To celebrate the start of dyslexia awareness month, we’re kicking off with some quick-fire dyslexia facts that you might already know, and a couple you probably didn’t.
- More people have dyslexia than you might think – estimates range from between 1 in 5 to 1 in 10, but it’s certainly many more than are actually currently diagnosed. It’s one of the most common language-based learning disabilities, and the chances are, you know quite a few people with it (whether they know it or not).
- Technically, it’s a localised weakness within the phonologic module of the brain (this is the part of the brain where the letters and sounds- the building blocks of language - are put together to create words we speak and write.
- Luckily, there are lots of assistive technology solutions that can really help people with dyslexia, as well as specialist learning programmes, specially adapted texts, special fonts, and a much greater understanding of the strengths of neurodiversity in the world today. It’s actually a pretty good time to be neurodiverse – the narrative is changing, and the world is slowly but surely beginning to understand the importance of putting accessibility first.
- Having dyslexia certainly doesn’t mean you’re not smart – that’s a complete myth, and it’s one we want to debunk all over the world. Some of the world’s most talented people have dyslexia, and there’s even a school of thought that sees dyslexic people has having much greater creative and entrepreneurial skills than most of their neurotypical counterparts.
- For instance, around a quarter of CEOs are dyslexic – Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin, Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, and Bill Hewlett, the founder of Hewlett-Packard all have dyslexia, as do Shark Tank’s all-star real estate mogul Barbara Cocoran and John Chambers, the ex-CEO of Cisco.
- And on the creative side, the art world has a huge number of world renowned creators who have (or are thought to have had) dyslexia – we’re talking names lie Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Auguste Rodin, Robert Rauschenberg, Chuck Close, and Andy Warhol!
- And when it comes to music, there are some international megastars who have dyslexia too – think Noel Gallagher, Cher, Lou Reed, Jewel, Joss Stone, Carly Simon, Stewart Copeland, Tony Bennett, Celia Byrne and (probably) Ludwig Van Beethoven.
- Children have around a 50% chance of having dyslexia if one of their parents has it, and closer to 100% if both of their parents have it – it’s hereditary, which means it very often runs in families and affects several members of a generation at any one time.
- The word ‘dyslexia’ comes from the Greek language – ‘dys’ meaning poor, or inadequate, and ‘lexis’ meaning words, language or language skill. It’s not the best definition as it implies that dyslexia is entirely relevant to language tasks, but it’s one of the earliest, and the word has stuck with us even if the meaning has evolved.
- Dyslexia can also vary in its severity – some people may not notice that they have dyslexia for many years, and only struggle slightly when it comes to reading more complex texts, whilst others might struggle with simpler language, such as that used on road signs or on food packaging. There’s a whole scale of dyslexia and literacy differences, and it affects everyone differently – no two dyslexic experiences are exactly alike.
- Sadly, we see some of the highest prevalence of dyslexia in the prison system. Estimates vary quite dramatically, but at the lower end of the spectrum, sources seem to indicate that at least 30% of the prison population have dyslexia.
- This has led to people thinking about why this can be, and whether dyslexia can have a negative impact on somebody’s life chances if they don’t get the right support that can help them achieve academically and find a career. The School-to-Prison Pipeline is a model that explores the reasoning behind this fact further.
- Although boys are more likely to be diagnosed with dyslexia, a study by Yale University found that in reality, the amount of boys and girls who show demonstrable signs of dyslexia and dyslexic behaviours are about the same. A similar thing is true of ADHD – although boys are more likely to have the condition identified, around the same numbers on either side are thought to have it.
- Originally literacy differences like dyslexia were called ‘reading blindness’, from the word ‘wortblindheit’, used by German physician Adolph Kussmaul in 1877. The term dyslexia came from the works of Rudolf Berlin, an ophthalmologist from Stuttgart, Germany in 1887.
- The earliest detailed description of dyslexia that we have is from 1896 – a Dr. W. Pringle Morgan in Sussex, England described in his notes a bright and intelligent boy called Percy, who was ‘quick at games’ and was ‘in no way inferior’ to his classmates, who simply couldn’t learn to read with any fluency. People largely agree that what he’s describing is a pupil with dyslexia, and it’s one of the earliest sources we have that shows an understanding of the idea that literacy differences don’t mean that someone isn’t academic, or not very bright.
So There we have it! We hope you're feeling enlightened, much more interesting, and generally more charismatic and attractive as a person... as well as all ready to pop on your best red outfit and Go Red for Dyslexia with us!
You can find out more about how to celebrate Dyslexia Awareness Month with Succeed With Dyslexia over at Go Red for Dyslexia.