Dyslexia

Developmental dyslexia is a condition or learning disability which causes difficulty with reading and writing. Its standard definition is a difficulty in reading and writing in spite of normal or above-average intelligence and cognitive abilities.

The term dyslexia is also sometimes used to refer to the loss of reading ability following brain damage. This form of dyslexia is more often referred to as either acquired dyslexia or "Alexia". Dyslexia primarily impacts reading and writing abilities; however, other difficulties have been reported including deficits in processing spoken language as well as non-language difficulties.

Despite popular belief, dyslexia is not caused by reversing the order of letters in reading, nor is it a visual perception deficit that involves reading letters or words backwards or upside down.

Evidence that dyslexia is a neurological or brain-based condition is substantial. Research also suggests an association with biochemical and genetic markers. Some question whether the term dyslexia is so fraught with popular misconceptions that it should be dropped altogether and replaced with the term Reading Disorder or Reading Disability. Because difficulty in "breaking the code" of sound-letter association can be seen as being on a continuum, some believe the term dyslexia should be reserved for the most severely affected with reading disability, the bottom two to five percent. Moreover, dyslexia is not always the culprit in a child's not learning to read. Poor teaching methods can leave non-dyslexic children with poor reading skills.

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Related Links:

• Mayo Clinic

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