What is Dyslexia?

“Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling” Definition of Dyslexia, Rose 2009

Dyslexia is derived from the Latin word “Dys” meaning difficult and the Greek word “Lexia” meaning words. Dyslexia literally means difficulty with words.

Dyslexia is a learning difficulty in reading and understanding what is written.

It is not related to intelligence as most people with dyslexia have average or above average IQ. It is also not related to any impairments in hearing or vision.

It is related to how language is processed in the brain, and how it is stored and retrieved from memory. 

Reading requires decoding of symbols (letters) into sounds that make up words that have meanings. Students with dyslexia find the area of letter-sound association challenging.