5 Surprising Facts About Dyslexia & Reading
Dyslexia is one of the most common learning differences, affecting around 15-20% of people and making up the majority of diagnosed learning disabilities (about 80-90%!). But despite how common it is, misconceptions about dyslexia are everywhere. What you might hear about dyslexia in the media or at the playground is often oversimplified—or, perhaps, wrong. Let’s bust some myths and dive into the science of how the brain actually learns to read. Here are 5 things you may not know about dyslexia:
Dyslexia isn’t about reversing letters
If you’ve heard about dyslexia, you’ve probably been told that dyslexia is about reversing letters (like mixing up b and d) or transposing letters (reading saw as was) - but there’s more to the story. Letter reversals and transpositions can be a red flag, but they’re not dyslexia. Letter reversals and transpositions aren’t core traits of dyslexia—they’re more like a byproduct of the real challenges underneath. Plenty of young kids reverse letters when learning to read and write, even for letters whose reversed forms do not appear in print (like c and ɔ) - and that’s developmentally expected up until around age 7. The real signs of dyslexia show up in how the brain processes language—things like trouble breaking words into sounds, slow reading, and difficulty recognizing common words.
The idea that letter reversals are an important part of dyslexia leads to the logical conclusion that dyslexia is a visual problem. Research confirms that dyslexia is a language-based learning difference, not a vision or visual processing problem. While some readers struggle with letter orientation, the core challenge is in how their brains connect sounds to letters. So if a child is still flipping letters past first or second grade and also struggling with reading, it’s worth a closer look. The good news? With early, structured literacy intervention, kids with dyslexia can build the skills they need to read.
There are two well-known language skills that influence literacy - One we can change and one we can’t
When it comes to reading struggles, two big players are phonemic awareness and rapid automatized naming (RAN). One is fixable, the other—not so much. Phonemic awareness is all about thinking about and manipulating sounds in words, and research is clear: when we explicitly teach this skill, kids’ reading improves. It’s why structured literacy works—breaking words down into sound-symbol relationships rewires the brain for reading success.
RAN, on the other hand, is about how fast the brain retrieves and says the names of familiar symbols like letters and numbers. This skill shows how easily kids can pull up speech sounds from memory, which is important for smooth and effortless reading. Slow RAN is linked to reading fluency issues, but here’s the catch—there’s no proven way to speed it up. Instead, kids with slow RAN benefit from building automatic word recognition through structured literacy approaches, repeated exposure to high-frequency words, and fluency-building strategies (such as guided oral reading). The takeaway? We can’t rewire processing speed, but we can have the brain practice, practice, practice to make reading smoother and more automatic.
Dyslexia isn’t necessarily forever
Dyslexia isn’t a fixed label—it’s a brain difference that can change with the right intervention. Neuroimaging research shows us: Several studies have found that reading interventions don’t just improve skills—they physically “rewire” the brain. Before intervention, readers with dyslexia show underactivation in key left-hemisphere areas responsible for fluent reading. But after structured, phonics-based instruction, these regions “light up,” resembling the brain activity of typical readers. Even better? The changes stick. A landmark study at the University of Washington saw similar results in just three weeks, and long-term studies confirm that early intervention leads to lasting neural gains. The science is clear: dyslexia is real, but so is the power of evidence-based instruction. The right approach doesn’t just help kids read better—it transforms their brains for life.
Teach kids to spell, they’ll learn to read. The reverse, not so much
If you want to supercharge reading skills, start with spelling. Research makes it clear: teaching spelling helps kids read, but teaching reading alone won’t necessarily make them better spellers. That’s because spelling forces the brain to work harder—it’s not just about recognizing a word but actively constructing it, sound by sound, letter by letter. This process strengthens the connections between phonology (the sound system of language), orthography (spelling rules and patterns), and meaning, helping kids read more fluently and accurately.
But there’s the catch: not all spelling instruction is equally effective. Programs that focus on rote memorization of word lists don’t do much for reading or long-term spelling success. The real impact comes from structured word study—explicitly teaching how to map the sounds in words to the letters that spell them, syllable patterns, and morphology (word structure and meaning). The focus is on understanding that letters in written words are nothing more than symbols that represent the sounds (phonemes) or units of meaning (affixes) that are present in spoken words. This kind of instruction doesn’t just improve spelling; it builds the deep, automatic word recognition that makes reading effortless. So, if we want kids to be strong readers, we need to think beyond reading practice—teaching them how words work is the real game-changer.
The idea that you can’t test for dyslexia until age 7 is a myth
We don’t have to wait for kids to struggle with reading before we know who’s at risk for dyslexia. Research shows that simple tests of phonological awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words) and rapid automatized naming (RAN) (how quickly kids can retrieve names for familiar objects, letters, or numbers) can predict reading difficulties before a child ever picks up a book.
Kids who struggle with rhyming, blending sounds, or naming pictures quickly in preschool and kindergarten are more likely to develop dyslexia. The good news? Phonological awareness can be trained with structured literacy intervention, making early screening a game-changer. RAN, on the other hand, is harder to improve, but we can still support kids with fluency-building strategies. Bottom line: the earlier we test, the earlier we can intervene—before reading failure even starts.
If you are concerned about your child’s language or reading development, please reach out and speak with our neuropsychologist about your evaluation options. Early identification is key!
Authored by neuropsychologist, Dr. David Meyerson
Citations:
Shaywitz, S. (2003). Overcoming dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level. Knopf.
