Dyslexia

Dyslexia, or word blindness, is a learning disability that affects reading. Different people are affected to different degrees. This condition makes it difficult to learn and understand things in the same way others do. It is a very common problem.

Dyslexia affects the way the brain understands words. The most common signs of dyslexia are reading and writing problems. 

Estimates are that in the United States between 5 and 9% of school children have dyslexia. Another source says it affects 3–7% of the population. Up to 20% of the general population may have some degree of symptoms.  While dyslexia is more often diagnosed in boys, this is partly explained by a self-fulfilling referral bias among teachers and professionals.Arnett A.B., Pennington B.F., Peterson R.L., Willcutt E.G., DeFries J.C., & Olson R.K. 2017. Explaining the sex difference in dyslexia. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines: 58(6), 719–727.

Characteristics
A person can have dyslexia even if they are intelligent. Their education might be affected by their dyslexia or not. Recent studies show there are some small business owners that have dyslexia. Researchers think many dyslexic entrepreneurs are successful because they can delegate responsibilities (of writing letters) and still be good at speaking. Cites a study by Julie Logan, professor of entrepreneurship at  Cass Business School in London, among other literature.

At the end of the 19th century, scientists did a lot of research about dyslexia and found some of the reasons that people are dyslexic.

Therapy
Children with dyslexia can be helped. One way teachers help dyslexic students is to break words into different sounds. The student must learn how to write the different sounds and create words. This helps with reading and writing.

 Origins 
Speech is a newcomer in evolutionary terms.  Like the large heads of babies, human speech evolved very recently.Bickerton D. 1990. Language and species. University of Chicago Press. 

Newer biological functions tend to be less reliable than older functions.Maynard Smith J. & Szathmary E. 1995. The major transitions in evolution, p301, 17.8 The genetics of language disorders. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9-780198-502944

References

Related pages
Dysgraphia
Neurodiversity

Category:Disability
Category:Disorders