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May 20, 2013
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Dyslexia


Dyslexia is a common learning disability that hinders the development of reading skills. It impairs a person's ability to translate the sounds within words (phonemes) in the correct sequence, and this causes reading to be slow and inaccurate.

Dyslexia makes it hard to read, write, and spell. It also affects memory of spoken and written words.

The cause of dyslexia is not clear, although it may be genetic because it runs in families.

For treatment, educational tools can help retrain the way the mind processes the sounds within words. But reading will likely not ever be easy for a person with dyslexia.

ByHealthwise Staff
Primary Medical ReviewerSusan C. Kim, MD - Pediatrics
Specialist Medical ReviewerThomas Emmett Francoeur, MDCM, CSPQ, FRCPC - Pediatrics
Specialist Medical ReviewerJohn Pope, MD - Pediatrics
Last RevisedJune 4, 2010

eMedicineHealth Medical Reference from Healthwise

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