Common Misconceptions About Dyslexia

Video Transcript

"Teachers often ask if there are such things as misconceptions about dyslexia. Actually the two most important common misconceptions have to do with beliefs about what dyslexia is. Many people believe that dyslexia simply means that a person sees things backwards, sees letters and numbers backwards. The truth is that a small proportion of people with dyslexia do have that difficulty, but by in large dyslexia does not have that characteristic once children leave kindergarten. Another misconception that is very common among both parents and teachers, because people with dyslexia often are very bright. People think that if you're that smart you should be able to learn. And so they call the children lazy, or unmotivated, or not caring. And that is not at all true. Dyslexic children work very, very hard, and despite their effort they have great difficulty learning to read and spell."