What do Tom Cruise, Jay Leno, Whoopi Goldberg, Greg Louganis, Albert Einstein, Agatha Christie & Cher all have in common? They, and many other famous people who have made a great mark on all our lives all suffered from a relatively common condition known as dyslexia.
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is thought to be a genetic condition that causes a person to have difficulty with the alphabet, whether it’s writing or reading words. It is thought that dyslexia affects 10-20% of the worlds population the literate population and 80% of dyslexics have a learning disability due to its effects.
The Three Levels of Dyslexia
There are three forms of dyslexia, the “rarest” which affects 1% of the population is due to a brain injury, it’s referred to as Acquired Dyslexia – it’s usually the mildest form of the condition.
The second most common is referred to as either deep dyslexia or primary dyslexia, this usually runs in families and is linked to chromosomes 6 and 15 (thus its genetic link). It affects 3-5% of the population and these dyslexics actually show structural differences in their left cerebral cortex which is the cause of their condition. Primary dyslexics are more prone to having allergies, premature hair graying and intestinal problems. Most deep dyslexics are very good at compensating for their condition and usually rank in the higher percentiles for intelligence. Primary dyslexics usually suffer from the most severe form of the condition.
The third type of dyslexia is called developmental dyslexia or secondary dyslexia and it affects about 10-15% of the worlds literate population. Although the moderate form of the disease, it still causes its sufferers to struggles throughout their life as they try to cope. This form becomes prominent when the fetus is developing in the womb, hence its name.
The Two Heads of Dyslexia
Dyslexia affects the brain in two distinct ways, visually and audibly. They are not mutually exclusive, meaning a dyslexic can have both or just one at various levels of severity.
Visual Dyslexia
Visual dyslexia means that you see the letters but the brain doesn’t interpret them correctly, for instance a Q may look like an O. This is luckily the easiest form to correct and also the easiest to diagnose. In its more severe forms, simply figuring out what letter is being shown can be just about impossible.
Auditory Dyslexia
Auditory dyslexia also affects the way the brain interprets letters but instead of how they look, it affects how they sound. For instance, if you read a sentence about a cow giving milk to a child, the sufferer will have trouble understanding what the sentence is either about or trying to communicate. To them it may sound like cowgivingmilktoachild. This does not mean the person is deaf, it simply means they person cannot separate the sounds within words. Sufferers often ask people to repeat themselves several times before they can comprehend what is being said and they often have trouble with pronouncing words correctly.
What to do if you think you suffer from dyslexia?
Probably the best thing to do is contact an association and ask them to refer you to somebody who can get you tested out for confirmation. There are many resources at your disposal, I have included a link to books, associations and famous people who also suffer from dyslexia to help you on your journey of discovery.
The Bottom Line
If you have dyslexia, it doesn’t mean you are dumb – it simply means you have a life with a few more challenges.
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April 8, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Ghotit
Ghotit (www.Ghotit.com) offers unique writing and reading online services for people who suffer from dyslexia, dysgraphia or people who are not native-English speakers. Ghotit’s first service is an online context sensitive spell checker.
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