Dyslexia: Dispelling Myths and Exploring Current Research

Learning to read can be more complex and challenging than learning to speak. This article clears up common misunderstandings about dyslexia and provides much-needed insights into teaching practices that are inconsistent with current knowledge of this reading difficulty.

The mysteries of learning to read seem puzzling to those who read well and effortlessly. Many wonder how it is that some youngsters who are otherwise very bright and capable might struggle with the basic skills of reading. Most of us cannot remember how we learned to read. It seemed almost natural, like learning to talk. However, for many individuals, learning to read is a very difficult and taxing process, which may be why dyslexia was initially referred to as word blindness. Dyslexia is not new. Worried parents have brought their children to doctors and clinicians for hundreds of years hoping for a cure. This “hope for a cure” has resulted in many unfortunate ideas about how to “fix” this reading problem. Misunderstanding about dyslexia has led to parents spending unnecessary resources and precious time on treatments that are inadequate. This article will clarify long-held misunderstandings about dyslexia so that educators and parents will abandon practices or materials that are inconsistent with what we know about dyslexia.

One of the fundamental misunderstandings about learning to read is that reading development is NOT a natural process. This contrasts markedly with language acquisition, which is a natural process. Language will develop through ongoing exposure to language models (typically parents) who speak to them and answer them as they begin to speak. Learning to read does not happen merely through exposure to persons who read or opportunities to watch and listen to reading. Over the past several decades, we have learned a great deal from research about learning to read — specifically as it applies to individuals with dyslexia. For the vast majority of students, the most successful approaches to reading instruction involve explicit, systematic and cumulative instruction in the alphabetic code (how the sounds of language map to print) and applying that code to read words. It also entails teaching what words mean and how to understand the language in print, along with providing abundant opportunities to read and understand increasingly complex texts with direct support and feedback from the teacher. Even with these more scientifically based approaches to reading, students with dyslexia are likely to develop as readers more slowly and find reading to be a more laborious process than those without dyslexia.

A second misunderstanding about dyslexia is that youngsters who reverse letters — for example, they cannot tell a “b” from a “d” — are dyslexic and likely to have trouble reading. Letter reversals are common in young children and are not an indicator of dyslexia.

A third common misunderstanding is “waiting” for youngsters to get older instead of providing much-needed early intervention. Learning to read is much harder for some students than others, but it is achievable with the right support. As with all learning, students acquire proficiency at varying rates and with varying amounts of effort. When we teach students with dyslexia appropriately, we provide them with faster access to reading, writing and spelling. The earlier this occurs, the less stressful the process. Hence, early intervention and a structured, explicit approach to reading instruction play a critical role in the support of students with dyslexia.