Dyslexia

[Geordie]

Who here has dyslexia, or reading disorder?

 

[katcha]

I've always wrote words in the wrong order and I'm prone to substituting incorrect words.

 

[Geordie]

So do I, but I was never diagnosed with dyslexia.

 

[kasmanaft08]

I was never diagnosed, (and I do this quite rarely, so I probably wouldn't qualify) but I shock myself with the way I mix things up or switch letters every now and then. It's usually letters in words so I end up sounding a bit like a 4 year old trying to say "grown up words" even though I KNOW what the word is. One example that I can never get right:

Forensics / Forsenics

 

[Geordie]

Regarding dyslexia, I think it's related to autism as part of a 'executive functioning disorder'...

 

[epath13]

I've never been diagnosed with dyslexia but I might have a mild version of it. My husband was diagnosed and the weird part, he has more symptoms in his native language then in English, for me it's the same for both languages. With reading, I think he speed reads most of the time but somehow it's easier for him as well. For me reading can be very challenging. Like here for instance, on this site, I have to read certain posts twice or three times to make sure I have't misread a word or a whole sentence.

 

[Geordie]

Do you think people with dyslexia and ASD complement each other, in attitudes and temperaments? (I understand ASD is neurodiverse, though)

 

[WildCat]

Not dyslexia, but I could be diagnosed as having hyperlexia which is almost the complete opposite of dyslexia. That's also a pretty common trait on the spectrum, to be able to decode starting at an early age but with problems in understanding what's being read, though the latter tends to be less of an issue with experience and age.

 

[Geordie]

In my understand of different languages with different writing scripts, I think there are different forms of dyslexia and hyperlexia.

 

[usa1981]

I have Dyslexia, ADHD (really ADD) as well as being a high functioning ASD.

 

[WildCat]

I've never been diagnosed with dyslexia and don't have any trouble interpreting numbers and letters, it's language and auditory processing that I still have trouble with. Sometimes I need to read a post several times or ask someone to speak very clearly to understand, and sometimes even that is of no use. It may have to do with my visual abilities being much stronger than my language, I'm not sure really because I can communicate much better through images and video clips if someone were to hook up a monitor to my brain well, maybe not in my lifetime!

 

[IContainMultitudes]

...I can communicate much better through images and video clips if someone were to hook up a monitor to my brain well, maybe not in my lifetime!

We're not quite there yet, but we may actually have something kind of like that before too long:

Scientists Reconstruct Brains' Visions Into Digital Video In Historic Experiment

 

[balder]

Not dyslexia, but I could be diagnosed as having hyperlexia which is almost the complete opposite of dyslexia. That's also a pretty common trait on the spectrum, to be able to decode starting at an early age but with problems in understanding what's being read, though the latter tends to be less of an issue with experience and age.

Actually hyperlexia was one of the first things that made me realize I could have Asperger. My mother always told me that I learned to read by myself when I was 4. I've always had a kind of obsession for letters and how they are put together to form words in different languages. I remember that when I got my first cell phone, I spent hours laying down just "inventing" words. During high school, I became obsessed for how words change during the ages and how one language like Latin becomes another (like portuguese, spanish, italian etc.). Now this obsession turned more for programming languages, and how their syntax works.

 

[Geordie]

I remember that when I got my first cell phone, I spent hours laying down just "inventing" words. During high school, I became obsessed for how words change during the ages and how one language like Latin becomes another (like portuguese, spanish, italian etc.). Now this obsession turned more for programming languages, and how their syntax works.

I hope your findings can help us learn different Latin languages better. Hyperlexia can be a gift, sometimes.

I just wonder, how does it feel like living with both dyslexia and autism. Then how can one survive school and maybe work? Hmm

 

[Kelly]

I don't think I have dyslexia but I do have problems with words, like Kasmanaft I mix letters or words up sometimes, whenever I type I will mix from and form up and similar words, only when reading back my post or whatever will I realise my mistake but then I also miss alot of my mistakes particularly grammatical ones.

For me reading can be very challenging. Like here for instance, on this site, I have to read certain posts twice or three times to make sure I have't misread a word or a whole sentence.

That's what I have to do too, when I'm reading a book sometimes I have to read the same sentence a few times because it just doesn't sink in properly, I am a very fast reader though.

When I was little I picked up 'reading' within days of starting school my mother thought I was a genius, only when she went in to a parent/teacher meeting did she find out the truth, I was memorising the words rather then reading them. So I knew what would be read out to us based on the page number, she demonstrated this by getting me to "read" a book I'd read plenty of times but she secretly skipped 2 pages. So I read page 1-2 but she skipped to page 5-6 and I read out what was on page 3-4.

I've been reading up lately on Dyscalculia as I think my daughter may have this, she finds maths very very hard, even simple sums, finds it incredibley frustrating and still aged 7 gets her numbers backwards (she does this with letters frequently too). Example they've started using calculators in class and the teacher gave them 10 sums to work out, she only got 4 right...my instant reaction was how the hell do you get a sum wrong using a calculator. So I wrote some sums for her and gave her a calculator and watched what she did. Every sum she did she double checked that the + was indeed the adding button and not the times and also checked that she was supposed to be adding not subtracting or multiplying, this seemed odd to me because she's 7 she's been doing maths since she was 4 surely she should know the symbols by now. She got the first few sums right but then she got to 7x3 and she was saying it out loud as she did it, typed it in saying "seven times three equals" and then she says "ah fifty one" and wrote that down. I quickly grabbed the calculator and of course it said 21(I thought maybe she had somehow typed in the wrong number or pressed something by accident) so I held it up to her and asked her what number it was she said 51, so I typed in 22 and asked her what it said she answered 55. So I asked her if she was sure it wasn't a 2 and she said no it was a 5, she also does that with 6 & 9, when counting she will confuse 30 with 80 and vice versa (which I did as a child, my brain would fog over, I'd go 78,79...uh...where am I? 30...31..wait haven't I already done 30's? start again...1,2,3). She can count up to 100 and beyond but she will sometimes randomly struggle to know what number is next.

 

[girl_incognito]

I do not have dyslexia, but my daughter does (she is not on the spectrum though).
I am hyperlexic. I started learning what letters looked like at age 2 and by 4 I was reading and writing. When I left kindergarten I was reading on a 3rd grade level, but they wanted to hold me back because I was immature. My comprehension is off though, I often have to re-read something two or more times, sometimes even reading it out loud to myself.
My son who is an Aspie reads well too, but struggles with comprehending what he has read.

@ Kelly my daughter also has dyscalculia, I have no answers for you right now though, it's a major struggle for her.

 

[Dragon's Tooth]

I haven't been diagnosed but I think I have a mild form. I often write or type words that I didn't mean to write or type ie dog/god. If I'm writing about my dog I often find I write god (though I think my dogs would think of themselves as gods of the house). That's just one example. The way I solved the mix up of words is that I found writing as an outlet when I was a teenager and the use of spell checkers and so on meant I slowly learned which way around words were meant to be. Kind of like how we process social interaction by using past experiences. I also think I might be hyperlexic as I was reading novels by the time I was 6 or 7 though I remember I could read the words but I didn't have enough life experience to really convert what I was reading into anything meaningful. I knew what the words meant and I could understand them it wasn't until later that I could put them together to make that mental image you get when you read a novel and see the story.

I could also list the latin names for probably 100 dinosaurs when I was 6 and say them perfectly. So I'm guessing that's hyperlexic too. That's probably why the dyslexia was never picked up as the hyperlexia hid it. I was always ahead of my class mates in reading.

 

[Aalo]

I don't know if I have dyslexia, at least it would be quite mild. I do lot of mistyping and often read like I think the text might tell and realize many rows later I've been totally wrong with my thoughts. It's really hard to get grasp on words of foreign languages, but I can compensate on being smooth in grammar.
High school curator gave me reference letter that could have given me additional +2 points in matriculation exams. I never benefited from that as I didn't got any point on borders and therefore didn't have possibility to get higher grade. (So I did manage it all by myself, yay!) At driving school instead I got permission to do my theory exam without time limit, all thanks to that reference. I did the exam almost in same time as if I'd had time limit, but the joy of knowing questions can be read thoroughly without a pressure, was huge. And I got my theory exam passed on the first try.

I feel very competitive on studying. If for example doing tasks which include mechanical regular movements (keyboard clicking, making pencil markings) that can be easily kept on track, I want to do those faster, or if reading textbook in a class, I want to turn pages faster than person next to me. Of course this doesn't imply I can process information as well as others. On its worst that kind of competitive attitude just force one to go these tasks through many times - first for fun and sports and then to get something done.

 

[AspieSam]

I defiantly have dyslexia too. And don't have time for a novel reply. But, dyslexia is not connected to ASD. Some with ASD have it obviously, but, there not connected. As for how it is to live with both? Well, Dyslexia and therefore those with it have more of a range of issue variety and degree then Aspies. And others with it. Your life quality is therefore greatly more dependent on the degree of the severity of your dyslexia, the combo of symptoms you struggle or have struggled with, and your environment, and up bringing, ect. Obviously, regardless of those things it makes your life more challenging then someone who is just an aspie. However, how much, depends on a number of factors, including who surrounds you and there personalities, there awareness and understanding of your issues, ect. It also depends on what specific things sometimes that your speaking about. For example, if your talking about my short term - memory for example, it makes my life tons harder. If your talking though about my ability to encode and decode though, that's not nearly as difficult now for me. So, that's just an added diagnosis in that case. Understand?
Generally, separating the two. And those with just one, for understanding purposes mainly. A Dyslexic can struggle with everything language based and associated with words and ideas. Organizing them, spelling them, retrieving them, remembering them, reading them, visualizing them, auditory processing, etc. An Aspie has issues feeling the right emotions at the right time, and thinking NT. Dyslexics have no issues feeling or the timing of there emotions. They have issues possibly for example stating the proper emotions due to there memory, but, that's different. Dyslexics, use more of there right side to think, etc., then the norm. Autistics have some wiring that doesn't even exist a little in a dyslexic or any non-HFA. If you have both, you get the advantages and disadvantages of both. Sometimes, dampening, some of the super strengths of either side. Follow?

For ex; I'm super creative ( Thanks to my Dyslexia and ADD). However, in all areas of my brain my short term memory is VERY impaired. (Something many Aspies are GREAT at.) Comparing and contrasting the too in detail, isn't easy, via a threaded board. So, I hope this helps.

With that said, government wise in the US society atleast, Aspies typically are seen as possibly more impaired. And kinda, rightfully so. Because our brains speak different languages and we have sensory issues. Things that are far less understood and treatable. Things that can't make us always as much more normal as possible. Compared to Dyslexic symptoms. Which can if remediated properly through the right instruction, direction, support, and ect. Will let us fit in far better, if that's our ONLY issue. There are exceptions however, if you compare a super remediated well employed aspie doing amazing for her/ himself/ with a severely autistic individual with remediation. Then the roles would differ.

Like Aspies, some of our tools are permanently damaged if even existent. However, our tools that either differ, are differently impaired, or have possibly different, future prognosis, sometimes also have semi-cure, potential. That Aspies don't have.

So is it harder. You bet! But, isn't anyone with ANY additional diagnosis of anything going to have more to deal with?! Without a doubt! I didn't read all if any of the replies before posting this.

In the disability world there are levels of normalcy and different. There are also levels of high functioning mental disabilities/ different to. Dyslexia is closer to more normal. However, Aspie, isn't the most wacko or different diagnosis of those with high functioning mental diagnosis's either.

 

[Joel I]

I'm fair sure I have dyslexia as well as Aspergers. I got diagnosed with AS recently and when talking to someone about my reading difficulties they thought it sounds a lot like dyslexia so now I'm just trying to find out for sure. I'm getting sick of finding out there are things wrong with me. I have been told I really need to work on my self-confidence (or lack of). I'm having a particularly difficult day today.