Medically speaking, "Dyslexia is a neuropsychological disorder that affects reading and spelling.

In the 1990’s, advancesin MRI technology  allowed the medical community to see for the first time exactly what  the driving force behind dyslexia looks like.  Studies were conducted where dyslexics and non dyslexics were placed in an MRI and then asked to read.  Interestingly the brain scans revealed that the dyslexics and non dyslexics were actually using different parts of the brain to read.  In and of itself that would not be a problem except for the fact that the part of the brain that the dyslexics were using was not efficient at that process.  It is these inefficiencies that are identified during the course of a thorough dyslexia evaluation.  

Of course an MRI is just a picture.  The actual condition is a diverse combination of factors that interact to effect each individual differently.  Dyslexia is a condition that nearly 18% of human beings are born with.  If left unchecked, it will persist for life.

This is a technical definition of dyslexia.  For the dyslexic and their family, the condition is a great deal more.  Hours of homework, poor grades, low self esteem, frustration and anger are just a few pieces of the puzzle that are dyslexia.

         The Good News: 

Dyslexics can, with the proper therapy

and training, teach their brain to work

efficiently so that they can read and write fluently for the rest of their lives.

 

Some Signs of Dyslexia

· Difficulty reading and or understanding what is read.

· Inability to remember how to spell common words.

· Cannot retain studied material    or spelling words after a test.

· Spells all words as they sound.

· Excessive time spent on homework.