Dyslexia Myths

There are many myths about dyslexia. Here you can find many of the most common ones. you can also find these on dr. gaab’s twitter (@GaabLab)

Myth #1: Children will grow out of their dyslexia/Reading impairment on their own and catch up eventually

  • Without intervention, children who are poor readers at the end of first grade almost never acquire average-level reading skills by the end of elementary school (Francis et al., 1996; Juel, 1988; Shaywitz et al., 1999; Torgesen and Burgess, 1998).

  • Even in highly transparent languages such as German, 70% of below average readers in 1st grade remain below average readers in 8th grade (Landerl & Wimmer, 2008)...early intervention is key! See more here https://bold.expert/identifying-risk-instead-of-failure/ …

Myth #2: Even if you screen for Dyslexia and reading impairments as early as Pre-K/K, you won’t be able to intervene effectively that early anyway

  • A meta-analysis comparing intervention studies for children struggling with reading difficulties/dyslexia offering at least 100 sessions, reported larger effect sizes in kindergarten/1st grade than in 2nd and 3rd grades (Wanzek & Vaughn, 2007; Wanzek et al., 2013)

  • When “at risk” beginning readers receive intensive instruction, 56% to 92% of at-risk (for dyslexia/reading impairment) children across six studies reached the range of average reading ability (Torgesen, 2004)

  • Converging research points to the importance of early interventions for at-risk students for improving the effectiveness of remediation ( e.g.; Connor, 2009, 2013; Catts, 2015; Denton & Vaughn, 2008;Torgesen,1999; Flynn, Zheng, & Swanson, 2012; Vellutino, 1996; Morris,1997)

Myth #3: First signs of dyslexia or Reading impairments can only be seen after 2-3 years of reading instruction

  • Many longitudinal (following the same kids over time) studies have revealed key predictors in young children.

  • Research has shown that these key predictors of subsequent problems with learning to read include:

    • Phonological/Phonemic awareness

    • Pseudoword repetition

    • Rapid automatized naming

    • Expressive/receptive vocabulary

    • Oral listening comprehension

    • Letter (sound) knowledge

Myth #4: An MRI or fMRI scan can be used to diagnose dyslexia or a reading disability

  • MRI does not have the sensitivity (correctly identifying those with/without reading disability) or specificity (correctly identifying those who will NOT develop a reading disability) to distinguish individuals with and without dyslexia or reading impairment.

  • Other neuroimaging techniques, e.g. electroencephalography or fMRI also lack the sensitivity/specificity for diagnosing dyslexia or reading impairments. However, all of these tools can be used to show differences between GROUPS of individuals with or without dyslexia.

  • If you want to learn more about the neural correlates of typical and atypical reading, including dyslexia, take a look at https://bit.ly/2AK9HLW or read work by Drs. James Booth, Xi Yu, Ola Ozernov-Palchik, Jennifer Zuk, Fumiko Hoeft, L. Cutting, Michael Skeide, Maaike Vandermosten, Jason Yeatman, and more.

Myth #5: Individuals who learn to read in a logographic writing system (such as Mandarin) cannot develop dyslexia

  • Symptoms of dyslexia/reading impairments will look a bit different and the neural correlates of reading impairments and dyslexia may also look slightly different in logographic languages BUT individuals learning to read in logographic languages CAN develop dyslexia/reading impairments.

  • Interested to learn more? Please read the excellent work by Dr. Cammie McBride and her colleagues who have done important work on typical and atypical reading development in logographic languages.

  • Also, please check out her excellent course on teaching reading with a global perspective

Myth #6: Most kindergarten and first-grade teachers are well trained to detect the (early) signs of dyslexia & reading impairments

  • For a deeper dive into teacher training, the science of reading and dyslexia, take a look at this recent survey of 2600 teachers in the UK https://bit.ly/2VjNei1, this paper on neuromyth in education https://bit.ly/2rY7tUV, and of course all the wonderful work of Emily Hanford.

  • Also, please take a look at this article "The Dyslexia Dilemma: The Role of Colleges of Education" by IDA https://bit.ly/2HSyNgx "Pre-service teachers must be competent to teach reading to all students, especially those who are at-risk or experiencing reading failure"

Myth #7: Pediatricians screen for early indicators of autism, ADHD and Dyslexia/reading impairments

  • We argue pediatricians should screen for dyslexia & reading impairments. WHY? Read our arguments: "Reintroducing Dyslexia: Early Identification and Implications for Pediatric Practice" https://osf.io/z4ryh/ & take a look at anxiety & depression rates in struggling readers.

  • Our push for screening for at-risk children in pediatric practices has been supported by today's opinion piece in the NY Times by Perri Klass, M.D: "Is Your Child Struggling in School? Talk to Your Pediatrician" https://nyti.ms/35eDTwH . Please share with your pediatrician!

Myth #8: Dyslexia-friendly fonts help individuals with dyslexia & reading impairments read better

  • Please see this excellent explanation by Understood.Org delivered by Dr. Guinevere Eden https://bit.ly/2ot9slR

Myth #9: Struggling with learning to read is only affecting your academic outcome, and has no influence on your mental health

  • Difficulty with reading at grade-level can lead to low self-esteem, feelings of shame, inadequacy

  • Difficulty with learning to read can lead to helplessness, frustration often leading to a variety of mental health problems and individuals with dyslexia, reading impairments or other learning disabilities show higher rates of depression and anxiety

  • Individuals with dyslexia/reading impairments are often perceived by others as being ‘lazy’ or as those who ‘do not try enough'. Teachers/parents/peers often misinterpret the ‘dyslexic’ child’s struggle as negative attitude or poor behavior[Saracoglu, 1989; Riddick,1999]

  • Negative experiences leave children with learning disabilities vulnerable to feelings of shame failure, inadequacy, helplessness, depression & loneliness [e.g.; Valas et al., 1999] which can lead to possible anti-social behavior with long-standing consequences [Baker, 2007].

  • Without proper remediation, it's less likely that children with learning disabilities such as dyslexia will complete high school [Marder, 1992], join programs of higher education [Quinn, 2001], and increased probability they will enter the juvenile justice system [Wagner, 1993]

  • Want to read more about the relationship between dyslexia & reading impairments & mental health? Take a look at https://u.org/2AMJRrv by Understood.Org featuring Fumiko Hoeft and also the article in the NY Times, "At Risk in the Culture of ‘Normal’"

Myth #10: All individuals with dyslexia share a similar strength & weakness profile

  • Every person with dyslexia is unique and has their own individual strengths and weaknesses. It's important to provide role models that showcase this variety.

  • Falsely promoting a certain strength that ALL individuals with dyslexia share (e.g. visual-spatial skills or thinking out of the box) is not empowering and simply incorrect. It can lead to disappointment and more frustration such as "I am not even good at being 'dyslexic'".

  • Providing role models that are super successful can motivate some children with dyslexia, but others may get even more overwhelmed and experience more pressure to fit a certain mold. Instead, let's point out a variety of role models with dyslexia in the child's own community

  • Let's find every child's own strength and foster it so they can reach their OWN full potential. Also, not all children with dyslexia have the same profiles! Its a continuum and research points to a multiple deficit model (Pennington, 2006) with variety of risk & protective factors.

Myth #11: (Irlen) Colored Overlays do cure or alleviate Dyslexia or reading difficulties

  • Please take a look at this excellent article https://bit.ly/2pgy69u in The Conversation (US) by Jeremy Law at the University of Glasgow, summarizing the current research.

  • He concludes:"Most worrying is that these simple coloured sheets may provide false hope in a struggling reader and result in feelings of discouragement when this intervention fails to deliver the promised results. In this sea of misinformation, it is important for special needs teachers and parents to become informed consumers. Only then will we ensure that struggling readers will be provided with effective, evidence-based interventions that not only improve the reading & learning of those with dyslexia, but also quality of life".

Myth #12: Schools & districts are officially not allowed to use the term "dyslexia"

  • Please see this letter from the U.S. Department of Education that reminds all districts that there is nothing in the law stopping them from using the term https://bit.ly/1R8dtBj

  • In fact, the letter encourages states to remind their districts to use the term "dyslexia" in IEPs, at IEP meetings, and in evaluations used in determining eligibility for special education services

  • You can find more info on using the term "dyslexia" on the Understood.Org website here https://u.org/2q8Ikcl and FAQs are answered here https://u.org/2Mb1XJt . By the way, the letter also encourages schools & districts to use terms dysgraphia and dyscalculia!

Myth #13: Individuals with dyslexia or a reading impairment usually don't have any other developmental "problems"

Myth #14: Individuals with dyslexia see words backwards or letters reserved & any child who reverses letters or numbers has dyslexia

  • Letter reversal in reading and writing is common in many beginning readers.

  • Letter reversals were once thought to be main characteristics of dyslexia, but most research suggests that there is no evidence for more letter reversals in dyslexia compared to peers. Many children age 3-7 spontaneously write their names with reversed order of letters or hey write their names with a reversed orientation of the letters themselves.

  • You can find more information about letter reversals and dyslexia (both sides) in these research papers: https://bit.ly/33wcJQk , https://bit.ly/2nM1qUT ; https://bit.ly/2VKnhbF , https://bit.ly/2Bc7Dwg

Myth #15: All children with Dyslexia have average or above-average IQ OR all children with dyslexia/reading impairments are 'stupid' and have very low IQ

Myth #16: Advocating for children with dyslexia and reading impairments is a waste of time because the system will never change

  • Dyslexia awareness as well as the 'Science of Reading" movement has moved mountains so far, but a lot more advocacy is needed. A big shoutout goes to the Decoding Dyslexia movement, a parent-led grassroots organization that is behind many of the recent dyslexia and screening for reading milestones and disabilities laws.

  • Others are fierce advocates for the implementation of the "Science of Reading" into classrooms. A lot more work is needed so that every child can reach their full potential and every teacher is empowered to teach children how to read effectively with evidence-based curricula.

  • Want to join the movement and help with advocacy? Check out your local Decoding Dyslexia Chapter, The Reading League, or the International Dyslexia Association.

Myth #17: Dyslexia and Reading impairments can be cured with special balancing exercises, fish-oils, special glasses, vision exercises, NLP magical spelling, inner-ear-improving medications, training primitive reflexes, eye patching, etc.

  • Dyslexia/reading impairments can also not be cured by more reading to your child (although it is ALWAYS good to read to your child), retention, red-shirting, smaller class sizes, special nutrition, increased sleep, nature play, waiting for the brain to mature.

  • Individuals with dyslexia/reading impairments can be helped by explicit, cumulative & systematic evidence-based programs.

Myth #18: Children who are good decoders will always show good reading comprehension skills

  • For good reading comprehension you need decoding skills AND linguistic comprehension skills; neither alone is sufficient.

  • There is a tendency to consider poor reading comprehension as a downstream consequence of poor single word reading skills but 50% of children with dyslexia show poor oral language.

  • Also, young children at-risk for dyslexia who subsequently develop rading impairments show lower oral language skills than children who develop typical reading skills. For more see e.g., https://bit.ly/33LI3ua or see this article https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2372732219839075 by Tiffany Hogan and Suzanne Adlof.

Myth #19: Teaching morphological awareness to an individual with dyslexia or reading impairment will not help them

  • Research has shown that instruction in morphological awareness has a big impact on reading outcomes!

  • Want to know more about morphological awareness and its relationship to reading and dyslexia? Take a look here http://bit.ly/2psIP0t and http://bit.ly/2qos07j or, for instance, check out Kenn Apel's work!

Myth #20: A lot more boys than girls develop dyslexia or reading impairments

  • NOT TRUE (but tricky)! The research is somewhat inconclusive and a wide range of sex differences (including none) has been reported.

  • What we know is that most research suggests that dyslexia is slightly (but not a lot) more frequent in boys than girls, with ratio of approx. 1.5-2.1:1, which cannot be entirely attributed to ascertainment bias and may be due to greater variance in reading performance for boys than girls or the reported sex difference may be due to a lower threshold for maladaptive outcomes in the presence of early risk factors.

  • We need more research on this, but please take a look at Badian et al., 1999; Moll et al., 2014; Rutter et al., 2004; Liederman et al., 2005; Quinn, 2015

Myth #21: Children who speak African-American dialects cannot be identified with dyslexia/reading impairments or screened for being at-risk for reading impairments

  • These kids have a heightened risk for developing problems with reading.

  • Children with the highest dialect density (e.g. children who still produce 70% dialect in fifth grade) are at the greatest risk for reading problems as explained by one of the key experts in this area Dr. Julie Washington; see Washington et al., 2008 (link https://bit.ly/2P4XvNZ ).

  • The majority (82%) of African-American (AA) 4th grade students read at or below "basic" levels in the 2017 NAEP sample https://bit.ly/2BzkwAA and only 18% of AA children were considered proficient/advanced readers (NCES, 2017). See also the great work of Dr. Patton-Terry at Florida State University

Myth #22: Individuals with dyslexia or reading impairment cannot read

  • Every person struggling with reading shows a different profile on a continuum. Some have a hard time reading single words, others with multi-syllabic words, others with reading impairments/dyslexia struggle with longer sentences or connected text.

  • Problems may be observable during decoding, when asked to read fluently, and reading comprehension may also be a problem or a person may struggle with all of the above.

  • The profile of a person with reading impairments/dyslexia will change over a lifetime and in response to evidence-based intervention. We have no intention to disentangle definitions here, but want to raise awareness to make sure we maximize the joy of learning to read regardless of a person's profile.

Myth #23: Students with dyslexia or reading impairments only learn if the information is presented in their preferred learning style

  • Learning styles are probably the biggest myth in education. If you encounter this myth for any learner please make sure to debunk the learning style myth by pointing to these scientific articles and resources: https://bit.ly/2k4ZXXV ; https://bit.ly/30YdYay ; https://bit.ly/2rY7tUV or this resource https://bit.ly/340OcmK .

  • However, It is important to understand that the lack of evidence for preferred learning styles does not mean that we shouldn't give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge OR try to maximize engagement and motivation. This will actually enhance their learning.

Myth #24: Individuals with dyslexia or reading impairments primarily use their right hemisphere of the brain to process text which makes them interpret written language in a visual-spatial way, like pictures

  • The idea that some people are left-brain learners, while others are right-brain learners, is a MYTH and tools assessing whether a child primarily processes text with their left/right brain are misleading, false, and should not be used.

  • This neuromyth most likely originates from an over-generalization of empirical brain research.

    • Research has shown that language and reading are predominately processed in the left-hemisphere, but right-hemispheric regions are also involved and important.

    • The fact that empirical findings have been misunderstood/simplified make it hard to dispel them

  • Many studies have shown structural and functional brain differences between people with dyslexia/reading impairments and their peers.

    • These studies do not support the myth that individuals with dyslexia/reading impairment primarily use their right-brain to process text

  • Want to learn more about the brain characteristics of dyslexia/reading impairments? Take a look at these papers: https://bit.ly/366kxdI, https://bit.ly/2p0NRl9, https://bit.ly/363XpMT, https://bit.ly/2qCKsZX

Myth #25: If you are a 2nd language learner, you cannot be diagnosed with dyslexia/reading impairment in that language until you are proficient

  • It is important to screen and/or diagnose all children regardless of their language background.

    • 2nd or 3rd language learners have an increased risk to develop problems with reading and it is therefore of great importance to monitor these children carefully. Some struggle with learning to read in only one of their languages while others struggle in all of them.

  • Lots of wonderful researchers work on this topic and developing screening/diagnostic tools in various languages. Take a look at the great work by Linda Siegel, Amy Pratt, Elizabeth Peña, Esther Geva, Nonie Lesaux, Gigi Luk, Cammie McBride, and take a look at https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/child-learning-disabilities/dyslexia/faqs-about-bilingualism-and-dyslexia

Myth #26: Individuals with dyslexia/reading impairment are just lazy and just need to try harder

  • Individuals with dyslexia or reading impairments are very hard working but the usual way or intensity used to teach them to learn to read is not sufficient to turn them into a reader.

  • All individuals with dyslexia/reading impairments CAN learn to read but it requires evidence-based intensive intervention (which varies across individuals) and a dedicated team to reach the same level of typically developing kids.

  • All children have the right to learn to read and reach their full potential. Let's make sure that every child gets all the help they need to develop into a successful, motivated reader and, most importantly, maximize the joy of learning to read for everyone.

Myth #27: Early screening for dyslexia/reading impairments gives students a diagnosis at age 5 before they can read

  • The purpose of early screenings is not to diagnose, but to identify children AT RISK for developing a reading impairment.

  • Dr. Gaab explains this in this article written for the BOLD blog: https://bit.ly/349VNzp :

    • "An analogy from medicine may be helpful in this context: Adults are advised to undergo screening for high cholesterol levels, which can indicate an increased risk of developing heart disease. Those diagnosed with high cholesterol don't automatically receive a diagnosis of heart disease. They are provided with an evidence-based “response to screening,” generally a combination of prescribed exercise, dietary changes, and/or medication. This may prevent the development of the disease, or at least lessen its severity. The goal is to reduce the prevalence of heart disease, by encouraging people to take preventive action and to improve outcomes of those who will develop it by implementing lifestyle changes earlier, prior to a diagnosis."

  • In the case of reading impairments, we need to make a similar shift from a deficit-driven to a prevention model. With the help of high-quality screening programs, we can identify AT-RISK children early, but refrain from diagnosing them while they are still in preschool/K.

  • For Gaab Lab articles on screening and prevention for dyslexia/reading impairments, please see for example: https://bit.ly/2NeKpeJ, https://bit.ly/2BO5reQ, https://osf.io/z4ryh/, and https://bit.ly/349VNzp

  • Furthermore, look at the excellent work by Hugh Catts at Florida State Unversity, e.g., this article https://bit.ly/2plrK95 and also take a look at this white paper on screening published by NCIL Literacy: https://bit.ly/31PabLG co-authored by Yaacov Petscher, Nadine Gaab, and the Texas Center for Learning Disabilities.

Myth #28: If you don’t teach a child with dyslexia/reading impairment to read in elementary school, then it is too late for them to ever learn how to read

  • While the window for the most effective intervention is in K/1st grade people with dyslexia/reading impairment can learn to read at any age if given proper interventions. Interestingly, research by Dr. Stanislas Dehaene has shown that illiterate adults who learn to read show similar brain changes in response to instruction than kids who learn to read.

  • Interested in more work on brain changes following learning to read? Take a look at this summary: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25783611 or check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlYZBi_07vk

Myth #29: Children with an older sibling or parent with dyslexia will always develop dyslexia themselves

  • Research has suggested that approximately 40-60% of people with a first degree relative with dyslexia will struggle with reading themselves.

  • Several genes have been reported to be candidates for dyslexia susceptibility and it has been suggested that the majority of these genes plays a role in early brain development. [e.g.; Galaburda et al., 2006; Hannula-Jouppi et al., 2005; Meng et al., 2005; Skiba et al., 2011]

  • Please read the work of these wonderful genetic researchers here: Bruce Pennington at the University of Delaware, Elena Grigorenko Haskins Laboratories, Anthony Monaco at Tufts University Sara Hart, Florina Erbeli, and Dr. Elsje van Bergen, and many more

  • Here is one helpful summary for a lay-audience https://bit.ly/2BUgoLV by Dorothy Bishop

Myth #30: Individuals with dyslexia or reading impairment will never be successful

  • There are so many successful people with dyslexia or reading impairments on this planet, each of them defining success in their own, individual way. However, in order for them to reach their full potential (whatever it is!), we need to provide them with realistic role models, rich resources, opportunities to develop and maintain healthy self-esteem, counseling, AND access to evidence-based, systematic interventions

  • Without an increased focus on protective factors for children with dyslexia and reading impairments, we will continue to see lower high-school/higher education graduation rates, increased risk to enter the prison system, lower wages, & increased mental health problems.

Myth #31: Dyslexia/reading impairment is rare

  • While the exact prevalence of dyslexia/reading impairments depends on many factors (e.g., the definition, the language, diagnostic practices), we can say with great certainty that dyslexia/reading impairments are not rare.

  • Let's take a look at the numbers: The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) released a new report showing that 65% of 4th graders are not reading proficiently.

  • We know that the estimates of dyslexia range from 3-12% but vary across countries and prevalence rates for dyslexia are difficult to estimate due to differences in the definitions used, how and at what ages individuals are identified, criteria for diagnosis, and orthographic transparency (the degree of consistency between spelling and sound) plays a role as well!

    • Current estimates in English-speaking countries typically range between 5-10%, with greater variance in US than UK estimates. Estimates as high as 10% of individuals in some Chinese societies, about 7% of individuals in Japan when examining reading of Kanji

    • In addition to 5-10% in English/Asian countries, prevalence estimates are about 5% in Germany, 3-4% in Italy and Spain.

  • Most importantly, all of these individuals benefit from early identification & evidence-based interventions regardless of the cause of their reading problems