Demystifying Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and Dysgraphia Blog Series

I am excited to announce that I am doing a blog series on dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia.  I will begin each topic by defining the terms and discussing various subtypes.  Next, I will discuss how we (psychologists) evaluate/identify them.  Then, I will present various treatment methods for each diagnosis. The reason why I thought of doing this blog series in the first place is because they are common learning disabilities (aka high-incidence disabilities), and there is a lot of misunderstanding of these conditions.  I also am fortunate enough to work in private practice and the school setting, so I see how school-based terms and clinical-based terms get easily confused.  For example, in the school setting some children are found eligible for special education services under the eligibility category of Specific Learning Disability (SLD).  Specifically, in the area of reading, children can be found eligible for basic reading, reading comprehension, and/or reading fluency.  Well, does that mean if they are found eligible for SLD in one or more of those areas of reading that they have dyslexia?  Or if they are found eligible for SLD in math calculation and/or math problem solving does that mean that they have dyscalculia?  Or if they are found eligible for SLD in written expression does that they have dysgraphia?  The answer is all three questions is...MAYBE!  I would guess that you, as the reader, would have preferred a "yes" or "no" answer, but unfortunately it is not that simple.  However, fortunately, I will address these questions in my blog series. Moreover, I will cover common misconceptions of dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia.  For instance, the main symptom of dyslexia is not letter reversals.  In fact, it is developmentally appropriate for young children to write their letters backwards.  Another myth that I have encountered is that dyslexia cannot be found in successful college students; that is not true.  I have worked with many successful college students that have dyslexia and I will share what made them successful.  And that is just a preview of some of the information that will be covered in my blog series. I look forward to demystifying dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia with you! - Dr. Andersen