Dyslexia is a learning disorder in which the individual is confronted with reading and writing disabilities. These difficulties may become apparent as the inability to recognize words read them correctly. During reading exercises, the affected individuals tend to omit, add or distort certain words and their reading is extremely sluggish and faltering. Dyslexic individuals are also unable to learn their spellings and may perform poorly at the academic front. According to various studies, more boys are diagnosed with dyslexia than girls but these gender differences tend to vary widely.

Diagnosis of Dyslexia:

The symptoms of dyslexia become apparent when there is obvious impairment is academic performance or in day to day activities. This dysfunction is not the outcome of any neuropsychological disorder, mental retardation or pervasive developmental disorder such as autism.

Dyslexic children are unable to meet the academic level of performance and may get extremely poor scores in subjects such as math, grammar, spelling, reading or writing. These children have overall IQs that are constant with average achievement in school. Their family background and socio-cultural factors are also considered to be normal. There are no notable emotional or psychological problems with these children and they want to perform well and please their parents and teachers. Yet, they are constantly unable to meet these expectations which become a cause for frustration among parents, teachers, and school officials and also for the patients.

Causes of Dyslexia:

CNS Impairment: Central nervous system impairment is considered to be one of the most prominent reasons for the development of this disorder. It can result in immaturity, insufficiency or deregulation limited to specific brain functions that are responsible for enhanced learning skills in normal children. Typically, language and learning skills are linked with a failure of the brain to develop in an asymmetrical manner in relation to the right and left hemispheres, specifically the portions of the left hemisphere that is responsible for the development of learning skills.

Brain diseases: Learning disabilities can also be the outcome of certain brain diseases such as epilepsy, severe head trauma cerebral palsy etc.

Neurological Dysfunction: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of certain dyslexic individuals has indicated that the disorder may occur due to a deficiency of physiological activation in the brain center involved with rapid visual processing.