Types of Dyslexia

If your child struggles with reading, sounding out words, or understanding what they’ve read, they may have a
learning disorder called dyslexia. Dyslexia can be developmental (genetic) or acquired (resulting from a
traumatic brain injury or disease), and there are several types of Dyslexia including phonological dyslexia,
rapid naming dyslexia, double deficit dyslexia, surface dyslexia, and visual dyslexia. Each type of dyslexia
presents it’s own unique set of symptoms and challenges, detailed below.

Estimates regarding the prevalence of dyslexia state that between five and 20% of the population experience
reading challenges. In order to find the most effective teaching strategies, it’s essential to be able to identify
the problem early and understand that there are several types of dyslexia.

What Is Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a learning disability that hinders an individual’s ability to read by affecting
spelling, writing, and comprehension skills. Dyslexia is not a learning disability that a child will
outgrow, so it’s important to pursue a diagnosis and implement strategies to improve reading
ability at a young age. Anyone can be diagnosed with dyslexia, although the dyslexia test process
is different for adults than it is for children. Often Individuals with dyslexia can be very creative
and intelligent yet struggle with basic reading skills.

Dyslexia symptoms include:
 Difficulty learning new words
 Delayed speech development
 Difficulty with rhyming words
 Confusing letters for each other
 Reading below the expected level for age
 Grammar issues
 Problems spelling
 Poor sentence structure
 Lack of phonemic awareness
 Avoidance of reading aloud
 Difficulty copying words from a secondary source

In addition, there are subtle behavioral signs to watch for in children with dyslexia, including:
 Withdrawal from peers
 Depression
 Misbehavior or acting out
 Self-esteem issues
 Peer and sibling relationship difficulties
 Loss of interest in school
 Appearing unmotivated or lazy

Recognizing early symptoms of dyslexia can help diagnose the disability sooner, providing a
more significant overall opportunity to improve
What Are the Types of Dyslexia?
Experts have created categories to group several common types of dyslexia together to increase
the effectiveness of treatment. Being familiar with the different types of dyslexia will allow
educators to develop strategies specific to the child’s needs in order to provide the best support
possible.

Phonological Dyslexia
This type of dyslexia is the most commonly thought of when someone mentions the word
dyslexia. It deals with difficulties in matching sounds to symbols and breaking down the sounds
of language. Individuals with phonological dyslexia struggle to decode or sound out words. It’s
believed that phonological dyslexia is the most common type of dyslexia. Symptoms of
phonological dyslexia may include:
 Difficulty learning sounds made by letters/letter combinations
 Difficulty sounding out unfamiliar words
 Difficulty spelling
 Spelling the same word different ways on the same page
 Slow reading
 Avoiding reading activities
 Difficulty recognizing familiar words in new contexts

Rapid Naming Dyslexia

People who struggle with the ability to rapidly name colors, numbers, and letters when presented
with them may have rapid naming dyslexia. This type of dyslexia may be linked to both reading
speed and the processing speed for reading. Individuals with rapid naming dyslexia can say the
names of the colors, numbers, and letters, but it often takes them much longer to come up with
the correct word. Symptoms of Rapid naming dyslexia may include:
 Difficulty retrieving words
 Frequently substituting words or leaving words out altogether
 Slow to respond orally
 Slower to complete reading or writing assignments
 Making up nonsense words in place of real words
 Using gestures in place of words

Double Deficit Dyslexia

A person with double deficit dyslexia struggles with two aspects of reading. These two aspects
often include naming speed and identifying the sounds in words. This type of dyslexia is a
combination of rapid naming and phonological and is not uncommon; however, it is largely
regarded as the most severe type of dyslexia. Symptoms of double deficit dyslexia include:
 Poor naming speed rate when asked to recall words
  Weak phonological awareness

Surface Dyslexia
An individual who can sound out new words with ease but fails to recognize familiar words by
sight may have surface dyslexia. In this case, experts believe that the brain fails to recognize
what a word looks like in order to process the word quickly. This type of dyslexia affects words
that need to be memorized because they don’t sound how they are spelled, making it more
difficult to sound them out. Other names for surface dyslexia include visual or dyseidetic
dyslexia. It’s not uncommon for an individual with dyslexia to also have both phonological and
surface dyslexia. Symptoms of surface dyslexia can include:
 Difficulty with whole word recognition
 Slow to read
 Avoidant of reading activities
 Difficulty with spelling
 Difficulty reading words that don’t sound the way they’re spelled
 Difficulty reading new words by sight

Visual Dyslexia
When a child struggles to remember what they saw on a page, they may have visual dyslexia.
This type affects the visual processing, making it so that the brain doesn’t get the complete
picture of what the eyes see. Visual dyslexia will affect the ability to learn how to spell or form
letters because both require the brain to remember the correct letter sequence or shape, impacting
the learning process. Symptoms of visual dyslexia include:
 Text appearing blurred or going in and out of focus
 Difficulty tracking across lines of text
 Difficulty keeping place in text
 Text appearing double or alternating between single and double
 Headaches and/or eyestrain associated with reading

Categories of Dyslexia
Developmental Dyslexia
Developmental dyslexia refers to dyslexia which is genetic and/or present at birth.
Developmental dyslexia includes both primary and secondary dyslexia. This type of dyslexia is
more common in boys and typically diminishes as the child matures.

Primary Dyslexia
If the dyslexia results from a genetically inherited condition, it is considered primary dyslexia. A
child whose parents have dyslexia increases the chance that they will also have dyslexia.
Interestingly enough, primary dyslexia seems to have a familial connection with even more
prevalence among males, especially left-handed ones.

Secondary Dyslexia
Secondary dyslexia is the result of problems with brain development during the early stages of
pregnancy. Both primary and secondary dyslexia are developmental because the disability is
present at birth.

Acquired Dyslexia
When a traumatic brain injury or disease affects the brain’s centers responsible for language
processing, they can sometimes develop dyslexia. This type of dyslexia is also referred to as
trauma dyslexia because it’s caused by trauma to the brain and is the only type of dyslexia with a
known cause.

Other Learning Difficulties Associated with Dyslexia

There are several other learning difficulties that a person diagnosed with dyslexia may
experience more prevalently. These are not types of dyslexia, and experts believe they are
neurological in nature. These learning difficulties include:
 Left-right disorder. The inability to tell your left from your right is sometimes referred to as
directional dyslexia.
 Dysgraphia. When individuals have difficulty with writing and other fine motor skills, that affects
word spacing, sizing, spelling, legibility, and expression.
 Dyscalculia. An impairment to the ability to performing accurate math calculations, problem solving
and reasoning, learning number-related concepts, and performing basic math skills. Dyscalculia is
sometimes called number or math dyslexia.
 Auditory processing disorder. Individuals with auditory processing disorder experience problems with
the brain’s ability to process various speech sounds. This disorder is sometimes referred to as auditory
dyslexi

Dyslexia FAQ
Can trauma cause dyslexia?
Yes, trauma – both physical and emotional – have been cited in potentially causing the onset of
dyslexia.

Trauma Dyslexia, also commonly referred to as acquired dyslexia, can develop after a person has
experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI), such as a fall from a ladder, a car accident, a sports
injury, etc. Trauma Dyslexia can also result after suffering from a stroke or a concussion. While
it can affect anyone, Trauma Dyslexia is more often seen in adults than children.
On the other hand, dyslexia may also result from emotional trauma. Although there is little
research behind this type of dyslexia, it is cited that early exposure to stressful
circumstances such as emotional abuse, neglect, environmental disaster, bullying, witnessing
disaster or death, etc. may result in dyslexia and other learning disorders.

What does a dyslexic person see?

Every dyslexic person is different and what they see will not only depend on the type of dyslexia
they suffer from, but also the severity of their dyslexia. One person might see letters and
numbers backwards or upside down, while another person may not be able to distinguish
between similar looking letters such as e, c, and o. There are other cases in which letters may
appear all bunched together, or jumbled and out of order. In fact, some dyslexic people have no
problem at all reading, but may struggle to connect the letters and sound out words.

There’s no one answer when it comes to what a dyslexic person sees or struggles with. The only
way to know for sure is to get a proper diagnosis, during which the doctor may perform several
assessments such as decoding, word recognition, reading fluency and comprehension, oral
language skills, and more.

Can you outgrow dyslexia?

No, dyslexia does not go away and you cannot outgrow it; however, early intervention and
appropriate instruction and support can go a long way in mitigating the struggles that accompany
dyslexia. In addition to early intervention and support, there are a number of assistive
technologies – such as text-to-speech – that can help accommodate individuals with dyslexia. In
most cases, although dyslexia never fully “goes away”, individuals learn how to adapt and
overcome the struggles stemming from their dyslexia.

Does dyslexia affect speech too or just reading abilities?

Yes, dyslexia can affect both reading abilities and speaking abilities. In fact, one of the first signs
of dyslexia in children is delayed speech development. In addition to this delay, children with
dyslexia may also suffer from a number of speech issues such as reduced phonological
awareness, reduced phonological memory, jumbling up similar-sounding words, and stuttering or
speech deficiency.

Undergoing speech therapy with a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist  can help to minimize
the effects of dyslexia on a child’s speaking abilities. SLPs can help assess a child’s reading and
writing abilities, as well as aid in early language acquisition.

Can you develop dyslexia later in life?

Most people with dyslexia have it from birth; however, it is possible to develop dyslexia later in
life. More often than not, this late onset development is due to a traumatic brain injury – as stated
above – such as a stroke or a concussion. On the other hand, if you’ve been diagnosed with
dyslexia as an adult but haven’t suffered from a traumatic brain injury it’s more likely that
you’ve had the dyslexia all your life and it simply wasn’t diagnosed until late.

What To Do If You Suspect Dyslexia

Start by having a conversation about your concerns with your family doctor. Concerns can
include developmental delays, behavioral problems, or mental health issues. Involve your child’s
teacher to get answers about how they perform in school, get along with others, and any
struggles the staff might notice. Request further testing, either through your family doctor or
your child’s school, to confirm a diagnosis of dyslexia.

Once diagnosed and the type of dyslexia is identified, the school will develop an individualized
learning plan for your child. You can also seek alternative treatments outside of the school
setting. If you have concerns about dyslexia, contact NeuroHealth Arlington Heights online, or
give us a call at (847) 584-1894, to learn more about diagnosis and treatment options. We serve
Arlington Heights and the surrounding areas – including Palatine, Schaumburg, Des Plaines, Mt
Prospect and more – and our team of experts is ready to help your child on the path to success.