Dyslexia is a term that you may have heard thrown around a classroom or quietly muttered under a person’s breath but without really knowing what it actually means. That is why I am here to give to you a simple but accurate rundown on what dyslexia is and why it means more than just ‘bad reading and spelling’.

First of all, dyslexia is a learning disability meaning that it naturally affects how someone may understand, learn and process new or any information. I personally believe that the best definition of dyslexia is from the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) which states that “Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that mainly affects the skills used in accurate and fluent reading and writing. Some features of dyslexia include difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed.”

From this definition alone, you can already see that dyslexia does not just affect grammar, and instead also influences multiple aspects of a person’s life and experiences. This is why telling people with dyslexia that they can only experience difficulty with spelling and reading is incorrect. It also invalidates and belittles the many other symptoms and characteristics of dyslexia like concentration, personal organisation, motor coordination and aspects of language.This invalidation of dyslexic traits often leads to higher rates of self esteem issues and mental health problems. As someone who is dyslexic, I believe that there needs to be more discussions and awareness surrounding learning disabilities. This is why I have created this article to open the discussion of dyslexia.