Understanding dyslexia characteristics is highly relevant for all parents and teachers who work with dyslexic children. It’s important to detect difficulties early and support children effectively.

For most of us, reading is something we do effortlessly. So how come some very bright children and adults struggle to read? This is a common question asked by parents and teachers of children with dyslexia.

Dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty in reading because it’s not caused by intellectual disability or sensory impairments. Also, children with dyslexia usually receive the same reading instruction as their peers — yet they still have trouble reading. How come?

Dyslexia was first recognized in 1886 by a medical doctor in England, who called it “word blindness.” Since then, dyslexia and reading have become major topics in scientific research. Thanks to modern neuroscience, we now understand more about how the reading network in the brain works.

Our brains aren’t naturally wired for reading — we don’t have a built-in "reading center." Instead, certain parts of the brain must specialize in reading, and a circuit must be created to connect them. For reading to become fluent, this circuit needs to run quickly and automatically.

In dyslexia, these connections function differently. That’s why we say dyslexia has a neurobiological origin. While we still don’t know its exact cause, we do know that dyslexia often runs in families, which suggests a genetic background.

Learning to read involves many skills:

• Understanding that spoken language can be broken into smaller parts (syllables and phonemes)
• Identifying letters
• Learning the rules of how print maps onto sound
• Recognizing whole words accurately and rapidly
• Building vocabulary and understanding meaning

Children with dyslexia struggle with most or all of these steps. While the manifestations of dyslexia can vary, the core difficulties are in:

1. Phoneme Awareness
2. Reading (decoding)
3. Fluency
4. Comprehension

This is the ability to recognize and manipulate the smallest units of sound (phonemes) in spoken words. It’s a key foundation for spelling and word recognition. Some children develop this skill naturally, while others need explicit, structured instruction. It’s one of the best predictors of future reading success.

A critical step in learning to read is mapping letters to their sounds - a process called decoding. This is considered the core difficulty in dyslexia.

When decoding becomes automatic, reading becomes fluent and effortless. In dyslexia, decoding remains slow and effortful, making reading a challenge.

When children spend so much energy decoding words, it’s harder to focus on meaning. This affects reading comprehension, which becomes a major issue - especially in school, where reading is essential for learning across all subjects.

Early identification and support are essential for children with dyslexia. It’s equally important to help parents and teachers understand dyslexia and its characteristics so they can support each child’s learning journey more effectively.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution because dyslexia varies from person to person. But one thing is certain: Don’t give up on reading! Practice with books on topics the child enjoys. And remember, reading is like riding a bike: if you don’t practice, you won’t improve.