Dyslexia is a disorder that inhibits the opportunities of about 10% of the population. It causes difficulty with reading for those afflicted with it, though not due to a lack of intelligence or opportunity that would be sufficient for most others to learn. Due to this hardship in reading, many dyslexics have problems in securing jobs and in schooling, and even in everyday functions such as driving vehicles and reading signs or menus. Also menacing is the fact that, while dyslexia is present in an individual at birth, it is difficult to identify it before a child starts schooling.
While the symptoms are often hard to distinguish at an early age, there are a few signs of dyslexia that can show up in toddlers. Many dyslexic children learn to speak at a later age than other children. They may also have problems learning new words or learning letters. Some dyslexic children write their letters backwards, such as making their J’s curve the wrong way or putting the dash in their Q’s on the wrong side of the letter. Some dyslexic children also have problems rhyming words, such as in nursery rhymes. Later, in Primary Schooling, dyslexic children often have problems learning the alphabet, confuse similar sounding letters such as M and N, and have difficulty associating letters with the sounds they represent. Dyslexic children have further difficulties further in their schooling, such as slow reading, very poor spelling, difficulty in keeping time, and poor organization abilities. A common misconception is that dyslexics read and write words or letters backwards. While this does occasionally occur, it is a relatively rare symptom of dyslexia. Most dyslexic writing is more distinguishable by the fact that the writing might seem like it has been written at a lower intelligence level than one would normally expect from the specific individual. For example, an 8th grade dyslexic student might write at a level expected of a 4th or 5th grade student.
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