1. Word flipping, like was/saw or on/no, or mirror writing, is a sure sign of dyslexia. Word flipping or mirror writing are classic “symptoms” often heralded as proof of dyslexia. But many people with reading difficulty don’t do either of these things. We’ve found that this kind of behaviour often stems from a visual-spatial giftedness, which causes them to see words as whole shapes, able to be rotated in space exactly like an image.
2. Dyslexia affects many more males than females. Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1990 showed that boys and girls struggled with reading at a relatively comparable rate.
3. Dyslexia corresponds to low IQ. This is absolutely not the case! We have found that many bright children struggle to read due to an especially gifted visual strength (which we call Optilexia) – so in fact, at times reading difficulty stems from a misapplied strength rather than a weakness! There is a nearly endless list of people at the top of their field in business, law, medicine and the arts who have dyslexic patterns of reading.
4. Dyslexics cannot learn to read. There is a misconception that once you have a dyslexia diagnosis, it is a sure sign that your child cannot learn to read or will never read very well. This is simply not the case. We are currently able to teach about 99% of the kids who come to us for help with a variety of issues, and often get bring them up to the class average at least if not above. There may always be a natural tendency and interest in things other than reading, but that is vitally different than saying that a dyslexic child cannot in principle ever read.
5. More reading practice is the cure for dyslexia. Einstein said that doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result is a sign of insanity! Simply trying more of the same approach to reading that has already failed a child is not going to work. You need to find an approach that targets the underlying causes of reading difficulty for each learner. We’ve pinpointed the 8 main causes, and have specific solutions for each of them. For many kids with difficulties, a visual approach to phonics is the best one as it appeals to their natural strengths and learning styles. Guided Phonetic Reading is one such approach.
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Sarah Forrest is a Reading Specialist for the Easyread System, an online course that uses a highly visual approach to help struggling readers who have dyslexia, auditory processing disorder, poor working memory and more.
