What is dyslexia?

Dear Parent of a child with dyslexia, does your child struggle to read, have difficulties making sense of words, dislike school, feel behind or less than their peers in their academic advancements?

There is hope!

In order to understand that your child can improve in all these areas, it is important to understand what dyslexia is.  Dyslexia is a neurodivergent way of processing data that involves seeing words correctly, but not visually and auditorially processing the patterns within words, both visually and auditorily.  As a child learns letters, sounds, and words in order to read, the right side of the brain is heavily at work processing these initial encounters.  As these new impressions become more familiar and patterns form, the brain transfers the new data to the left side of the brain where autorecall processes are engaged.  For a child with dyslexia, the transfer from right to left hemisphere takes a longer period of time.  This means the child with dyslexia is constantly using right-sided “discovery” processing of material during reading while a child whose left hemisphere has taken over phoneme recognition is reading more quickly.  This is a source of frustration for a child with dyslexia.

But why does this happen?  

The brain of a child with dyslexia is physically different. Their neurons are physically longer and have more diffuse connections.  This translates into slower ability to gather information, process pattern recognition within language, and transfer this pattern recognition to the left hemisphere where autorecall is employed.

Yet dyslexia is a beautiful gift!  Yes, this is a beautiful gift.  Often a child with dyslexia has an easier ability to see larger pictures and connect seemingly disparate ideas.  While the different brain structure makes certain language patterns more difficult to recall quickly, it also allows more creative and diverse connections to be made as the right hemisphere is where the creative processes take place.

Can a child with dyslexia learn to read at a pace equivalent to a child without dyslexia?  

Absolutely!  This is where intensive phonics programs are introduced.  The work done by the right hemisphere in these phonics programs helps establish patterns that are moved to the left hemisphere for quick recall.  During an intensive program, a child with dyslexia is introduced and exposed to phonemes methodically and kinesthetically that help the brain establish patterns.  These programs allow for processing patterns through hands-on activities that are engaging and fun, with the added benefit of reducing the stress of language acquisition on the child.

Is there literature to help understand the brain functions and assets of a child with dyslexia?

Yes!  A particularly good read is The Dyslexia Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain by Brock Eide, MD, MA, and Fernette Eide, MD.  This book explains how the human brain with dyslexia works and why it is such an asset.  I hgihly recommend this book for any parent wanting a better understanding of their child with dyslexia.