Dyslexia and Reading

Studies show that between 5-17% of children and adults have dyslexia. According to the Dyslexia Center of Utah, one in five students have a language based learning disability (dyslexia included). While dyslexia can make reading much more difficult, it does not mean it is impossible.

Reading with dyslexia can be slow and laborious. Readers with dyslexia process language differently: this includes reading, spelling, and sometimes speaking as well. Particularly, manipulating sounds at the phonological level is what gets in the way of reading. Because of this, fluency is the root problem but this can lead to difficulties in comprehension.

Students who struggle with phonics often require specifically designed instruction to meet their needs. The instruction that is most helpful is intense and focused on sound to symbol imagery. Within this instruction, readers are able to use multiple senses to begin to recognize sounds and the symbols they represent.

A recent study investigated how intensive, focused instruction, even for those with dyslexia, can lead to growth in reading skills. Doctors involved in the study concluded that "targeted, intensive reading programs… change the underlying wiring of the brain’s reading circuitry” (Nature Communications, 2018).

Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability. It is genetically inherited and cannot be taken away. But, with structured literacy techniques, those with dyslexia can learn to process sounds, symbols, words, and reading more productively.