Despite much research, nobody knows what causes dyslexia. Current research is focused on such possible causes as genetics, physiology, biochemistry, and structural changes in the brain. "There are theories that something is wrong with the brain or that certain chemicals are missing. One of the most popular theory is that dyslexia is a structural defect in the brain which involves the central nervous system" (Irlen 98). Numerous studies have been done throughout the years. "In 1907, the idea was first expressed that the genetic factor was undeniably a reason" (Bakker 27). Research to find causation is still being probed.

             There are two terms to describe dyslexia, 'dysphonetic" and 'dyseidetic". "Dysphonetic means having difficulty connecting sounds to symbols; it also means they might have a hard time sounding out words. Dyseidetic means to have a good grasp of phonetic concepts, but great difficulty with whole word recognition and spelling still exists" (Wilkins URL). Typical mistakes would be reversals such as the word 'at" spelled 'ta" and mistakes in phonetic spelling of a word like 'phone" spelled 'fon". .

             The characteristics of a dyslexic person can be very different from one person to the other, just as the characteristics of students without disabilities are different. These students show a different combination of learning problems. "Such characteristics are learning style, motor dexterity, time/math, memory/cognition, language/reading skills, behavior and vision. Sometimes the dyslexic youngster has early or late developmental stages, such as crawling, walking or talking" (Grolier"s).

             Once these children begin school they might appear bright and highly intelligent, but unable to keep up with their peers in reading and writing. They test well orally, but when given a written test on the same subject they can fail miserably.