Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

How much do you know about dyslexia? If you’re a homeschooling parent, you might not realize how relevant this question could be to you. This week on Home School Heartbeat with host Mike Smith, our guest has the information you need to know!

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Mike Smith: This week, my guest is Susan Barton. Susan is an internationally recognized expert on dyslexia, and she developed the Barton Reading and Spelling System. Susan, thanks for joining us this week!

Susan Barton:
Well thank you for inviting me!

Mike:
Susan, how common is dyslexia? Isn’t that just a term for people who see letters backwards?

Susan:
No, that’s a common myth. People with dyslexia do not see letters backwards. Yes, they confuse their b’s and d’s, but it’s because they’re left-right confused, and if you don’t know your left from your right, you’re never sure which letter is which. But they do not see words backwards.

Dyslexia’s a lot more common than people realize. According to the latest research that we have—and we now have over 30 years of independent scientific replicated research—in this country, dyslexia impacts one out of five children. That’s 20 percent of our population, but, it does come in degrees. You can have dyslexia mildly, moderately, severely, or profoundly, but it is the most common reason a bright child will struggle first with spelling, then with written expression, and hit the wall in reading development by 3rd grade.

Mike:
Susan, thanks for joining us today to shed some light on this topic. This week is going to be very helpful to a lot of listeners! And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.