Are Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and Dysgraphia Related?

While many people may have at least heard of dyslexia, few are familiar with dyscalculia and dysgraphia.  In my opinion, they all fall under the same general umbrella.

According to the International Dyslexia Association,

“Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.” (1)

From a literal perspective, dyslexia, from the Greek ‘dys’ (poor or inadequate) and ‘lexia’ (words or language), translates to poor language.  The above definition is accurate, but it only focuses on issues related to reading and spelling and doesn’t consider other aspects of language that can also be affected by dyslexia.  This is where dyscalculia (difficulty with number related concepts, symbols or functions), and dysgraphia (difficulty in writing or expressing ideas in written form) come into play.  They are specific definitions that relate to particular problems, however, in my opinion these issues still fall under the broader definition of dyslexia; poor or inadequate language.

Although it is possible to have dyslexia (according to the strict definition above), dyscalculia, or dysgraphia individually, in my experience they tend to show up in combination and to varying degrees.  For example, you may have a child who is a bit slower at learning to read, manages to keep up, and doesn’t trigger concerns with reading development, but has tremendous difficulty with math (I consider math to be a language).  Or you may have a child who is brilliant at math, a ‘slow’ reader but is within acceptable boundaries, and has terrible handwriting writing the bare minimum necessary using simple language below their verbal vocabulary.  They may be diagnosed individually with dyscalculia and dysgraphia in these examples, but in my opinion these are the same issues with language processing showing up in different ways.

Our culture tends towards very narrow and specific definitions of virtually everything, and this can be helpful to identify specific issues, however, sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees.  By focusing only on reading, math, or writing individually, weaknesses in other areas may be missed.  It isn’t that the student isn’t managing in that other area, but they are capable of doing much better with much less effort.

I’m not suggesting you go looking for problems that aren’t there, but it is sometimes helpful to take a broader view of your child’s skills.  The biggest thing I look for in my kids is how much effort is required for them to do certain things, or how tiring do they find those activities.  Sometimes those tasks are not a big issue in elementary school, but will cause trouble in high school or post-secondary education.  For example, a slow writer will have difficulty finishing exams in college or university, not because they don’t know the material, but because they can’t get it written down fast enough.  In case you are thinking that writing doesn’t matter anymore because we have computers, my daughter in first year university (Ontario) still handwrites all of her exams.  It matters.  A child who has had difficulty memorizing multiplication tables (this is still very important for advanced math regardless of what you’ve been told about calculators) or basic math facts, will struggle with algebra, again not because they don’t understand the concepts, but they can’t factor a quadratic equation quickly or accurately (what two numbers add to 17 and multiply to 72?).  This is part of the grade 10 math curriculum in Ontario.  Just because a child isn’t failing, doesn’t mean they wouldn’t greatly benefit from some extra support.

If you suspect, or know, your child has difficulty in one of these three areas, reading, math, or writing, take a step back and look at the bigger picture.  Perhaps they are also struggling in another area and working much harder than they should have to, in order to keep up.  Or perhaps there is a sibling (dyslexia is genetic) who has no problem with reading, but has difficulty with math or writing.  Some specific intervention and support could go a long way to improving their academic performance as well as building their self-confidence.

References:

(1) https://dyslexiaida.org/definition-of-dyslexia