Kids have a lot to learn in their first five years of life. They learn to walk, talk, and eventually to start reading. But while kids can pick up walking and talking naturally, they must be taught how to read. Children who struggle with the building blocks of reading may be at risk for developing dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a reading disorder in which people find it hard to link speech sounds to letters and words. They also have trouble with spelling and recognizing words. These issues make reading difficult.

“To develop reading skills, your brain has to reorganize itself,” says Dr. Jack Fletcher, a neuropsychologist at the University of Houston. “It takes brain areas that are built for language and for visual attention and repurposes them for reading.”

But everyone’s brain is different. These differences can make it harder for certain people to learn to read. Your genes can affect your chance of developing dyslexia. The disorder tends to run in families. Environmental factors, like not having access to quality instruction, can also raise your risk.

“We can lessen that risk with instruction on reading and on how language works and other approaches,” says Fletcher. But early intervention is key.

“We want to identify kids who are at risk for dyslexia and intensify their instruction early on to try and keep them from developing dyslexia,” Fletcher explains.

Kids who struggle to keep up with classmates are also at risk for developing mental health issues, like anxiety and depression. “We know that in first grade in particular, kids are very aware of how well they’re reading, and who in the classroom is not reading well. That is troublesome to lots of kids,” Fletcher says.

Decades of research has identified the best way to teach most children to read. Kids must first learn what’s called “phonemic awareness.” This means they understand that words are composed of distinct sounds, or “phonemes.” Then they have to apply this knowledge to printed text and understand that the letters represent the structured sounds of speech. If they don’t gain these skills early on, it can affect their progress in learning to read as they get older.

If your child has trouble reading, talk with their teacher and their doctor. Health professionals can help rule out certain other issues, like hearing or vision problems, that may underlie reading problems. An evaluation for dyslexia may involve visits to specialists such as speech-language pathologists, psychologists, or a reading or education specialist.

If your child attends public school, you may be able to request a free evaluation. Public schools in the U.S. are required to provide free special education support to children with specific learning disabilities, including dyslexia.

Children with dyslexia sometimes have other learning problems, too, such as difficulties with writing or reading comprehension. These problems can be caused by dyslexia or by separate learning disabilities. Many kids with dyslexia also have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is not a learning disability. But it can interfere with learning because it disrupts attention span and the ability to organize. ADHD requires its own treatments.

There is no cure for dyslexia. But early recognition of the condition, and support at home and school, can help set kids with dyslexia on the road to success. The Wise Choices box lists early signs to look for.

Signs of Dyslexia

• Trouble sounding out letters, spelling, and recognizing words.
• Delay in being able to speak.
• Difficulty learning songs and rhymes.
• Trouble understanding what others are saying.
• Difficulty organizing written and spoken language.
• Difficulty learning new words, either while reading or hearing.
• Slow rate of reading, both silently and out loud.
• Giving up on longer reading tasks.
• Difficulty understanding questions and following directions.
• Problems remembering numbers in sequence, like phone numbers.
• Trouble expressing thoughts or feelings.

People with dyslexia usually have trouble making the connection between letters and sounds and with spelling and recognizing words.

People with dyslexia often show other signs of the condition. These may include:

• Having a hard time understanding what others are saying
• Difficulty organizing written and spoken language
• Delay in being able to speak
• Difficulty expressing thoughts or feelings
• Difficulty learning new words (vocabulary), either while reading or hearing
• Trouble learning foreign languages
• Difficulty learning songs and rhymes
• Slow rate of reading, both silently and out loud
• Giving up on longer reading tasks
• Difficulty understanding questions and following directions
• Poor spelling
• Problems remembering numbers in sequence (for example, telephone numbers and addresses)
• Trouble telling left from right

Treating dyslexia

The main focus of treatment should be on a person’s specific learning problems, typically by modifying the teaching environment and methods.

• Special teaching techniques. The use of explicit, systematic instruction to teach and directly support children’s efforts to learn to read and recognize words. This occurs over time.
• Classroom modifications. For example, teachers can give students with dyslexia extra time to finish tasks and provide taped tests that allow the child to hear the questions instead of reading them.
• Use of technology. Children with dyslexia may benefit from listening to books on tape or using word-processing programs with spell-check features.

Special Education Services

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) requires public schools to provide free special education supports to children with learning and other disabilities. They must be taught in the least restrictive, most appropriate environments for them.

In most states, children are entitled to these services beginning at age 3 and extending through high school or until age 21, whichever comes first. The teaching environment should be designed to meet the child’s specific needs and skills. It should minimize restrictions on the child’s access to typical learning experiences. The specific rules of IDEA for each state are available from the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center.

Is there a key to helping people with dyslexia?

Early, systematic, and explicit reading instruction—teaching the link between the written word and its specific sounds—is critical for dyslexia. The written word maps directly onto spoken language. So the challenge is to link the sounds of English, for example, to the specific letters of the alphabet.

Is there a key to helping people with dyslexia?

Early, systematic, and explicit reading instruction—teaching the link between the written word and its specific sounds—is critical for dyslexia. The written word maps directly onto spoken language. So the challenge is to link the sounds of English, for example, to the speci c letters of the alphabet.

How can parents help their children?

Since learning begins at home, the best thing parents can do is to talk with their children and read to them every day. Let them soak in what they’re hearing and learn how to converse. This is a great opportunity to bond with your children and helps them build their oral vocabulary and learn the structure of language, which are part of the foundation for reading.

What is the goal?

The goal is to build a foundation for reading and that takes lots of time and practice.

When should special instruction begin?

The earlier the better for children who are struggling to read. Some children need more time to learn, while others do better in smaller groups. So parents should build relationships with their children’s teachers and school administrators to advocate for the best possible support.

Early intervention reduces long-term problems. Children who are not improving by the fourth or fifth grade may need continued instructional support on foundational skills of reading in later grades.

For those with dyslexia, the prognosis is mixed. The disability affects such a wide range of people and produces such different symptoms and varying severity that predictions are hard to make. Prognosis is generally good, however, for individuals whose dyslexia is identified early, who have supportive family and friends and a strong self-image, and who are involved in proper remediation.