# The Dyslexia Myth **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 8, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483 "2009-12-08T19:31:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/21 "2009-12-08T23:31:58Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Everytime I see this, I always wonder why people add the ‘according to Cambridge University’ part. All that does is make someone zero in on that part and say, ‘DEBUNKED!!’. 😕 Huh? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/22 "2009-12-08T23:37:18Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > 😕 > > Huh? He meant the “aoccdrnig to Cmabrigde Uinervtisy” part. Does that clear things up? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/23 "2009-12-08T23:38:18Z")
In my experience, there’s two forms of dyslexia, and they have no real relationship to each other. 1. Dyslexia diagnosed by a doctor, which causes the dyslexic to have problems reading. 2. Dyslexia claimed in a signature line or a defensive post on an online forum, used as an excuse for execrable spelling and grammar (as if dyslexia had anything to do with grammar!). This form of dyslexia causes _everyone else_ to have problems reading. Type 2 is far more common. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/24 "2009-12-09T00:02:40Z")
Okay, not I feel guilty for not answering **bordelond** seriously, so: I think **Nzinga, Seated** actually thinks that there’s some merit to the claim that the ordering of interior letters is completely unimportant in reading a word, as demonstrated by the text in the OP, and is irritated that nobody else is taking the theory seriously. Of course, we’ve noticed that the words in the OP aren’t that large or even all that scrambled (especially if you ignore the vowels). By the simple reordering method which I used in my ‘sailadepeuqsen vralubacoy’ post above, the original text is: “The panemonehl pewor of the hamun mind, anidroccg to rcraeseh at Cgdirbmae Utisreviny, it d’nseot mettar in waht oedrr the lrettes in a wrod are, the olny inatropmt tnihg is taht the fsrit and lsat letter be in the rhgit pcale. The rset can be a tatol mses and yuo can slitl raed it wuohtit a pelborm. Tihs is bsuacee the hamun mnid deos not raed erevy letter by ilestf, but the wrod as a wlohe.” Note how the little words are all still pretty readable (expecially “letter” :D) due to the fact that there’s just not very far for the letters to suffle around, but readability of longer words like “anidroccg” and “inatropmt” drop considerably when their consonants are disordered to a greater degree. (Readability of “pcale” allso suffered horribly, because of its similarity to another word - though of course “slate” would have suffered even worse.) My take on this whole thing is that we’re able to mentally fix some pretty significant ‘typos’ in words we read, but letter order still matters rather a lot, making the assertion of the garbled paragraph a load of facel mteatr. And the reference to Cambridge presumably makes it a lie, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/25 "2009-12-09T00:41:43Z")
Deleted. Just read begbert2’s last post and decided I really didn’t need to make a long ass hype post. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/26 "2009-12-09T02:07:39Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > As someone who confuses left-right easily, & has a very hard time typing, I would say, yeah, it exists, & it occurs in different degrees & takes many forms. Heck, I’m a dyslexic _writer_ (if there is such a thing). When writing out words in longhand, I often write the second letter first, i.e when trying to write ‘clock’, I start with L. Then I mutter in an annoyed way and try to fit the C on the left before continuing. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/27 "2009-12-09T05:04:45Z")
> [@](#): > > **sailboat** : In my experience, there’s two forms of dyslexia, and they have no real relationship to each other. A doctor does not diagnose dyslexia. She or he may eliminate possible medical reasons that a child has difficulty reading, but the dyslexia would be diagnosed usually by a team of professional educators trained in understanding how _the body_ learns language. (That’s a simlification and there is a psychological element to it that would be evaluated also.) Other than that, I’m certain that your experience is sterling. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/28 "2009-12-09T06:07:46Z")
There was a programme on UK’s Channel 4 (I think) a few years back about “The Dyslexia Myth”, it wasn’t about anything in the OP but about the apparent over-diagnosis of dyslexia in schools. I didn’t see the programme nor do I know much about the subject to say whether this is bull or not. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/29 "2009-12-09T06:13:44Z")
Here are the relevant links: [http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/D/dyslexia\_myth/](http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/D/dyslexia_myth/) [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6031033294208468907#](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6031033294208468907#) ---
**Author:** ![ajb867](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@ajb867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ajb867)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/30 "2009-12-09T07:58:34Z")
Did anyone else read the garbled paragraph a few times then quickly move on to reading the posts in the thread? For me at least I swear to god letters felt like they were “switching and being moved around” Ahhhhh!!! After taking a break things have rturend to nmral. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/31 "2009-12-09T16:57:55Z")
> [@sevenwood](#): > > My oldest daughter is severely dyslexic. […] To me, text on a page is static. It just sits there quietly. To her, that same text is constantly moving. Or as she used to say as a kid “the letters run around.” There is no real difference between a “d” and a “b” - they’re both the same (or more precisely one flips around and becomes the other). This is probably the best description I’ve seen of this problem. > [@gonzomax](#): > > It is a conspiracy. > Dyslexics of the world > UNTIE Join DAM: Mothers Against Dyslexia. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/32 "2009-12-09T17:47:54Z")
> [@Paleface](#): > > Cna yuo raed tihs? > > The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and yuo can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. > > So, deos dselyixa ralley esxit, or is ti jsut an ecxsue for sputidity? How are you distinguishing dyslexia from stupidity? Aside from the emotional charge associated with “stupidity” there shouldn’t be a judgmental difference between learning disabilities of any kind and the absence of them. Mental ability exists along a broad range, and while some labels may confer a sense of superiority because they are some variant of categorized disability versus non-specific lesser intelligence, there’s no practical difference. If I’m slow picking something up because I have a defined disability or I’m slow picking it up because I have an undefined disability (I’m just “stupid”) what’s the difference? The only substantive value in defining particular disabilities is in creating approaches to overcome them. And we need to do that however we can even if the person is just stupid. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/33 "2009-12-09T17:54:34Z")
😕 What does dyslexia have to do with math? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/34 "2009-12-09T19:43:49Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > If I’m slow picking something up because I have a defined disability or I’m slow picking it up because I have an undefined disability (I’m just “stupid”) what’s the difference? The emotional charge associated with stupid is the whole point of the word. Stupid and smart can mean all things to all people, but people generally understand the idea of a learning disorder and most are willing to make accomodations to help those people learn. If you tell them someone is not disabled but is just stupid I think they’re more likely to write that person off. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/35 "2009-12-10T03:27:59Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The emotional charge associated with stupid is the whole point of the word. Stupid and smart can mean all things to all people, but people generally understand the idea of a learning disorder and most are willing to make accomodations to help those people learn. If you tell them someone is not disabled but is just stupid I think they’re more likely to write that person off. It’s stupid not to simply call “stupid” a “learning disability” and be done with the problem. Mentally challenged is mentally challenged. Period. We are all mentally challenged when compared against whoever the brightest person is.\* (And yes, I realize “mentally challenged” has been swiped for yet a slightly different meaning, albeit still on the same spectrum from Optimally Intelligent to Vegetable.) Sorry: Cecil. I forgot where I was posting. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/36 "2009-12-10T08:25:34Z")
I can’t help but feel that this is one of those things that unless you have it you just aren’t going to understand it. With obvious physical defects it is easy, I understand how a man with one leg shorter than the other may have difficulty walking. But something that comes so easily to me like reading and writing, when I can’t see something physically wrong with you? It is really difficult to empathise. So no, I don’t understand it. That doesn’t mean I don’t believe it exists, but I just can’t get my head round it. But for others they don’t understand it and make the illogical leap to believing it doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/37 "2009-12-10T10:51:23Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I suspect here lies the rub. > > A dyslexic child learning to read will have real problems. Those of us who have been reading for years and for whom it is second nature can read the muddled text fine. > > Can people develop dyslexia later in life? I suspect not although I do not know. > > So, for a child dyslexia is very real and a serious impediment to their learning. Not only for a child, I “diagnosed”(1) dyslexia on someone who was in his 40s; when I was studying Catalan, some of the other courses being offered in the same center were to teach adults to read and one of the things they found was that many of their students who were theoretically literate but functionally illiterate were dyslexic. They were also old enough to have gone to school (and finished it) before dyslexia became known. There are tricks to recognize when the dyslexia is tripping you and hopefully be able to decode the right word, but sometimes a dyslexic’s best bet is to ask someone else. As for that trick from the OP, I can read it only with a lot of effort to reorganize the letters, which is completely different from my usual reading speed and method (in texts narrow enough, like a book, I read whole lines). 1: IANAD or a teacher or a language specialist, but this was a guy who mixed a and o the whole time. He also had a BSc in Chemistry, an MSc in Chemistry and was working on an MBA. He memorized texts but often memorized them wrong, having read them incorrectly. His teachers apparently thought “man, his handwriting is so bad his As and Os look the same” and never realized he was mixing them. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/38 "2009-12-10T11:52:22Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > If I’m slow picking something up because I have a defined disability or I’m slow picking it up because I have an undefined disability (I’m just “stupid”) what’s the difference? > > The only substantive value in defining particular disabilities is in creating approaches to overcome them. And we need to do that however we can even if the person is just stupid. I don’t disagree with your sentiment, but I want to point out that _most_ learning disabilities are described as “undefined learning disability”: what makes it a learning disability is the gap between someone’s overall ability and their ability in a specific, narrow area–a student who can read and write and speak and retain facts on grade level (or above), but is 2 or more years behind in math, for example. But in the majority of cases, we don’t have any sort of idea why that discrepancy exists. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/39 "2009-12-10T13:18:37Z")
Have we resolved the debate enough to throw in a joke? There was this dyslexic agnostic who suffered from insomnia. He lay awake all nite wondering if there was a dog… …kinda stupid, I know. But you’ll be using it. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483/40 "2009-12-10T13:35:20Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > 😕 What does dyslexia have to do with math? Some dyslexics have trouble keeping equations straight. For me, it was more of a problem with arithmetic. I could not (and still can’t) keep columns straight to save my live. I finally got permission to use graph paper in forth grade, and floored my teachers when they saw that I _could_ do the problems. I still have trouble translating word problems into arithmetical problems. * * * Obligatory joke: How do dyslexics attempt suicide? They jump behind busses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dyslexia-myth/520483.md?page=3)