooth, fluent reading, comprehension and memory. These exercises are simple enough to be done right at home.  And, surprisingly, it does not involve a lot of reading or phonics. There are better interventions than practice, practice, practice. These kids learn different! Also see What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia Symptoms

• A bright intelligent child that struggles in reading and spelling.
• Choppy, non-fluent reading.
• Forgets newly learned words by the next page.
• Has to relearn the same words over and over.
• Struggles to sound out words, especially isolated words.
• Difficulty learning phonic sounds. Has to relearn them often.
• Often guesses at words when reading.
• Misses punctuation. Reads right through the end of a sentence without stopping.
• Tires of reading sooner than typical children.
• An typical curios child that avoids reading for fun.
• Poor spelling and handwriting.
• Misses or reverses syllables.
• May read or write letters or words backwards after the age of 6.
• Has a problem with reading accuracy: Leaves small words out or adds small words in like at, to, the.
• Sometimes reads a sentence out of order.
• Substitutes a more difficult word with the same meaning for the one in the text they are reading.
• Leaves suffixes off words: Such as the plural ‘s’, ‘ing’ and ‘ang’ etc.
• Misses tiny words like ‘to’ or ‘a’.
• Becomes nauseous or dizzy when reading.
• Gets headaches when reading although they are wearing their glasses or their vision check was good.
• Can play with Legos or video game for hours, but seems to have an attention problem when it is homework time.
• May see movement in the words of letters.
• Has poor comprehension. May get through a sentence but not know what the text meant. This worsens with age in the higher grades as the text becomes more difficult.

Find out more about Dyslexia Testing and the Dyslexia Interventions.

Reading is a skill that we all must acquire at an early age to be successful in life. However, people with Dyslexia face trouble in matching letters to sounds, then sounds to words, and finally words to meaning. When this happens, they are unable to read fluently. Or, They will struggle at retaining the meaning of what they have read. If left untreated, it may plague them all through school and into their adult life. We get asked how to diagnose Dyslexia successfully? Although there isn’t a single test for the diagnosis of Dyslexia, there is a series of assessments that will help determine Dyslexia.

Could it Be Dyslexia

Dyslexia is not just reversals of letters and words. It is a number of reading problems severe enough to cause a child to fall behind and struggle reading, writing and spelling. See our list of common Dyslexia Symptoms Checklist. Or check out our Dyslexia Video Training.

Professionals are different in how they diagnose Dyslexia. There is no standard for number of symptoms or severity that constitutes Dyslexia. It is up to the individual tester to choose whether to give the diagnosis of Dyslexia or not. Some professionals are very conservative when it comes to giving a Dyslexia diagnosis. Children with enough symptoms may go un-diagnosed. In addition, others might hand the diagnosis out too easily without ruling out other contributing factors first. This is why it is so important as a parent to learn the symptoms and other disabilities that mimic Dyslexia.

In this generation, a lot or reliance is put on the school and teacher to make sure a child succeeds in school. This is important, but as a parent, you should take the initiative to assess the child’s struggles in school and at home. Speak with teaches and find out what they are specifically struggling in. Make notes of it.

Reading struggles at any severity should be dealt with early on. Without intervention, the gap between what they should be able to read and what they can read broadens as they get into grades with more difficult sentences and paragraphs.

Dyslexia Testing

While a small percentage of parents take their child for an official Dyslexia Test, it is a good idea to have your child assessed so you know the severity of their disability. A psychologist that specializes in early childhood development should be able to conduct a Dyslexia Test. It is important to familiarize yourself and your child with the type of things your child will be asked to do. Children are often afraid of the unknown and tired of feeling ‘incompetent’ at reading. For this reason, we have a Sample of a Dyslexia Test you can download and do with your child prior to taking them in. This will help them feel more comfortable at their testing.

Educate Yourself

We created a Free 3 part video series on Dyslexia. It applies to all reading disabilities and is very educational. Also, it goes into some of the other learning disabilities that mimic Dyslexia. You will also discover how they learn differently. And, how to use that difference to their benefit. Furthermore, it gives quick hacks and accommodations to help your little reader improve right away.

Why It Is Important

There are three simple steps you can take to make a very positive change for your struggling reader. Reading struggles are traumatizing for children. It not only lowers their self esteem but subjects them to embarrassment and ridicule at school. I know this first hand. My dad was dyslexic, I was, and my son was. I remember the embarrassment of being called on to read in class. I haven’t forgotten the cold sweats and hot face while feeling everyone was snickering behind my back. I stumbled through reading words incorrectly and losing my place over and over again. However, it doesn’t have to be like this. There are three things I have learned through experience and 5 years of research that ended in my son reversing his dyslexia.

1. No Aloud Reading in Class

This is a big one, nor reading in front of other children until they have done enough intervention exercises to read somewhat smoothly.  Children are extremely sensitive to what others think of them, especially struggling readers. They are extremely intuitive. They are so fearful about public reading that it actually kicks their ‘fight-or-flight’ response into high gear. This is an uncontrollable reaction of the lower part of the brain to extreme fear. It gives them the cold sweats and drains the blood from their head and sends it out to their extremities. Furthermore, it also disengages parts of the brain used for reading while in this state. Talk about agony! You have the right as a parent to ask teachers for accommodations and this is one of the best to ask for.

2. Spend more time doing reading intervention activities than reading

Make your at-home time count.  I spoke to a neurologist who specializes in learning disabilities. He recommended splitting up whatever time you have with them into 80/20. This is 80% of the time on intervention and 20% of the time working on phonics and reading. This will feel opposite to your plan, but the interventions will actually stimulate the parts of the brain for reading to higher function. As their word recognition and phonics area connects better, reading will automatically come easier. Learn more of that on our Free Training Videos.

3. Require less work.

Ask your child’s teacher to reduce the amount of work expected, such as shorter reading requirements and half the problems on worksheets. Struggling readers should not be expected to do the amount of assignments typical readers do. They work twice as long and ten times harder to get the same assignments completed. Completing assignments quicker will give them a sense of accomplishment and give you more time in the evening to spend on interventions instead of homework.

How Will The Teacher Feel About This?

I have found teachers to be extremely willing to help. They want to see these kids succeed too. Furthermore, they are usually the first to see that the child is not learning in the same way the other children are. In our district, you don’t need an official diagnosis of Dyslexia to get reading accommodations such as these. But if your school requires it, learn about official dyslexia testing.

Summary

Get these kids feeling better about themselves and stop the trauma. They do not have to be humiliated in class. Moreover, they do not have to have endless frustrating hours of homework and phonics to succeed. They are brilliant kids and learn differently. Our Free Video series has a whole video on the difference in how they read. Check it out.