Robert D. Smith, PhD Testing & Treatment for Children & Adults  © Robert D. Smith, PhD Made with Xara Dyslexia, ADHD, Learning Disabilities, Therapy 35 years experience serving mid-Michigan WHAT IS DYSLEXIA?  Robert D. Smith, PhD Developmental Dyslexia is a neurologically based learning disorder, meaning that it is a physical brain disorder.  Dyslexia primarily involves an unexpected  degree of difficulty with accurate or fluent word recognition.   Diagnosis of dyslexia is readily possible through a careful educational history combined with a battery of cognitive and reading tests.  Contrary to a long-held belief, dyslexia is not a visual disorder, but is actually an auditory processing problem involving the brain’s circuitry used to phonemic  information.    The spoken word is made up of distinct building blocks of different sounds called phonemes. Every letter of the alphabet has a phoneme sound associated  with it. Some letters have more than one sound such as the letter “R”, which is the label not to sound. The two sounds associated with the letter R are "ruh"  and "ur".  The alternate sound is used depending on where the letter is placed within the word. Every letter of the alphabet therefore stands for one of the  distinctly different phonemic sounds that make up the spoken word.  Consequently, the phonemic system is used like a secret agent’s code to translate the  printed word back into the spoken word. Initially, all words are unfamiliar and require laborious application of the phonemic system, but after enough practice  the process of reading becomes automatic for most words.  However, people with dyslexia have neurologically based difficulty learning, retaining and applying this phonemic system. People without dyslexia can  process phonemic information automatically with little effort and cannot relate to the dyslexic reader’s difficulty. The dyslexic reader’s struggle processing  phonemic information is perplexing to those without dyslexia because processing phonemic information seems like such a simple automatic task, like  breathing.  However, reading is a man-made skill, like throwing a baseball and not everyone can do it equally well.  Think of how some contestants on  American Idol cannot process the relationship between pitches and cannot carry a tune in a bucket, while others sing with ease. We can get by in life without  singing very well, but the same is not true of reading.  The non-dyslexic reader readily learns the phonemic system and intuitively applies it to word decoding. However, the dyslexic reader has difficulty hearing  the difference between many of the phonemic sounds in a similar way to the poor singer who battles their tone deafness. Consequently, standard instruction  progresses too rapidly and with chunks of information to big for the dyslexic reader to process. The dyslexic reader needs to have the phonemic system  broken down into its most fundamental steps, carefully presented, corrected and rehearsed over an extended period of time by individual instructors. Every  mistake made by dyslexic reader must be immediately corrected to minimize the confusion that is inevitable for the dyslexic reader. However, most dyslexic  readers can learn to read independently and adequately, although the degree of fluency attained varies between individuals.  Reading comprehension,  spelling and writing problems are usually the result of the dyslexic reader’s difficulties processing phonemic information.    Dyslexia is one of the most common problems affecting children and adults in the United States.  The prevalence of dyslexia is estimated to range from 5 to  17% of school-age children. It is the most common form of learning disability. Over 40 million Americans suffer from dyslexia, making it an extraordinarily  widespread disorder.  It can affect both boys and girls.  It is more common in children and adults whose parents also had difficulty with reading and writing. It is one of the most  common learning disabilities among people and can disrupt both education and social development if left untreated. Dyslexia is a problem that many people  face and usually causes great difficulty coping with the school or working environment.  Although dyslexia is life-long, individuals with dyslexia frequently  respond successfully to appropriate intervention.  It's never too late for the dyslexic reader to learn to read. Appropriate instruction is effective for children and  adults of all ages.