Like many dyslexics, Peak also has trouble with spelling. As an adult, he compensates by memorizing the spelling of many of the words he uses in written reports at work. Today, updated knowledge offers the potential for students to avoid the life-long consequences of a reading disability. Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center has made major findings in the field. This knowledge could lead to earlier diagnosis of girls with the disorder.
Schools currently identify reading disabilities three to four times more often in boys than girls.
Less than an hour's worth of testing in first grade can predict which children will still read poorly in 12th grade unless they get special instruction. A major predictive factor is an awareness of how sounds work together to form words. Providing at-risk children special instruction in the early grades can have lasting effects. A study of Forsyth County children showed that a group that received tutoring in first and second grades and did better on standardized tests through high school. It is now known that learning disabilities are not a single disorder, but a general category.