What is dyslexia?

Dyslexia is brain-based learning disability that specifically affects a person's ability to read, write and spell (Guerin & Male, 2006). Students with dyslexia may exhibit weaknesses in reading and languages at school, yet they are often particularly strong in other areas.

Research has shown that children begin developing dyslexia as early as at their mothers’ sixth month of pregnancy. Dyslexia develops when neurons in the cerebral cortex of the brain migrate and form abnormal connections to different areas in the brain (Bassick & Guth, 1997).

Students with dyslexia typically struggle with (Bassick & Guth, 1997):
• Reversing or missequencing words such as b for d, forming words such as “abertisement” instead of “advertisements.”
• Perceiving or pronouncing written words
• Understanding spoken words
• Handwriting
• Spelling
• Written Language
• Math Computation

Although the so-called “rewiring of the brain” that causes deficiencies in students’ abilities to recognize the sound structure of words, it also often causes students with dyslexia to be gifted in areas such as the arts and sciences.

How does dyslexia affect secondary students?

Thirty percent of eighth graders and 25 percent of 12th graders read below grade level (McCray, Vaughn, & Neal, 2001), and many of these students’ delays result from learning disabilities like dyslexia. By the time students with dyslexia reach the secondary level, many of them have had negative experiences with reading and writing, especially if their learning disability was not diagnosed at an early age. But even those students who participate in reading intervention programs in the primary grades will still experience learning programs in secondary school.

For example, middle school students with dyslexia might have trouble implementing the reading strategies they learned in primary school interventions, and negative attitudes toward reading might prevent them from doing well. (McCray, Vaughn, & Neal, 2001)

Students with dyslexia often dread going to school, feel isolated from their peers and do not understand why they keep falling behind. These negative experiences can contribute to low self-esteem and a sense of failure in school that secondary school teachers must address in order to help their students feel successful.

You can help your students have a better school experience and make important academic gains in reading and writing by relying on research-based strategies, as well as common educational wisdom. By focusing on students strengths and drawing on their abilities to build instruction, you can help students learn techniques for overcoming their unique challenges. Keep in mind that some of the world’s best and most creative thinkers had dyslexia – Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Rodin – and that your students possess similarly impressive skills and talents.