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Dyslexia is a learning disorder which makes it difficult for children and adults to read and learn new words.
Facts and Statistics
- It is estimated that 1 in 10 people have dyslexia
- Over 40 million American Adults are dyslexic – and only 2 million know it
- Dyslexia is not tied to IQ – Einstein was dyslexic and had an estimated IQ of 160
- Dyslexia in not just about getting letters or numbers mixed up or out of order
- 80% of people associate dyslexia with some form of retardation – this is not true
- Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability or disorder that includes poor word reading, word decoding, oral reading fluency and spelling
- Dyslexia occurs in people of all backgrounds and intellectual levels
- Dyslexia has nothing to do with not working hard enough
- 20% of school-aged children in the US are dyslexic
- With appropriate teaching methods, dyslexia can learn successfully
- Over 50% of NASA employees are dyslexic
- Dyslexia runs in families; parents with dyslexia are very likely to have children with dyslexia
- Dyslexics may struggle with organizational skills, planning and prioritizing, keeping time, concentrating with background noise.
Prevalence
About 15-20 percent of the U.S. population has a learning disability.
- 70-80% of people with poor reading skills, are likely dyslexic.
- One in five students, or 15-20% of the population, has a language based learning disability. Dyslexia is the most common of the language based learning disabilities.
- Nearly the same percentage of males and females have dyslexia.
- Nearly the same percentage of people from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds have dyslexia.
- Percentages of children at risk for reading failure are much higher in high poverty, language-minority populations who attend ineffective schools.
- In minority and high poverty schools, 70-80% of children have inadequate reading skills.
- According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 38% of all fourth grade students are “below basic” reading skills. They are at or below the 40th percentile for their age group.
- Nationwide 20% of the elementary school population is struggling with reading.
- National Center for Education statistics, 5% of all adults are “non-literate”.
- 20-25% of all adults can only read at the lowest level.
- 62% of non readers dropped out of high school.
- 80% of children with an IEP have reading difficulty and 85% of those are Dyslexic.
- 30% of children with Dyslexia also have at least a mild form of AD/HD.
Reference
Encyclopedia of Children’s Health
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month