It's back to school time again, do you think you might be dyslexic?

"I think you might be dyslexic. '' My older sister on occasion would say to me after study sessions when we were in college. In response I’d probably roll my eyes, let out a huff and then an over enunciated “No I’m not!”. It turns out, she was right. At the time I had no idea what dyslexia was. I assumed it was an official way to call someone stupid, and I knew I wasn’t stupid. I dutifully ignored my sister’s concern and struggled through college eventually getting my nursing degree.

Twelve years later, and thinking about a graduate degree, I found myself in the office of an educational psychologist. She put me through a battery of tests designed to push the limits of my dyslexia workarounds. All the clever ways I taught myself to be successful in school didn’t work in her office. I discovered I hadn’t learned to read in a conventional sense, as I struggled to read out loud from a list of nonsensical words made to look like English. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t break down the words into sounds, or phonemes, that individual letters make. As a kid I learned to read by memorizing entire words, I didn’t sound things out. To me, and my dyslexia, a word was just a single character. For example the word CAT for me wasn’t so much three characters with different sounds that together form a word that has meaning. My brain thought of it as one sound for an animal that made me itchy all over.

What is dyslexia? Per The Dyslexia Resource it is an umbrella term used to define a difficulty with reading despite having normal, or above normal intelligence. Specifically, dyslexia is a difficulty in phonological processing. Phonological processing is the manner in which our brains break down language into its smallest unit of speech, the phoneme. As per the previous example of cat, the three individual letters C, A and T are each their own phonemes. Someone with dyslexia, like me, might have difficulty distinguishing the different sounds (the three letters and their distinct sounds) that make up the word cat. It is estimated that anywhere from 5% to 17.5% of the population is affected by dyslexia. Dyslexia accounts for 80-90% of those with learning disabilities, and is the most common of the neuro-cognitive disorders per https://dyslexiaresource.org/what-is-dyslexia/.

How is my dyslexic brain different?

Medical imaging has helped researchers understand better that dyslexia is universal, and affects people across different languages. However, more studies are needed to better understand how and why the dyslexic brain is less effective at reading. It could be in part due to the fact that reading is a complex activity that requires different parts of the brain to work in unison. There appears to be less connectivity between parts of the brain that are active while reading, in someone with dyslexia. As a result, reading is more difficult, per this article in Biological Psychiatry Journal. https://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(13)00813-5

Dyslexia can be (as was in my case), difficult to identify. Often leading to a misconception of laziness, as reading and writing difficulties can seem not to match the verbal or other abilities of a person with dyslexia. If I just apply myself more, I will do better in school/work etc. Having dyslexia, and especially not knowing you have dyslexia, can lead to a lot of anxiety, anger, frustration and lack of confidence about reading/writing in school, or life in general. What should we be on the lookout for to help us identify dyslexia?

Things to look for as we, or our kids return to school.

Here are a few things to look for by age groups per the Mayo Clinic.

Dyslexia - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

Preschool age:

1. Late talkers, slow learning new words.

2. Difficulty forming words, or confusing words that sound alike.

3. Problems remembering the meaning of letters, numbers or colors.

4. Difficulty learning nursery rhymes, or playing rhythm games.

School age:

1. Reading below age level.

2. Problems processing, and understanding what is heard.

3. Difficulty finding the right word, or forming answers to questions.

4. Problems remembering the sequence of things.

5. Difficulty seeing (sometimes hearing) similarities and differences in letters and words.

6. Difficulty, or inability to sound out unfamiliar words.

7. Difficulty with spelling.

8. Requiring extended time to finish reading and writing.

9. Avoidance of activities that include reading.

Teens and Adults:

1. Difficulty leading, including reading aloud.

2. Slow-labor intensive reading and or writing.

3. Problems with spelling.

4. Avoidance of activities including reading.

5. Mispronouncing names or words, problems retrieving words.

6. Spending an unusually long time completing tasks that involve reading and writing

7. Difficulty summarizing a story.

8. Trouble learning a foreign language.

9. Difficulty doing math word problems.

Don’t self diagnose, or trust an online test for dyslexia.

That long list of signs and symptoms can be vague, and seem to apply to everyone. That’s why you need an expert's help. Getting an official diagnosis from a psychoeducational evaluator can help you or your child receive the help and accommodation you/they might need. Most importantly, he or she can help you find different strategies in learning that can make reading and writing easier. It can be expensive if you pay for an evaluation out of pocket, so first check this list of resources to see what would work best for you. https://dyslexiaresource.org/ga-national-international-resources/ .

Being dyslexic doesn’t mean you are dumb.

As Dyslexiaresource.org says, it is important for those of us who are dyslexic to realize that our brains are not broken, and we are not stupid. People of all ages with dyslexia can learn to read and spell. In addition, it doesn’t mean that we will struggle with everything. In fact, dyslexics are known for creative and imaginative thinking. We excel in many fields such as entrepreneurship, architecture, engineering and the fine arts. Having difficulties with reading and spelling is just a small part of who we are. After all, it has been speculated that Albert Einstein might have been one of us.

Click here if you want the outside the box thinking of a dyslexic mind! Don't worry, I use spell check.