Adult Dyslexia - How Important is Testing?

It is estimated that as many as 1 person in every 10 has some form of dyslexia. The great majority of these have never been tested or diagnosed... Could you be one of these? How do you know?...

Exact estimates vary, but as many as one person out of ten suffers from some form of dyslexia. It affects four times as many males as it does females.  Dyslexia has been described as a neurological difficulty in processing information.  It seems to be linked to deficiencies in short-term memory and visual coordination. 

Dyslexia noticeably affects the ability to read well.  It leads to social problems and low self esteem.  Some are diagnosed in childhood, receive the training they need to "re-program" their minds and completely overcome any problems.

Others reach adulthood without screening or diagnosis and need testing to clearly identify their problems and learn how to overcome them... 

Educational systems, systems of teaching, have long favored teaching to the average, the majority of the group, ignoring the special needs of those that were different. The very bright and the very dim generally got bored and overwhelmed, respectively, as a result.  Dyslexics got branded as "slow learners..."

Dyslexics have been little-understood and have suffered from that lack of understanding until recently.  Their condition was more subtle, not readily observable, easily confused with other problems.  In the last few years a great deal of work has been done in the field and we know a lot more...
 
Being dyslexic doesn't mean that a person is dumb or stupid. It just means that his or her brain is wired up differently, like the difference between left-handed and right-handed people. It's not a big thing if the teachers just recognize the differences and don't try to hammer all into the same mold.

Dyslexics see as well as non-dyslexics. The difference is in how their brains process the information, going from seeing letters to written words to thoughts of what they mean. For most of us the process is straightforward. For dyslexics, helper steps are needed.

Different approaches to teaching and learning, like learning the sounds of letters, sylables and words to help link to the constructions and meanings of written text.

When diagnosed at an early age, children can usually be taught how to use various aids to get past their "roadblocks" with ease. There is no "single formula that fits all" with dyslexia, since each case is different - there is no such thing as a "typical" dyslexic.

Many mild cases go undetected for years, put down to slow learning or individual differences in ways of doing things...

When you think about it you probably know people who almost never read, have problems with simple numbers, seem not to be able to spell correctly, etc. Many of these are likely embarrassed by their inability to do these simple tasks and may be hiding these and other dyslectic symptoms.  

This is unfortunate, because they could easily be helped, probably could master the tasks that now stump them. If their condition were to be diagnosed correctly, their differences measured, skilled teachers could show them how to bypass their mental roadblocks and easily learn what has previously eluded them.

However, societal pressures sometimes make this difficult. Everyone wants to be a "regular guy" or "regular gal". No one wants to be different.  So they hide these differences that a simple adult dyslexia test could identify, and they suffer needlessly for it, feeling somehow inferior and having low self-esteem.

The first essential step is to recognize that maybe their learning or remembering problems could be some form of dyslexia. After all, dyslexia affects 10% of the population and it could affect anyone. Albert Einstein, (the billionaire) Charles Branson and George Washington all suffered from dyslexia, just to name a few.

Once you face the possibility and ask yourself the question, the only way to know for sure is to get yourself tested for dyslexia. A simple half-hour adult dyslexia test costs less than a dinner out for two. Taking the test could change a dyslexic person's whole life, radically, for the better!

And dyslexic people tend to have extraordinary talents of visualization, abilities in arts such as painting, architecture and sculpture and high creativity.

Finding and removing the blocks to doing the things that gave them problems before, could lead no only to a better life but to fuller development of their other, unique abilities...

Jorge Chavez