Dyslexia

Reading problems impact the entire family. What is your dyslexia IQ?


Misconceptions about dyslexia can prevent families from getting the help they need and deserve. Learn more about dyslexia and reading problems with this short Dyslexia IQuiz. Don’t peek ahead!

1. The most basic sign of dyslexia is:
a. Reversed letters
b. Seeing words backwards
c. Weak phonemic awareness skills
d. Scoring badly on a reading test

Answer: (c) Phonemic awareness and auditory processing skills are the underlying cognitive abilities to hear and remember the smallest individual units of sound in a word. Without this ability, fluent reading will be nearly impossible. Because so many mistakenly associate dyslexia with letter reversal, many dyslexic children who don’t reverse letters go unidentified and unhelped.

2. Learning to read is:
a. Easy and should be picked up naturally when parents read to children
b. Natural and is as simple to learn as speaking
c. Not natural and must be taught sequentially with intense repetition
d. A process utilizing an invented, visual system created to represent what we say

Answer: (c) and (d) Learning to read is not natural and must be taught. While speech can be passed along easily from parent to child, reading is a man-made system of written codes that represent spoken language. So, it’s a sound-to-code system that requires strong phonemic awareness, visual processing, and memory skills to master.

3. The definition of dyslexia is:
a. A medical diagnosis meaning word blindness
b. Brain damage leading to seeing and writing letters backward
c. A genetic flaw that prevents a person from ever becoming a good reader
d. Poor with words or trouble with reading

Answer: (d) Yes, the definition is that simple! It just means that someone has difficulty reading…fluently, out loud, reading new words, and pronouncing words correctly. Dyslexia need not be a permanent diagnosis or condition. It is simply a term identifying a child who reads poorly.

4. An indicator of dyslexia in older children can be:
a. Imprecise language; vaguely referring to stuff or things
b. Difficulty understanding isolated words when not in context
c. Extremely difficult time learning a foreign language
d. Excellence in areas not dependent on reading like math, computers, and visual arts

Answer: (a) (b) (c) (d) All of the above. Contrary to popular belief, poor reading is generally not a sign of low intelligence. Dyslexic students often demonstrate amazing abilities in subjects that do not require phonemic awareness skill. Strengthening these phonemic skills can truly help them become exceptional students.

If this short Dyslexia IQuiz has opened your eyes to potential reading problems in your family, act now. Fast, easy reading is a fundamental and necessary part to anyone’s successful education. Cognitive skills testing and training can build or rebuild the underlying skills every student needs to read well and with great comprehension. Don’t wait! Reading problems will not usually go away without appropriate intervention. There is no need for you or your child to face a lifetime of poor reading.

If you would like to speak to a learning professional, please contact your local LearningRx center.

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