What kind of disorder is dyslexia?

Doctors say as many as 20% of all children in the United States suffer from some form of the learning disorder called dyslexia.
      Experts on dyslexia say that the problem is not a disease. They say that persons with dyslexia use information in a different way. One of the world’ s great thinkers and scientists Albert Einstein was dyslexic. Einstein said that he never thought in words, he thought in pictures instead. Other famous persons who had dyslexia include Leonardo da Vinci, the American inventor Thomas Edison and former American Vice-President Nelson Rockefeller. Dyslexia first recognized was in Europe and the United States more than 80 years ago. Many years passed before doctors discovered that persons with the disorder were not mentally slow or disabled. Doctors found that the brains of persons with dyslexia are different. In most people, the left side of the brain--the part that controls language, is larger than the right side. In persons with dyslexia, the right side of the brain is bigger. Doctors are not sure what causes this difference. However, research has shown that dyslexia is more common in males than in females, and it is found more often in persons who are left-handed.
      No one knows the cause of dyslexia, but some scientists believe it may result from chemical changes in a baby’ s body long before it is born. Doctor Samuel Orton fifty years ago was one of the first persons to develop ways to teach persons with dyslexia. In 1940, a year after his death, doctors, teachers and other experts formed the Orton Dyslexia Society to continue his work. Doctor Silvia Richardson is a member of the Orton Society, she says that after dyslexic persons solve their problems with language, they often show themselves to be especially intelligent or creative. She said they think differently and need special kinds of teaching help. But Doctor Richardson said it is important to help these people develop skills in every area possible.