What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a Neurobiological Difference

Dyslexia is a specific learning difference rooted in how the brain processes language—particularly the sounds in words and how those sounds connect to letters.

It is not a measure of intelligence, motivation, or effort, but it can create unexpected challenges in reading, writing, and spelling.

Without identification and intervention, dyslexia can significantly affect long-term educational, economic, and life outcomes.

Dyslexia is lifelong, evolving in how it shows up from childhood through adulthood.

People with Dyslexia can Thrive in Diverse Fields Because of How They Approach Solutions

Hiring individuals with dyslexia isn’t about accommodation, it’s about gaining access to a powerful set of cognitive strengths. Dyslexic thinkers bring creativity, big-picture reasoning, resilience, and emotional intelligence—exactly the skills organizations need to innovate, lead, and stay competitive in a rapidly changing world.

Dyslexia as Defined by Federal Law

The First Step Act of 2018 marked the first time dyslexia was explicitly defined in federal law. The Act describes dyslexia as an unexpected difficulty in reading, despite adequate intelligence, most often stemming from deficits in phonological processing that affect reading, spelling, and spoken language.

This definition aligns with the prevailing scientific evidence and is broadly accepted by the medical community.

Common Characteristics of Dyslexia by Grade Level

When reading- or language-related behaviors don’t align with a person’s age, education, or abilities, they may be signs of dyslexia. Starting on Page 9 of TEA’s Dyslexia Handbook, people with dyslexia usually show more than one of these traits, and they tend to persist over time. Dyslexia often runs in families and is strongly influenced by genetics. Without support, these challenges can build on one another as a person moves through school and adulthood.

Preschool

Delay in learning to talk
Difficulty with rhyming
Difficulty pronouncing words (e.g., “pusgetti” for “spaghetti,” “mawn lower” for “lawn mower”)
Poor auditory memory for nursery rhymes and chants
Difficulty adding new vocabulary words
Inability to recall the right word (word retrieval)
Trouble learning and naming letters and numbers and remembering the letters in his/ her name
Aversion to print (e.g., doesn’t enjoy following along if a book is read aloud)

Kindergarten and First Grade

Difficulty breaking words into smaller parts, or syllables (e.g., “baseball” can be pulled apart into “base” “ball” or “napkin” can be pulled apart into “nap” “kin”)
Difficulty identifying and manipulating sounds in syllables (e.g., “man” sounded out as /m/ /ă/ /n/)
Difficulty remembering the names of letters and recalling their corresponding sounds
Difficulty decoding single words (reading single words in isolation)
Difficulty spelling words the way they sound (phonetically) or remembering letter sequences in very common words seen often in print (e.g., “sed” for “said”)

Second and Third Grade

Difficulty recognizing common sight words (e.g., “to,” “said,” “been”)
Difficulty decoding single words
Difficulty recalling the correct sounds for letters and letter patterns in reading
Difficulty connecting speech sounds with appropriate letter or letter combinations and omitting letters in words for spelling (e.g., “after” spelled “eftr”)
Difficulty reading fluently (e.g., reading is slow, inaccurate, and/or without expression)
Difficulty decoding unfamiliar words in sentences using knowledge of phonics
Reliance on picture clues, story theme, or guessing at words
Difficulty with written expression

Fourth through Sixth Grade

Difficulty reading aloud (e.g., fear of reading aloud in front of classmates)
Avoidance of reading (particularly for pleasure)
Difficulty reading fluently (e.g., reading is slow, inaccurate, and/or without expression)
Difficulty decoding unfamiliar words in sentences using knowledge of phonics
Acquisition of less vocabulary due to reduced independent reading
Use of less complicated words in writing that are easier to spell than more appropriate words (e.g., “big” instead of “enormous”)
Reliance on listening rather than reading for comprehension

Middle and High School

Difficulty with the volume of reading and written work
Frustration with the amount of time required and energy expended for reading
Difficulty reading fluently (e.g., reading isslow, inaccurate, and/or without expression)
Difficulty decoding unfamiliar words in sentences using knowledge of phonics
Difficulty with written assignments
Tendency to avoid reading (particularly for pleasure)
Difficulty learning a foreign language

College and the Workplace

Difficulty pronouncing names of people and places or parts of words
Difficulty remembering names of people and places
Difficulty with word retrieval
Difficulty with spoken vocabulary
Difficulty completing the reading demands for multiple course requirements
Difficulty with notetaking
Difficulty with written production
Difficulty remembering sequences (e.g., mathematical and/or scientific formulas)