Dyslexia is known to run in families – partly because of genetic factors – but until now little was known about the specific genes that relate to the risk of it developing.

Identifying specific genetic variants that may play a role has proved challenging. Now researchers say they have identified about 170 genes and 42 specific genetic variants significantly associated with dyslexia in the largest such study to date.

While 15 of these variants have previously been linked to cognitive ability and educational attainment, the remaining 27 are newly identified – meaning they have not previously been linked to traits associated with dyslexia. Ad

The research, led by Edinburgh ­University and published in 2022, is the largest genetic study of dyslexia to date. It involves more than 50,000 adults who have been diagnosed with dyslexia, and for a control group, more than one million adults who have not.

 

Researchers tested the connection between millions of genes with dyslexia and found 42 significant ones. Some of these are associated with other conditions, such as language delay, and with thinking skills and academic achievement. Many, however, are new and could represent genes more specifically ­associated with mental processes essential for learning to read.

Many of the genes linked to dyslexia are also linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Researchers say they were able to predict how well children and adults from four other research studies could read and spell using the genetic ­information from the study, but it was not accurate enough for a diagnosis.

Lead researcher Michelle Luciano, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, said the study sheds light on many unanswered questions around dyslexia.

She said: “Our findings show that common genetic differences have very similar effects in boys and girls, and that there is a genetic link between dyslexia and ambidexterity.

 

Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers which can lead to a diverse range of difficulties with mathematics. It will be unexpected in relation to age, level of education and experience and occurs across all ages and abilities.

(British Dyslexia Association definition)

 

There is considerably less research into dyscalculia than into dyslexia. However, it is estimated that dyscalculia is likely to occur in 3% – 6% of the population, and, unlike some other specific learning difficulties, is as likely to affect females as males.

The most obvious sign that a child has dyscalculia is if they are significantly worse at maths/numbers than every other subject. Be aware that all people can occasionally struggle with maths. Those with dyscalculia will struggle to a greater extent than their peers, and their difficulties will continue over time. Often, children with dyscalculia will also have a fear of maths and can stare at a problem for some time without knowing where to start.

 

Some indicators to look out for:

Primary School age:

• Has difficulty learning and recalling basic number facts such as number bonds, e.g. 6 + 4 = 10.
• Still uses fingers to count instead of using more advanced strategies
• Poor understanding of the signs +, – and x or may confuse these mathematical symbols
• Struggles to recognise that 3 + 5 is the same as 5 + 3 or may not be able to solve 3 + 26 ‒ 26 without calculating
• Has trouble with place value, often putting numbers in the wrong column.
• May not understand maths language or be able to devise a plan to solve a maths problem.
• Finds it difficult to understand maths phrases like greater than and less than
• Has trouble keeping score in sports or games
• May avoid situations that require understanding numbers, like playing games that involve maths.

Secondary School age:

• Has difficulty understanding information on charts and graphs
• Has trouble finding different approaches to the same maths problem, such as adding the length and width of a rectangle and doubling the answer to solve for the perimeter (rather than adding all the sides)
• Struggles to learn and understand reasoning methods and multi-step calculation procedures
• Has trouble measuring quantities like liquids in a bottle
• Lacks confidence in activities that require understanding speed, distance and directions, and may get lost easily
• Finds it difficult to apply maths concepts to money, such as calculating the exact change

 

Neurodiversity is the wide variety of ways humans think, learn, feel and process information.

We all have different interests and motivations, and are naturally better at some things and not so good at others. Most people are known as ‘neurotypical’, which means their brain generally functions and processes information in the way society expects.

Around 15 per cent of people in the UK are thought to be neurodivergent, meaning their brain functions and processes information in a different way.

This includes a range of conditions including:

• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),
• autistic spectrum condition (ASC),
• dyslexia
• DCD/dyspraxia
• other learning disabilities.

By accepting and valuing the ways neurodiverse people experience, interact with, and interpret the world, we can help to reduce the stigma they feel, break down barriers and improve their outcomes.

• Dyslexia should be redefined as a strength rather than a disability, researchers at the University of Cambridge suggest.
• The neurological condition is linked to “enhanced abilities” in areas like discovery, invention and creativity.
• These skills are vital in helping humans adapt to changing environments, researchers say.

What does the new dyslexia research say?

Cambridge researchers studying cognition, behaviour and the brain have concluded that people with dyslexia are specialised to explore the unknown. This is likely to play a fundamental role in human adaptation to changing environments.

They think this ‘explorative bias’ has an evolutionary basis and plays a crucial role in our survival.

Based on these findings − which were apparent across multiple domains from visual processing to memory and at all levels of analysis − the researchers argue that we need to change our perspective of dyslexia as a neurological disorder.

The findings, reported in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, have implications both at the individual and societal level, says lead author Dr Helen Taylor, an affiliated Scholar at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge and a Research Associate at the University of Strathclyde.

“The deficit-centred view of dyslexia isn’t telling the whole story. This research proposes a new framework to help us better understand the cognitive strengths of people with dyslexia.”

Dr Helen Taylor

Visual Stress is a perceptual processing condition that causes reading difficulties, headaches and visual problems from exposure to patterns in text, such as lines of text. Visual Stress is often linked to dyslexia and similar visual learning difficulties. Sufferers experience print distortion and fatigue when reading.

Visual Stress is also known as Meares-Irlen syndrome, after the two researchers who first discovered the connection between white page glare and reading difficulties. The severity of these symptoms can vary from person to person.

Visual Stress is not dyslexia but is prevalent in dyslexic individuals. Even so, a significant percentage of children and adults who are not identified as being dyslexic still suffer with symptoms of Visual Stress.