The fullest definition of dyslexia:

 

Dyslexia == a specific learning or processing style that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by both advantages and challenges. Its advantages and include material reasoning, interconnected reasoning, narrative reasoning and dynamic reasoning are often called M-I-N-D strengths; and its challenges include difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. All these differences typically result from a differently wired brain.

 

 

---Below is extracted from a book <The Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain> written by Brock L. Eide and Fernete F. Eide---

 

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. (-->> The most widely used definition in the US. It was developed by the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) and subsequently adopted by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA).)

 

In the terms of our telescope analogy, this is clearly a "shrinking" perspective since it narrows our view of dyslexic processing to the challenges experienced by individuals with dyslexia, and it does nothing to expand our view of their skills or capacities. From this perspective, dyslexia is merely:

 

• a learning disability

• characterized by difficulties

• resulting from deficits

• that produce secondary consequences

• and additional impediments

 

No wonder people have such a negative view of dyslexia!

But is there really any reason to believe that this definition tells us everything we need to know about individuals with dyslexia? In a word: no. Habit alone has led us to assume that the first use we discovered for this "telescope" is the only one, and habit alone keeps us from discovering other and better -- uses.

 

Ultimately, we've recognized the phenomenon of dyslexia but missed its significance -- like archaeologists who've discovered a vast and elaborately carved gate but become so engrossed in its study that we've failed to realize that a magnificent city must lie buried nearby. Because we first recognized dyslexia as a learning disorder rather than a learning or processing style, we've paid little attention to whether dyslexic processing might also create talents and abilities. However, as we'll show you in the next chapter, the talents and benefits that are associated with dyslexic processing can be easily observed once we recognize that dyslexia can be viewed from two different perspectives.