• Question: How does dyslexia develop

    Asked by chris97 to Damien, Rachael, Simon, Suzi, Tim on 20 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by ruthenium, ninjanae.
    • Photo: Damien Hall

      Damien Hall answered on 20 Jun 2011:

      I didn’t know about this, so I have done a bit of research! Thanks for asking me to do it – for scientists that work in Universities (like I do), it’s often possible to have dyslexic people in a lecture that you’re giving, and it helps if you can be sensitive to their needs.

      It turns out that dyslexia is a cover-all name for a number of reading-related disabilities – some of them develop as you get older, and others are congenital (you’re born with them). They can be difficult to diagnose, as a child who has a reading difficulty may or may not have it because of dyslexia – so sometimes it is not diagnosed for years!

      The ones that develop as you get older (or are caused by something that happens to you, but aren’t congenital) are apparently known as alexia, and are often caused by a brain injury.

      I found most of that stuff out from Google, especially here

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyslexia
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexia_%28condition%29

      – so, if you want to know more, that would be a good place to start! But I hope I’ve given you a start anyway.

      Why do you ask? Do you know someone who’s dyslexic?

    • Photo: Suzi Gage

      Suzi Gage answered on 20 Jun 2011:

      Hi @chris97
      My office mate has dyslexia, and she’s a great scientist, so it doesn’t have to stop you from becoming whatever you want to be.

      The links Damien has put on here are really good for finding out a bit more about dyslexia. It’s something that’s still not fully understood.

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