Dyslexia Quiz

Dyslexia Myth or Fact?

#1. Individuals who struggle with reading generally have lower than average Intelligence.

True - smart kids all learn to read easily

False - many very smart people struggled to learn to read

Dyslexia is not related to intelligence. There are many smart, talented, successful people who struggled to learn to read. Check out this link to read some of their stories: http://dyslexia.yale.edu/success-stories/

#2. Dyslexia is the most common reason that people struggle to learn to read.

True: There are students with dyslexia in every classroom.

False: Dyslexia is very rare and affects a very small % of kids.

Dyslexia is the most common reason that people struggle to learn to read. While it is difficult to provide an exact number most experts agree that dyslexia affects between 7 and 15% of all people. It is safe to say there are students with dyslexia in every classroom. In Ontario, Learning disability is the most common reason for students to access special education services (42%), 80% of people with a diagnosed learning disability have dyslexia.

#3. Dyslexia is a vision problem that causes letters to appear backwards or mixed up.

True - dyslexia is a problem of vision.

False - individuals with dyslexia are no more or less likely to have issues with vision than anyone else.

#4. Dyslexia can be prevented when parents read to their children.

True - children who come from supportive literacy-rich environments all learn to read easily.

False - Dyslexia is a neurological condition, while reading to children is important it will not prevent reading difficulties.

#5. Kids who are behind in reading are just not putting in the effort required to succeed.

True - if these kids just work harder they will catch up.

False - students who are struggling need systematic explicit instruction to teach them how to decode words, without this they rarely catch up no matter how hard they try.

#6. Students at risk for dyslexia can be identified in kindergarten:

True - using simple inexpensive screening tools students at risk for dyslexia can be identified in kindergarten

False - dyslexia can not be identified until grade 3

#7. Dyslexia only exists because English is a crazy language to learn to read:

True - dyslexia does not exist in languages that have a "transparent orthography" like Finnish.

False - dyslexia exists all over the world and in all languages

#8. There is no way to diagnose dyslexia:

True - there is no doctor that can identify dyslexia

False - in Ontario, dyslexia can be diagnosed by psychologists

#9. Most reading difficulties can be prevented

True - with evidence based classroom instruction, early screening and intervention 95% of all students can succeed with literacy

False - a large portion of kids will struggle with reading no mater what we do

#10. Dyslexia is a developmental stage that is usually outgrown:

False - dyslexia is a lifelong condition.

True - once a person learns how to read they are no longer dyslexic

Results