What causes Dyslexia?

There is no single 'cause' of developmental dyslexia. The way in which dyslexia affects people differs from individual to individual, as do the reasons for the specific difficulties experienced.

Children seem to learn language skills best during a short "critical period". If they have hearing problems (like an ear infection) during this time, this could affect their language abilities. Similarly, hearing problems when they are learning to read could affect their ability to pick up reading skills. Also, visual problems (such as unstable or blurred vision) can confuse children and make reading very difficult. In addition some children have problems translating  letters into the sounds they stand for, and thence into their meaning.

The cause or causes of developmental dyslexia are not fully understood, and are the major focus of our research. It is an inherited condition, which appears to affect more boys than girls. Clear differences in the way the brain is wired up during development have been found in dyslexics. These may result from abnormalities in a particular class of ‘magnocellular’ nerve cell; due to inheriting genes that make them vulnerable to immune factors during development of the brain and to deficiency of essential 'omega-3' fatty acids that are found in oily fish.