Everyone has a slightly different idea about what dyslexia is and a different approach to understanding dyslexia.

This has resulted in a series of  " This is what dyslexia is" ideas and "This is the only way to help dyslexics" . 

Dyslexia research is similar to the old story about the blind men who touch different parts of an elephant and then describe the elephant . An elephant is like a rope said the man holding the tail . No, an elephant is like a wall said the one touching the elephant's side. You are both wrong said the one grabbing the leg, an elephant is like a tree.

Each blind man actually has good data about their part of the elephant. None of the blind men actually prove any other blind man is wrong. Where the blind men make their mistakes is drawing the conclusions about the whole elephant from the parts.

It is important to understand that to date there has been no universal characteristic for all dyslexics that can be identified as different from people without dyslexia. The specific differences found are between groups of dyslexics and groups of not dyslexic people. This tracks the reality that different dyslexics have different individual sets of problems . Some particular problems are more common than others but none have proved to be universal.

You won't see any articles from Ron Davis or Dore here because their ideas about dyslexia and "cures" are both from the "one dyslexic has this problem and all other dyslexics must be the same" school of thought. That they both developed programs which sold for thousands of dollars based on "dyslexics think in pictures" or "can be cured with exercise programs" is amazing .

I find that often when talking with people about dyslexia I can tell what books they have read about dyslexia to form their opinions or the time frame when they read their dyslexia research. I hope that if you take the time to read these articles and research you will be able to see the elephant or at least as well as the elephant is known today.

The first article gives as good a description of dyslexia as I have ever read.

Dyslexia: A Little Different Twist A very good description of dyslexia without the lists. Visual crowding renaming parts of visual dyslexia The authors start by claiming this condition for all dyslexics and then it becomes some dyslexics. I would consider the problem part of what I describe as visual dyslexia in other areas of this site and  fully expect that these types of conditions will be corrected by See Right Dyslexia Glasses. A Rose by any other name is still a Rose. A multi sensory dyslexia study Another piece of the dyslexia puzzle as indicated by FMRI   Visual Dyslexia Discussion about visual dyslexia Integrating units of written and spoken speech Some dyslexia problems are related  to basic units of written and spoken speech. Evidence of Dyslexia Genes While dyslexia related genes have been found , any genetic testing is at least 5 years away. Dyslexia and the Chinese language What do the differences in dyslexia problems between English and Chinese readers show? Visual Centers and Dyslexia The 1996 study funded by NIH  to study the relationship between dyslexia and vision. How and Who will diagnose an LD and/or dyslexia This article is NOT going to be a simple read to get answers. It really is information about the confusion associated with the process in getting a dyslexia or LD diagnosis and how the rules vary depending on where you are. In the US, states can often make their own definitions and determine what level of benefits are to be provided. There are many good links to information in the article that can be followed. The one link that is missing is " how can all the different systems be fair " .      Dyslexia and reading comprehension A discussion about understanding dyslexia and reading comprehension problems that exist for some dyslexics. This major factor seems to me to be often overlooked in most discussions about dyslexia. An encyclopedia acount of dyslexia One encyclopedia's account of dyslexia