Is Dyslexia a Visual Impairment?
Visual Dyslexia Is Less Common Than You Might Think
One of the most persistent myths in learning relates to dyslexia. Conventional wisdom has it that the classic symptom of dyslexia is switching letters, most commonly “d” and “b.” The assumption that goes with this symptom is that this switching reveals a visual problem, where b’s and d’s are seen as the same.
It’s a natural conclusion. But it’s wrong.
Dyslexia is Most Often a Language Processing Issue
Scientists know that dyslexia is overwhelmingly a language problem. B’s and d’s are switched because their sound waves are almost identical. They are heard the same, and so they are recognized interchangeably in text.
Furthermore, fMRIs that track activity in the brain reveal that there is a 98% overlap between the fMRI pattern of a person listening and a person reading. The difference is the very small activity in reading that is connecting the text as seen to words stored in each person’s word memory, which stores all knowledge and thinking skills.
Other Sources of Dyslexia
However, dyslexia is not always caused by language processing difficulties. Sometimes it is not really dyslexia but a lack of focus that makes learning to read a challenge. And sometimes dyslexia is a visual impairment — but not nearly as often as you might think.
Most so-called visual processing difficulties are noticed prior to reading becoming an issue. The key visual reading skill is eye-tracking, being able to follow text in a line, and then accurately moving to the next line at reading speed. If eye-tracking is a difficulty, parents will notice the difficulty early on in their child’s life. Children with eye-tracking problems, for example, might miss objects that are pointed out to them.
More common visual difficulties are:
- Spatial awareness. Symptoms include an inability to figure out angles and distances when playing a team sport
- Hand-to-eye coordination. Symptoms include difficulty catching a ball or learning to ride a bike
These difficulties point to possible sensory integration difficulties, which are best resolved with Occupational Therapy that can often lead to an ADHD diagnosis. They are visual clues of a learning difficulty that may indeed be holding your child back, not because they point to visual dyslexia, but rather because they point to possible attention difficulties.
Detecting The Source of Dyslexia In Your Child
If your child is struggling learning to read, our suggestion is to start with auditory processing skills, perhaps with an audiologist, or with your own observations – how well does your child handle multi-step instructions? How strong is his vocabulary compared to his peers’?
If neither of these things are apparent, only then should you explore visual processing causes.
Does your child display symptoms of dyslexia? View more language processing symptoms here.
“Scientists know that dyslexia is overwhelmingly a language problem.” and research that studies that specific issue usually concludes that is true for about 88% of dyslexics. That leaves about 12% of dyslexics that are not fated to be helped by language based interventions.
True that tracking ( and also lazy eye ) can cause visual problems that make reading difficult. Those conditions are relatively easy to identify by even untrained parents by watching their child’s eyes as they read compared to how the eyes of a reader without problems move smoothly together. Tracking and lazy eye only account for a small % of visual problems.
Absent tracking and lazy eye , visual dyslexia is causal for reading difficulties in about 10% of dyslexics if you define visual dyslexics as those who can describe visual problems ( or if younger , reveal their visual problems when asked about how they see the page, words, letters ) that make reading difficult.
If asked, most dyslexics will answer that their reading problems have nothing to do with visual problems seeing the text because most dyslexics don’t have visual problems. On the other hand, most visual dyslexics are very good at describing their visual problems and will respond that they would be able to read better if the words wound stop jumping around, the words weren’t missing letters or if parts of letters weren’t missing so they have to guess what the letters actually are.
Taking a different approach to the problem of visual dyslexia , See Right Dyslexia Glasses are designed as universal visual dyslexia filters and filter all the possible problem causing wavelengths of light at the same time . While that is a sledge hammer approach, it does eliminate the need for a personal evaluation , raises the success rate , lowers the cost , allows for a money back guarantee and raises the standard of success to removing the described visual problems that make reading difficult associated with visual dyslexia. As a bonus for those visual dyslexics with poor depth perception, the glasses restore normal depth perception.
For more information about visual dyslexia visit http://www.dyslexiaglasses.com. For those dyslexics without visual problems you may find my page of free dyslexia help links ( audio book sites, programs , dyslexic home schooling info and other random free dyslexia stuff ) of interest at dyslexiaglasses.com/links.