4. March 2026
Common Myths About Dyslexia (and What’s Actually True)
If you’re a parent with a child who is struggling with reading, spelling or writing, chances are you’ve already heard lots of well-meaning opinions about dyslexia - some helpful, some confusing, and some completely untrue. Dyslexia is widely misunderstood, and those misunderstandings can delay the right support.
This post tackles a few of the most common myths I hear in conversations with families, and replaces them with clear, parent-friendly facts.
Myth 1: “Dyslexia means letters move around on the page.”
The truth: Dyslexia is not a visual problem. Dyslexia is primarily a language-based difficulty, most often linked to challenges with phonological processing (how we hear and work with the sounds in words), as well as aspects of memory and processing speed.
Some children do describe words as “moving” or “blurring”, but that can be linked to visual stress, eyesight issues, tracking difficulties, fatigue, or concentration - and it’s important to explore those with an optometrist (ideally one who can assess visual processing) if your child reports it. A child can have dyslexia and also have visual difficulties, but one doesn’t automatically explain the other.
Myth 2: “If my child is bright, they can’t be dyslexic.”
The truth: Many dyslexic learners are highly able. Dyslexia doesn’t reflect intelligence. In fact, it’s common to see a “spiky profile” - a child who can talk confidently, ask brilliant questions, and show strong understanding… yet finds reading, spelling, handwriting or remembering sequences unexpectedly hard.
This mismatch can be one of the biggest red flags: high verbal ability + persistent literacy difficulty is often exactly when dyslexia should be considered.
Myth 3: “They just need to read more.”
The truth: Practice helps - but only when it’s the right kind of practice. For many dyslexic learners, simply “reading more” can be exhausting and discouraging because the underlying difficulty hasn’t been addressed.
What tends to help most is structured, cumulative, multisensory teaching (the kind used in high-quality dyslexia intervention), which explicitly links:
- sounds (phonemes),
- letters (graphemes),
- spelling patterns,
- and reading fluency.
When children experience success, they’re more willing to practise — and progress accelerates.
Myth 4: “Dyslexia is just reversing letters (like b/d).”
The truth: Letter reversals can happen in early writing for lots of children — dyslexic or not. They can be a part of the picture, but they are not the defining feature.
More meaningful signs include:
- difficulty learning letter–sound correspondences
- slow or inaccurate reading
- guesswork when reading unfamiliar words
- poor spelling that doesn’t “stick”
- difficulty remembering sequences (days of the week, months, times tables)
- slow writing speed and difficulty getting ideas onto paper
- needing far more repetition than peers
Myth 5: “They’ll grow out of it.”
The truth: Dyslexia isn’t something a child “grows out of”, but with the right support, dyslexic learners can absolutely thrive.
Think of dyslexia like a different learning wiring. With the right teaching approaches, reasonable adjustments and supportive adults, children can make strong progress, build confidence, and develop strategies that will help throughout school and beyond.
Myth 6: “A dyslexia assessment is only for getting extra time in exams.”
The truth: Exam arrangements can be one outcome (where appropriate), but an assessment is much more than that.
A good assessment should help you understand:
- why your child is finding literacy hard,
- their strengths as well as difficulties,
- what type of support will actually help,
- and how school and home can work together.
For many families, the biggest benefit is clarity - it replaces worry and guesswork with a clear plan.
Myth 7: “If school is helping, we don’t need an assessment.”
The truth: Support in school is brilliant - and it should always come first. But sometimes, despite good teaching and interventions, progress remains slow or inconsistent. An assessment can help to pinpoint the barriers and make support more targeted.
It can also be helpful when:
- progress has plateaued,
- confidence is dropping,
- there are co-occurring difficulties (e.g., attention, memory, handwriting),
- or you need clearer evidence to inform school planning.
What I’d Love Parents to Know
If your child is struggling, it doesn’t mean they’re lazy, careless, or “not trying”. Many dyslexic children are trying twice as hard just to keep up and that can be emotionally draining.
With the right understanding and the right support, things can change dramatically: reading becomes less of a battle, spelling begins to make sense, and confidence starts to return.