Have you ever wondered if you suffered from dyslexia? Perhaps you struggled in school with spelling words, reading, or math problems. Maybe you still have issues in those areas, but you were never aware of what could those issues be called.

What exactly is dyslexia? It’s a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for the person’s age. Different people will be affected differently. Dyslexia is a neurological condition caused by a different wiring of the brain that affects how you process language. It’s a learning disability that makes it hard to match the letters you’re reading with the sounds they make. That makes reading a challenge.

Dyslexia is more widespread than you realize. Dyslexia is the most common learning disability and occurs in all areas of the world. It affects 3–7% of the population, however, up to 20% of the general population may have some degree of symptoms. Many adults aren’t even aware that they have it. Remember, there is no link between dyslexia and how smart or capable you are. It’s simply your brain working a little differently. People with dyslexia have normal intelligence and usually have normal vision. Most children with dyslexia can succeed in school with tutoring or a specialized education program. Dyslexia is a lifelong problem that can present challenges daily, but support is available to improve reading and writing skills and help those with the problem be successful at school and work.

What are the symptoms of dyslexia? It can be harder to recognize dyslexia at a really young child, however, there are some clues. Signs that a young child may be at risk of dyslexia include: late talking, learning new words slowly, and problems forming words correctly (like confusing words that sound alike). Other signs are problems remembering or naming letters, numbers, and colors, difficulty learning nursery rhymes, and playing rhyming games.

Once a child reaches school age, the symptoms can become more obvious, such as: reading well below the expected level for their age, problems processing/understanding what they hear, difficulty spelling, avoiding reading, difficulty finding the right word or forming answers to questions, spending particularly long time completing tasks that involve writing or reading, and others.

In teens and adults, the symptoms are similar. Some common dyslexia signs and symptoms in teens and adults include difficulty reading, including reading out loud, slow reading and writing, problems with spelling, mispronouncing words, trouble with understanding jokes and idioms, difficulty summarizing a story, trouble learning a foreign language, difficulty memorizing, difficulty doing math problems, struggling with planning and organization.

It’s worth mentioning that people with dyslexia often have good skills in other areas, such as creative thinking and problem-solving ability. Many talented people were diagnosed with dyslexia, including Albert Einstein, Agatha Christie, or…Cher.

The exact cause of dyslexia is unknown, though it is believed to be a mix of genetic and environmental factors. Sometimes it runs in families, so if you have a parent, a sibling, or a child who is dyslexic, there’s a good chance you might be dyslexic too. Dyslexia that develops due to a traumatic brain injury, stroke, or dementia is called “acquired dyslexia”. Scientific research shows differences in brain connectivity between dyslexic and typical reading children, providing a neurological basis for why reading fluently is a struggle for those with dyslexia.

Dyslexia can often occur with other learning disorders. These include dysgraphia – a disorder involving difficulties with writing or typing, sometimes due to problems with eye-hand coordination. Dysgraphia is common in dyslexia, and it is caused by poor letter-writing automaticity, organizational and elaborative issues, and impaired visual word formation, which makes it more difficult to retrieve the visual picture of words needed for spelling.

Dyslexia commonly occurs with ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). It is a disorder characterized by problems with sustaining attention, hyperactivity, or acting impulsively. Approximately 15% or 12–24% of people with dyslexia have ADHD, and up to 35% of people with ADHD have dyslexia.

Auditory processing disorder is a listening disorder that affects the ability to process auditory information. This can lead to problems with auditory memory and auditory sequencing. Many people with dyslexia have auditory processing problems.

There is no single test that can diagnose dyslexia. The assessment can include psychological testing, vision, hearing, and neurological tests, testing reading and other academic skills, or questions regarding medical history, educational issues, home life, and other things. Dyslexia is a life-long condition and we don’t have any cure for it, however, with proper support, there is no reason a dyslexic child or adult cannot have a successful life.

Do you suspect you have dyslexia? Take our quiz and find out. Please note that this test is just to see if you have any traits of dyslexia – it does not diagnose dyslexia. We suggest reaching out to a specialist for a formal assessment. Good luck!