Most of the history of dyslexia has been written during the last 25 years. Before that the condition was practically unknown.
Dyslexics learn differently. Their eyes see the same but their brains interpret the signals from the eyes differently than those of non-dyslexics. It’s O.K., many famous people have been dyslexic. But to reach full potential they need to be taught differently, according to their needs.
In roughly the last fifteen years, dyslexia testing has been an integral part of the educational process. Children in elementary schools have routinely been screened for dyslexia. As part of their standard procedures, everyone went through preliminary screening. Those identified as possibly dyslexic, plus all those that the teachers identified as having problems with reading, were put through full scale testing for dyslexia which identified whether or not they were dyslexic, and, if so, what type and to what degree was the problem.
Before about 15 years ago, dyslexics were lumped in with the rest of the students and had to take their chances. Most were treated badly by the educational system, called lazy, slow learners, underachievers. They were made to feel ashamed of and embarrassed by their differences and learned to conceal them.
Millions of adult dyslexics today have never taken a dyslexia test. They still struggle with learning and reading difficulties that could be easily overcome if they were only known. A half-hour dyslexia test could make enormous improvements in their self-esteem and abilities.
There are many different types of dyslexia. In fact, there is no standard “type”; everyone is different. Dyslexics cannot be classified and put into different “boxes” to process. Each one must be tested and evaluated separately.
Dyslexia testing is not difficult or expensive; there’s even an online dyslexia test that takes half an hour, can be done from home or wherever you can connect to the Internet and costs less than $60! If you or anyone you know might possibly be dyslexic, it’s really easy to find out for sure!
For more info on dyslexia and how it can be overcome, click on any of the above links.
Disclaimer: Nothing in the above explanations is intended to be or represented to be or should be construed to be any form of medical advice. The information herein has been gleaned from medical journals, news articles in the popular press and other freely-available public sources. It is presented here for informational purposes only. For any medical advice the reader is urged to consult with his or her licensed physician or other medical specialist.
Written by Willard Helms