English a factor in dyslexia

When English-speaking children with dyslexia begin to read, they face the awesome task of learning more than 1,100 ways that letters in the written language are used to symbolize the 40 sounds in the spoken language. This may explain why there are twice as many identified dyslexics in English-speaking cultures as in countries with less complex languages, according to a study appearing Friday in the journal Science. The study by an international team compared the brain scan images and reading skills of dyslexic university students in Italy, France and England. The researchers found virtually no difference in the neurological signature for dyslexia, but there was an immense difference in how well the students learned to read their native languages. Experts have estimated that between 5% and 15% of Americans have some degree of dyslexia. Dyslexia involves a brain structure that makes it difficult for a learning reader to connect verbal sounds with the letters or symbols that "spell" that sound. Such connections are essential to learn to read.