American Dyslexia Association

Tag: dyslexia

  • Technology Is a Tool, Not a Teacher: What Children With Dyslexia Still Need

    Technology Is a Tool, Not a Teacher: What Children With Dyslexia Still Need

    Technology helps children with dyslexia learn, and the research says so clearly. What it cannot do is notice why a child is stuck and decide what to try next. That job still belongs to a trained person. A new paper by Dr. Livia R. Pailer-Duller, originally written for Liberty University, looks at what the research says about screens, apps, handwriting, and the role of the educator. Here is what parents and teachers can take from it.

    In short

    • Technology works. A review of 85 studies with 9,157 students found positive effects of mobile technology on learning.
    • Text-to-speech helps many readers, not all of them. The average effect on reading comprehension is positive, but results vary a lot from child to child.
    • Children with dyslexia need explicit, systematic instruction from a person, one-to-one or in small groups. 14 meta-analyses and systematic reviews point the same way.
    • The pencil still matters. Writing letters by hand activates the brain differently than typing them.
    • Use both. The best plan for a child often mixes a tablet, a pencil, and a Certified Dyslexia Trainer.
    Watch: what children with dyslexia still need, in 82 seconds.

    Yes, technology really does help

    Digital tools improve learning when they are used well. Wang and colleagues (2023) reviewed 85 studies involving 9,157 students in primary and secondary school. They found positive effects of mobile technology on what students know, how they feel about learning, and how they behave in class.

    For children with dyslexia, technology can remove barriers that have nothing to do with what they actually know. Think of text-to-speech, speech-to-text, audiobooks, spelling support, word processing, and larger or reformatted text. A child who understands a science chapter perfectly well should not fail the test only because decoding the words takes all their energy.

    Wood and colleagues (2018) pooled the research on text-to-speech and read-aloud tools for students with reading difficulties. The overall effect on reading comprehension was positive, but outcomes varied across students and studies. In plain words: the tool helps, it just does not help every child the same way. Someone still has to find out whether it helps this child.

    What children with dyslexia need: a person who notices

    Children with dyslexia learn best with explicit, systematic instruction, given one-to-one or in small groups. Al Otaiba and colleagues (2023) looked across 14 meta-analyses and systematic reviews of literacy research. They found support for direct teaching, a planned sequence of skills, attention to both the sound code and the meaning of words, and enough time and intensity. Hall and colleagues (2023) reviewed 40 years of reading research for elementary students with or at risk for dyslexia and found that more training time went along with stronger results.

    Explicit means the skill is taught directly instead of hoping the child will discover it alone. The trainer shows how it works, the child practices, and the trainer gives feedback right away. Systematic means one step builds on the next, and someone decides when the child is ready to move on.

    A good dyslexia trainer looks at much more than right or wrong. They ask questions like these:

    • What kind of mistake was this?
    • Does the child understand the idea behind the task?
    • Is the child using the strategy we practiced, or guessing?
    • Does the child need more practice, or should we go back a step?
    • Would a different way of showing the material help?

    A computer can record answers and even spot patterns. Only a person can put those patterns into the context of the whole child, including tiredness, frustration, motivation, and what happened last week.

    Why the pencil still matters

    Forming a letter by hand is a different learning experience than pressing a key. Over a hundred years ago, Maria Montessori (1912) described children who saw and touched sandpaper letters while hearing their sounds at the same time. She wanted learning to move “from sensations to ideas, from the concrete to the abstract.”

    Brain research has since backed up the idea. James and Engelhardt (2012) worked with five-year-olds who could not yet read. The children printed, typed, or traced letters. Afterward, a reading-related network in the brain responded to the letters after handwriting practice, but not in the same way after typing or tracing. Askvik and colleagues (2020) used high-density EEG with 12-year-olds and young adults and also found different brain activity for handwriting and drawing compared with typing.

    That matters for dyslexia, because good training often combines seeing a letter, saying its sound, and writing it. If schools drop handwriting only because typing is faster, children may lose one of their most useful ways to learn. Looking for practice pages? Try our Handwriting Worksheet Wizard or read When the “Different” Learner Meets Cursive.

    Handwritten or typed notes? The honest answer

    The research on note-taking is mixed, and that is worth knowing. In a well-known study, Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) found that students who typed their notes wrote more and copied lectures word for word, while students who wrote by hand did better on conceptual questions. Their explanation: handwriting is slower, so you have to choose, summarize, and rephrase.

    Then Urry and colleagues (2021) repeated the study and combined it with similar ones. Laptop users again wrote more and copied more word for word. But this time, handwritten notes did not lead to better immediate learning.

    So handwriting does not always win, and laptops do not ruin learning. Handwriting and typing are simply different ways of working with information. For one child with dyslexia, writing by hand is the right practice. For another, typing or speech-to-text removes a barrier so they can show what they know. The method should follow the learning goal and the child, not the other way around.

    Personalization is not the same as automation

    An adaptive app personalizes by following programmed rules. A trainer personalizes by watching the child. Here are situations a dyslexia trainer sees every week:

    • A child keeps mixing up the same letters.
    • A child gives correct answers but is actually guessing.
    • Performance drops because the child is tired.
    • A child understands a story when it is read aloud but cannot decode it alone.
    • A pattern the child had mastered suddenly falls apart in a longer text.

    Software may log every one of these. A person asks why it happened and decides what to do next. That is why the paper argues for professional and technology, not professional versus technology. Let the tablet handle repetition and access. Let the trained adult keep the responsibility for teaching decisions.

    Questions parents and teachers can ask

    Judge a learning program by what the child actually learns, not by minutes logged or exercises completed. Finishing an online activity does not prove that learning happened. Before adding another app, it helps to ask:

    1. What learning problem are we trying to solve?
    2. What does this technology do well for this child?
    3. What still needs a trained person?
    4. Is the child still writing by hand, working with real materials, and getting direct instruction?
    5. Do grades and tests show what the child knows, or only how fast they read and write?

    A realistic plan can use everything at once: text-to-speech for grade-level content, a pencil for practicing letter and word patterns, an app for extra repetition, and regular sessions with a Certified Dyslexia Trainer. There is no contradiction in that. If you want to become that trained person yourself, take a look at the ADA-accredited dyslexia trainer certification program at dyslexiacertificate.com. For free practice material, see our free dyslexia resources for parents and teachers.

    Want to read the whole scientific paper?

    This article is a short, reader-friendly version. Want to read the whole scientific paper, with every study and all references? Go here: Technology as a Tool, Not a Teacher: Meeting the Learning Needs of Students with Dyslexia in the 21st-Century by Dr. Livia R. Pailer-Duller on pailer-duller.com.

    Frequently asked questions

    Can an app replace a dyslexia trainer?

    No. Apps are good at repetition, feedback, and access, but research on dyslexia points to explicit, systematic instruction given one-to-one or in small groups by a trained person. The best results come from combining both.

    Should children with dyslexia still learn to write by hand?

    Yes, in most cases. Studies by James and Engelhardt (2012) and Askvik and colleagues (2020) show that handwriting activates the brain differently than typing. For some children, typing or speech-to-text is the right accommodation for showing what they know, while handwriting stays part of their practice.

    Where can I read the full paper?

    The complete paper by Dr. Livia R. Pailer-Duller, including all references, is published on pailer-duller.com.

    Sources

    1. Al Otaiba, S., McMaster, K., Wanzek, J., & Zaru, M. W. (2023). What we know and need to know about literacy interventions for elementary students with reading difficulties and disabilities, including dyslexia. Reading Research Quarterly, 58(2), 313–332. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.458
    2. Askvik, E. O., van der Weel, F. R. R., & van der Meer, A. L. H. (2020). The importance of cursive handwriting over typewriting for learning in the classroom: A high-density EEG study of 12-year-old children and young adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1810. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01810
    3. Hall, C., Dahl-Leonard, K., Cho, E., Solari, E. J., Capin, P., Conner, C. L., Henry, A. R., Cook, L., Hayes, L., Vargas, I., Richmond, C. L., & Kehoe, K. F. (2023). Forty years of reading intervention research for elementary students with or at risk for dyslexia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Reading Research Quarterly, 58(2), 285–312. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.477
    4. James, K. H., & Engelhardt, L. (2012). The effects of handwriting experience on functional brain development in pre-literate children. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 1(1), 32–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2012.08.001
    5. Montessori, M. (1912). The Montessori method: Scientific pedagogy as applied to child education in “The Children’s Houses” (A. E. George, Trans.). Frederick A. Stokes Company.
    6. Mueller, P. A., & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2014). The pen is mightier than the keyboard: Advantages of longhand over laptop note taking. Psychological Science, 25(6), 1159–1168. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614524581
    7. Pailer-Duller, L. R. (2026). Technology as a tool, not a teacher: Meeting the learning needs of students with dyslexia in the 21st-century. Originally written for Liberty University, School of Education. https://www.pailer-duller.com/technology-as-a-tool-not-a-teacher/
    8. Urry, H. L., et al. (2021). Don’t ditch the laptop just yet: A direct replication of Mueller and Oppenheimer’s (2014) Study 1 plus mini meta-analyses across similar studies. Psychological Science, 32(3), 326–339. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620965541
    9. Wang, J., Tigelaar, D. E. H., Zhou, T., & Admiraal, W. (2023). The effects of mobile technology usage on cognitive, affective, and behavioural learning outcomes in primary and secondary education: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 39(2), 301–328. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12759
    10. Wood, S. G., Moxley, J. H., Tighe, E. L., & Wagner, R. K. (2018). Does use of text-to-speech and related read-aloud tools improve reading comprehension for students with reading disabilities? A meta-analysis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 51(1), 73–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219416688170
  • 31 Days of Free Dyslexia Help: Your Dyslexia Awareness Month Plan

    31 Days of Free Dyslexia Help: Your Dyslexia Awareness Month Plan

    In short

    • October is Dyslexia Awareness Month. This plan gives you one free activity for each of its 31 days.
    • Each activity takes about ten minutes. You need no account, no app purchase, and no special training.
    • The order follows the AFS-Method: attention first, then seeing, hearing, space and body, then words and numbers.
    • Sundays are family days: you read aloud or play together, so your child gets one calm day each week.
    • You can start on any day. Missed a day? Skip it or move it. Consistency matters more than the calendar.
    The 31-day plan in about 90 seconds.

    Every day of the plan also comes with a short video that shows exactly what to do. You will find one new video a day, through October 31, on our Facebook page at facebook.com/americandyslexiaassociation and on Instagram at instagram.com/americandyslexiaassociation.

    As many as 1 in 5 people have dyslexia, according to the U.S. Senate resolution that designated October 2025 as National Dyslexia Awareness Month [1]. The same resolution notes that the gap between typical readers and dyslexic readers appears as early as first grade. So this Dyslexia Awareness Month, we did not want to give you another list of facts. We wanted to give you something to do, every day of October, for free.

    Below is your 31-day plan. Every day has one short activity from the free resources of the American Dyslexia Association (ADA) and its partners: brain-training games, printable worksheets, audio training, a word of the day, and learning apps. Bookmark this page, or print it and put it on the fridge.

    How does the 31-day Dyslexia Awareness Month plan work?

    You spend about ten minutes a day on one activity, and you follow the order of the weeks. The plan is built on the AFS-Method, which works in three steps: Attention, Function (the sensory perceptions of seeing, hearing, and spatial orientation), and Symptom (reading, writing, and math). Most children with dyslexia do not need more of the same spelling drill. They need their perception trained first, so that the letters and numbers they practice later can actually stick.

    That is why the plan starts with two attention games and moves on, week by week, to seeing, hearing, space, and body. Only in the last week do words and numbers come in. Three simple rules make it work:

    1. Same time, every day. After an afternoon snack or before dinner works well. Ten minutes, then stop, even if it is going well.
    2. Praise the effort, not the score. Children with dyslexia hear a lot about their mistakes at school. At home, they should hear what went well.
    3. Stay calm on hard days. If an activity frustrates your child, switch to an easier level or yesterday’s game. Nothing in this plan is a test.

    Most games in the plan come from the Easy Training Program, a free collection of brain-training games sorted by sensory area. They run in any browser, on a tablet or a computer, with no sign-up.

    Week 1, October 1 to 7: Attention and looking closely

    The first week trains attention and visual recognition, because a child who cannot hold attention for a few minutes cannot use any other exercise. Background: Attention Training: Building Focus for Learning Success and Inside the AFS-Test: Visual Recognition.

    DayYour 10 minutesWhat it trains
    Day 1
    Oct 1 (Thu)    		Play Arrow Stroop: click the direction of the middle arrow and ignore the others.Attention
    Day 2
    Oct 2 (Fri)    		Play Count Stroop: count how many digits you see, not which digit it is.Attention
    Day 3
    Oct 3 (Sat)    		Solve today’s Picture of the Day on spot-differences.com, online or printed.Visual recognition
    Day 4
    Oct 4 (Sun)    		Read-aloud Sunday: you read, your child listens and looks at the pictures. Why this matters: The Book Lady.Joy in stories
    Day 5
    Oct 5 (Mon)    		Play Dot to Number: match the dots to the right number.Visual recognition
    Day 6
    Oct 6 (Tue)    		Play Shape Matcher: shape, fill, and outline must all match.Visual recognition
    Day 7
    Oct 7 (Wed)    		Print one page from the Visual Recognition set in the ADA FREE Worksheets (276 pages).Visual recognition

    Week 2, October 8 to 14: Remembering what you see

    The second week trains visual memory and visual sequencing, the skills a child needs to keep the order of letters in a word. Background: Inside the AFS-Test: Visual Memory and Visual Sequencing.

    DayYour 10 minutesWhat it trains
    Day 8
    Oct 8 (Thu)    		Play Memory 4×4: memorize the cards, then find the 8 pairs.Visual memory
    Day 9
    Oct 9 (Fri)    		Play Color Recall: which color was in the highlighted square?Visual memory
    Day 10
    Oct 10 (Sat)    		Play Picture Sequence: watch the pictures, then repeat them in order.Visual sequencing
    Day 11
    Oct 11 (Sun)    		Read-aloud Sunday, plus one printed puzzle from Spot the 10 Differences.Visual recognition
    Day 12
    Oct 12 (Mon)    		Play Number Chain: the chain of numbers grows each round.Visual sequencing
    Day 13
    Oct 13 (Tue)    		Play Simon Visual: repeat the growing color sequence.Visual sequencing
    Day 14
    Oct 14 (Wed)    		Print one Visual Memory or Visual Sequencing page from the ADA FREE Worksheets.Visual memory and sequencing

    Week 3, October 15 to 21: Listening carefully

    The third week trains auditory perception, because a child who cannot hear the difference between two sounds will struggle to write them. Background: Sensory Perception Training: Visual, Auditory, and Spatial Foundations.

    DayYour 10 minutesWhat it trains
    Day 15
    Oct 15 (Thu)    		Listen to Track 1 of Ears Open!, ADA’s free audio training, and name every sound you hear.Auditory recognition
    Day 16
    Oct 16 (Fri)    		Play Tone Match: are the two tones the same or different?Auditory recognition
    Day 17
    Oct 17 (Sat)    		Play Rhyme Detective: do the two words rhyme?Auditory sequencing
    Day 18
    Oct 18 (Sun)    		Read-aloud Sunday with a rhyming book. Then try a harder track of Ears Open! (there are 12).Listening
    Day 19
    Oct 19 (Mon)    		Play Sound Sequence: repeat the sounds in the right order.Auditory memory
    Day 20
    Oct 20 (Tue)    		Play Missing Sound: which sound was left out?Auditory recognition
    Day 21
    Oct 21 (Wed)    		Play Beat Pattern: copy the pattern of high and low beats.Auditory sequencing

    Week 4, October 22 to 28: Space, body, and the first words

    The fourth week trains spatial orientation and body perception, then moves to words, the point where perception training turns into reading and writing. Background: Symptom Training in Language Arts.

    DayYour 10 minutesWhat it trains
    Day 22
    Oct 22 (Thu)    		Play Turn Me Right: find the picture turned 90 degrees.Spatial orientation
    Day 23
    Oct 23 (Fri)    		Play Mirror Me: find the mirrored picture. Think of b and d.Spatial orientation
    Day 24
    Oct 24 (Sat)    		Play Left or Right?: tap the right body part, fast.Body perception
    Day 25
    Oct 25 (Sun)    		Family Sunday: build three figures together in Tangramthrum, free in the browser.Spatial orientation
    Day 26
    Oct 26 (Mon)    		Take today’s Word of the Day: look at it, say it, explain what it means.Reading and spelling
    Day 27
    Oct 27 (Tue)    		Make a sheet with the Word of the Day in the Handwriting Worksheet Wizard and write it five times.Writing
    Day 28
    Oct 28 (Wed)    		Do one puzzle on Find the Words, starting at Level 1.Reading

    October 29 to 31: Reading, numbers, and a look back

    The last three days bring reading and math together and end the month with praise.

    DayYour 10 minutesWhat it trains
    Day 29
    Oct 29 (Thu)    		Fill in one cloze text on cloze-test.com: read the sentence, find the missing word.Reading comprehension
    Day 30
    Oct 30 (Fri)    		Play Twenty Zone or Math Bingo on AFS5.com, then print one sheet from the Math Worksheet Wizard.Math
    Day 31
    Oct 31 (Sat)    		Let your child pick the favorite game of the month and play it once more. Then tell your child three things that got easier.Confidence

    What if we start in the middle of October?

    Start today with the day that matches today’s date, or start with Day 1. Both work. If your child has never trained attention, Day 1 is the better start, because the later weeks build on it. If you start late, simply carry the plan into November. A child who trains ten minutes a day for 31 days has done the plan, no matter which month it ends in.

    If your child is younger than six, pick the easiest level of each game and do it together. If your child is older, let them choose the order inside each week. A choice turns practice into something they own.

    Why ten minutes a day instead of one long session?

    Short daily practice works better than one long session on the weekend, because perception is trained by repetition, not by effort. In the AFS-Method, parents practice with their child for ten to fifteen minutes a day, and a Certified Dyslexia Trainer guides the plan about once a week [3]. Ten minutes is short enough that a tired child can still do it, and long enough to make a difference over a month.

    Our free lesson series explains how trainers turn this into a home routine: From Session Design to Home Practice. The lesson is written for trainers, but many parents find it helpful.

    What a free plan can do, and what it cannot

    This plan can show you where your child finds things easy and where they find them hard. It cannot replace a test or a Certified Dyslexia Trainer. Watch which weeks go smoothly and which ones are a struggle. A child who flies through the visual games but cannot hear the difference between two tones in Week 3 is telling you something useful.

    If you notice that pattern, the next step is a closer look. The AFS-Test checks attention and each sensory perception one by one and turns the result into an individual training plan. To find a Certified Dyslexia Trainer near you or online, use dyslexiatrainer.com.

    Teachers and parents who want to go further can train as a Certified Dyslexia Trainer themselves. The 48-lesson Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program is 50% off this October for the first 50 sign-ups, and Lesson 1 is free.

    Where to find more free dyslexia resources

    This plan uses only a part of what we give away. The full list is in our post Free Dyslexia Resources for Parents and Teachers. You will also find 1,500 free worksheets on this blog, the Freebies section, and more than 1,500 printable pages in the ADA FREE Worksheets library. Our free learning apps are listed on appsthrum.com.

    All of this stays free because the American Dyslexia Association is a nonprofit. Read what ADA’s 501(c)(3) dyslexia charity status means for donors and members.

    Frequently asked questions

    When is Dyslexia Awareness Month?

    Dyslexia Awareness Month is in October. The U.S. Senate designated October 2025 as National Dyslexia Awareness Month in S. Res. 471, and a resolution for October 2026 was introduced on September 30, 2026.

    Are all activities in the 31-day plan really free?

    Yes. Every game, worksheet, audio track, and app in the plan is free and needs no account. The games are on easy-training-program.com, the worksheets on american-dyslexia-association.org.

    What if my child still struggles after October?

    Then a closer look helps. The AFS-Test shows which sensory perceptions need training, and dyslexiatrainer.com lists Certified Dyslexia Trainers who work in person and online.

    Sources

    1. U.S. Senate, S. Res. 471, 119th Congress, agreed to October 28, 2025: designating October 2025 as National Dyslexia Awareness Month. govinfo.gov
    2. U.S. Senate, S. Res. 933, 119th Congress, introduced September 30, 2026: support for October 2026 as National Dyslexia Awareness Month. congress.gov
    3. Kopp-Duller, A. (2021). Dyslexia – Training Using the AFS-Method (3rd revised ed.). Background: afs-method.com
    4. Easy Training Program, free brain-training games by sensory area. easy-training-program.com
    5. American Dyslexia Association, FREE Worksheets and Ears Open! audio training. american-dyslexia-association.org
  • Was Princess Diana Dyslexic? What the Record Actually Shows

    Was Princess Diana Dyslexic? What the Record Actually Shows

    No record shows that Princess Diana was ever assessed for dyslexia. What exists is one sentence her younger brother said out loud on September 21, 2026: “I think Diana suffered from dyslexia. She found spelling and word orders and letter orders quite tricky.”

    He said it to PEOPLE, one day before his memoir went on sale, and within hours the Princess Diana dyslexia question was in newsrooms on four continents. At the American Dyslexia Association we hear the same two questions every time a famous name gets attached to dyslexia. Does the claim hold up? And what is a parent, or an adult who recognizes something of themselves in it, supposed to do with it? Here is the record, separated from the headline.

    In short

    • Princess Diana was never assessed for dyslexia, and nothing from her lifetime records a reading or spelling assessment.
    • The claim comes from her brother Charles Spencer, made on September 21, 2026, one day before his memoir was published.
    • No source published before 2026 calls Diana dyslexic, and none describes a reading or spelling problem.
    • What has been documented since 1992: her family called her the thick one, and she failed every O-level examination twice.
    • Against the claim: as a teenager she read romance novels heavily, and after her wedding she answered many of the 47,000 letters of congratulation by hand.
    • Dyslexia can only be identified by testing a person’s reading and writing. A family account is testimony, and testimony is not an assessment.

    What Charles Spencer actually said

    Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer and Diana’s only brother, made the claim in an interview with Michelle Tauber for PEOPLE on September 21, 2026, the day before the publication of his memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister (Michael Joseph, September 22, 2026). His words on dyslexia were brief: “I think Diana suffered from dyslexia. She found spelling and word orders and letter orders quite tricky.”

    The dyslexia remark sits inside a larger argument about attention. Spencer told PEOPLE: “I was only found out to have very severe ADHD late in life, and I know it’s exactly what Diana had. It’s so similar.” He added a piece of context that matters: “Diana was born in 1961, and certainly the private school system in England was not tuned into children’s needs as they are today.”

    Spencer was careful about his own framing. “This isn’t a criticism,” he said. “It’s a recognition that she was struggling with a condition that was totally undiagnosed.” What he did not offer was a school report, a reading or spelling assessment, or a second family member who agrees. The claim rests on his memory and on his own experience late in life.

    Had anyone suggested this before 2026?

    No published source before September 2026 uses the word dyslexia about Princess Diana, but the pattern her brother describes has been on the record, in her own voice, for more than thirty years. The Princess Diana dyslexia claim is new. The evidence behind it is old.

    Diana recorded a set of tapes with her voice coach Peter Settelen in 1992 and 1993, broadcast in the documentary Diana: In Her Own Words in 2017. On them she says: “I was always told by my family that I was the thick one. That I was stupid and my brother was the clever one.” She goes on: “I used to go to the headmistress crying saying I wish I wasn’t so stupid and thick, and wished my family felt a bit more of me. I remember doing that a lot.”

    She returned to the subject in her BBC Panorama interview on November 20, 1995: “I was portrayed in the media at that time, if I remember rightly, as someone, because I hadn’t passed any O-levels and taken any A-levels, I was stupid. And I made the grave mistake once of saying to a child I was thick as a plank, in order to ease the child’s nervousness, which it did. But that headline went all round the world, and I rather regret saying it.”

    What the earlier sources never describe is a reading or spelling problem. Her biographers and her schoolfellows call her a poor student, not academic, frustrated by lessons. The strongest concrete fact anyone recorded is that she attempted all of her O-level examinations twice and passed none of them, which is a written-examination failure across every subject rather than a difficulty anyone traced to literacy. Charles Spencer in 2026 is the first person on the public record to name spelling and letter order as the reason.

    The school record backs the outline. Diana sat her O-level examinations twice at West Heath School in Kent and left at sixteen without passing them, in the same years that the school recognized her for helpfulness and she stood out in swimming, dance and domestic science. Strong in some areas, stuck in others, and written off as slow: that shape is familiar to every dyslexia trainer. Nobody in 1977 gave it a name.

    Why “she found spelling tricky” is a clue, not an answer

    Weak spelling is one of the most recognizable signs of dyslexia and one of the weakest pieces of evidence on its own. The International Dyslexia Association puts it plainly: as many as 15 to 20 percent of the population as a whole show some of the signs of dyslexia, including slow or inaccurate reading, poor spelling, poor writing, or mixing up similar words. Spencer’s description of his sister would fit a large share of the adult population.

    A real dyslexia assessment is an educational one. It looks at how a person reads and writes: accuracy, decoding of unfamiliar words, reading fluency and spelling, the kinds of errors they make, and how their attention and sensory perceptions hold up during the task, all weighed against their age and schooling. This is also why a short screening is not enough to settle the question in a living child, let alone in a historical figure. None of that exists for Diana. Two details cut the other way and rarely make the coverage. The first is that she read for pleasure as a teenager, and heavily. Tina Brown records in The Diana Chronicles that Diana devoured Barbara Cartland’s romance novels, with an endless and steady supply, and Cartland herself said later that the only books Diana ever read were hers. The second is that she wrote constantly. After her 1981 wedding she chose to answer many of the 47,000 letters of congratulation herself, by hand, and her handwritten correspondence now fills auction catalogs. Those letters may offer a clue of their own. One of the wedding thank-you notes, sent in October 1981 to a couple who worked at Althorp and later sold by Julien’s Auctions, reads in the auction house’s transcription: “Enclosed is a small momento of our wedding day, which I do you’ll like.” That is a misspelled word and a missing word in one short sentence. A single note proves nothing, and “momento” is one of the most common misspellings in English, but a careful look at her letters as a whole would tell a dyslexia trainer more than any headline. Neither her reading nor her letter-writing rules dyslexia out. Cartland’s novels are short, formulaic and written at a reading level a weak decoder can manage, and plenty of dyslexic adults write for a living. But a real assessment weighs both, and a headline skips both.

    Can dyslexia be identified after someone has died?

    No. Dyslexia shows itself in how a person reads and writes, and the only way to see that is to sit down with them and watch them do it. Labels given to historical figures after the fact are guesses, and scholars who study them, among them Osamu Muramoto in a 2014 paper, warn that they should describe the pattern people observed rather than name a cause.

    For Diana there is no school assessment on file, no reading or spelling sample, and no teacher’s report that names the problem. So the accurate sentence is the one Spencer nearly said: his sister showed a pattern consistent with dyslexia, as described by the person who grew up in the same house. That is family testimony, and it is worth something. It is not an assessment, and no amount of repetition in the press turns the Princess Diana dyslexia story into one.

    What English schools knew about dyslexia when Diana was a pupil

    Dyslexia entered British law for the first time nine years after Diana was born. Section 27 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 required local education authorities to arrange special educational treatment for children “suffering from acute dyslexia” within schools they maintained or assisted. It was the first statutory use of the word in the United Kingdom, and it framed dyslexia as a matter for schools and teaching.

    Diana was born on July 1, 1961, went to boarding school at about nine, and left West Heath in 1977. The 1970 provision applied to the state sector, not to the independent schools she attended, and teachers were not trained to recognize the signs of dyslexia in either system. A girl who could not spell reliably in that era was described as lazy, dreamy, or not academic. Spencer’s framing of the period is fair, and it is the least contested part of his claim.

    Why a family claim still matters, even without an assessment

    Dyslexia has a genetic component and runs in families, which is why a sibling saying “this is what I have, and I think she had it too” is one of the most common ways a family discovers it at all. A child with a dyslexic parent has a 40 to 60 percent chance of being dyslexic, and roughly 40 percent of the siblings of a child with dyslexia have reading difficulties of their own.

    The attention side of Spencer’s account fits as well. Attention problems and dyslexia turn up together far more often than chance would predict: Boada, Willcutt and Pennington found that 25 to 40 percent of children with one also show the other. This is why good dyslexia training starts with attention. A brother who struggled to focus and a sister who could not spell is not an odd pairing. Teachers see it every day.

    The most useful fact in the whole story is the one about Charles Spencer himself. He reached his sixties before anyone gave his difficulties a name. That is not a royal anomaly. Adults recognize themselves late every week, usually when a child’s assessment report lands on the kitchen table and a parent reads their own childhood in it. Being underestimated at school is also a pattern with a long history: several American presidents struggled in the classroom before anyone had a word for why.

    The royals who have spoken about their own dyslexia

    Diana’s is a claim made after her death, while several living royals have spoken about their own dyslexia. Princess Beatrice of York was identified as dyslexic at the age of seven, spoke publicly about it from 2005, and has become one of Britain’s most visible advocates. Her husband is dyslexic as well. In Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustaf, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Carl Philip have all spoken about dyslexia, and Prince Carl Philip has described what being asked to read aloud in class actually felt like.

    One correction worth making while the story circulates: Diana was a patron of the British Deaf Association, which shares its initials with a dyslexia organization. She held no dyslexia patronage and, on the public record, never discussed reading or spelling difficulties as anything other than a source of embarrassment.

    If this story sounds like your own

    If a headline about Princess Diana dyslexia made you think about your own child, or about yourself at sixteen, the useful next step is a proper assessment and training rather than a label. In an older child or an adult the pattern usually looks like this: spelling that stays unreliable long after reading has improved, slow and effortful reading, a strong dislike of reading aloud, letters and word order slipping under time pressure, and effort that is wildly out of proportion to the result.

    What changes that pattern is targeted training rather than more of the same schoolwork. The AFS Method works in a fixed order, attention first, then the sensory functions involved in reading and writing, then the symptom itself. It is set out in Dyslexia – Training Using the AFS-Method by Dr. Astrid Kopp-Duller, 3rd revised edition, 2021. The American Dyslexia Association publishes free worksheets for practice at home, an introduction to the AFS Method, and a certification program for teachers and parents who want to train others. If you want the myths cleared out first, start with Debunking the Myths about Dyslexia, and see everything we give away for free in one place. For what a full evaluation actually measures, read about more than 25 years of the AFS-Test.

    Frequently asked questions

    Was Princess Diana ever assessed for dyslexia?

    No. There is no record of any dyslexia assessment during her lifetime. The claim was made by her brother Charles Spencer in September 2026, twenty-nine years after her death, and is his personal view rather than the result of an assessment.

    Did Princess Diana have ADHD?

    Charles Spencer believes she did, based on his own experience with ADHD late in life and on the similarities he sees in her. Diana was never assessed for it, so this too is a family view looking back, not a finding.

    Does failing exams mean a child is dyslexic?

    No. Exam results alone say nothing about the cause. Dyslexia is identified through an educational assessment of how a child reads and writes, measured against their age and schooling. Poor results in a bright, capable child are a reason to ask for that assessment, not an answer in themselves.

    Sources

    • Michelle Tauber, “Princess Diana’s Brother, Charles Spencer, Addresses Conspiracy Theories, Her Neurodivergence and More,” PEOPLE, September 21, 2026. Interview
    • Charles Spencer, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Michael Joseph, September 22, 2026. Publisher page · Available on Amazon
    • Diana, Princess of Wales, BBC Panorama interview with Martin Bashir, November 20, 1995. Full transcript, PBS Frontline
    • Diana: In Her Own Words (2017), based on tapes recorded with Peter Settelen in 1992 and 1993. Documentary background
    • International Dyslexia Association, Dyslexia Basics: as many as 15 to 20 percent of the population show some signs of dyslexia. Fact sheet
    • Understood.org, “Is dyslexia genetic?”: 40 to 60 percent chance for a child with a dyslexic parent. Article
    • R. Boada, E. G. Willcutt and B. F. Pennington, “Understanding the Comorbidity Between Dyslexia and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder,” Topics in Language Disorders, 2012: 25 to 40 percent of children with one also show the other. Full text, PDF
    • Osamu Muramoto, “Retrospective diagnosis of a famous historical figure: ontological, epistemic, and ethical considerations,” Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine, 2014. Paper
    • Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970, Section 27, “acute dyslexia.” Statute text
    • Julien’s Auctions, handwritten letter from Diana to Mr. and Mrs. Pendrey, October 21, 1981. Lot description
    • Tina Brown, The Diana Chronicles, 2007, on Diana’s reading as a teenager. Book excerpt, ABC News · Available on Amazon
    • Prince Carl Philip of Sweden on growing up dyslexic. Interview

    Photo: Diana, Princess of Wales, by John MacIntyre for Paisley Scotland, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 2.0. Card design by the American Dyslexia Association.

  • Free Dyslexia Resources for Parents and Teachers: What We Give Away on International Literacy Day

    Free Dyslexia Resources for Parents and Teachers: What We Give Away on International Literacy Day

    Free dyslexia resources from the American Dyslexia Association, all in one place: 1,500 printable worksheets, two worksheet generators, a word and a picture every day, ten math games in one app, and a learning platform for families. None of it costs money. Most of it needs no sign-up. We are publishing this list on International Literacy Day, which turns 60 today, because the day is about access, and access starts with price.

    Why free, and why today

    At least 739 million young people and adults still lack basic literacy skills, and 4 in 10 children do not reach the minimum level in reading. Those are UNESCO’s figures for International Literacy Day 2026, the sixtieth since UNESCO proclaimed the day in 1966. Nobody fixes that from Osprey, Florida. What a small association can do is remove the first barrier: no family and no teacher should have to pay to start. A child with dyslexia or dyscalculia does not need a miracle. The child needs practice that fits how he or she perceives letters and numbers, in small daily doses, from adults who stay calm. The free dyslexia resources below are built for that.

    More on this topic: all of this stays free because the American Dyslexia Association is a nonprofit and a 501(c)(3) public charity. Read what ADA’s 501(c)(3) dyslexia charity status means for donors and members.

    1,500 free worksheets, no sign-up

    Our largest collection is the set of 1,500 free printable worksheets on this blog. They follow the three parts of the AFS-Method: attention, sensory perception (the “function” part), and symptom training in reading, writing, and math. Pick what fits your child, print it, use it at home or in class.

    One rule before you print anything: do not start with the mistakes. A child who reverses letters or loses the line does not need the same exercise ten more times. The child needs a few minutes of perception training first, then one short reading or writing task. The worksheet post explains why practicing the errors alone does not work.

    Every freebie on dyslexia.me is licensed under Creative Commons, so teachers may copy and share them. The Freebies section has the running list, and the association keeps its own free worksheet library on the ADA website.

    Two worksheet generators

    Two generators on this blog turn one word or a word list into practice sheets in seconds. The Handwriting Worksheet Wizard lets you choose print or cursive, the font size, and the line pattern. The Math Worksheet Wizard lets you choose the operations and the level, then prints arithmetic sheets for elementary school. Both are free for teachers and for parents who teach at home.

    Something small every day

    Short daily practice beats one long session on the weekend, so two of our sites publish something new every day.

    Word of the Day takes one English word a day through the three steps our trainers use: word image, word sound, word meaning. This is the AFS-Method procedure called word formulation, and it belongs to the symptom part of the method, the part that trains reading, writing, and spelling directly. A word only stays in long-term memory when a child has seen its shape, heard it clearly, and understood what it means, which is why none of the three steps can be skipped. Read it together, say it, write it, and you have done ten minutes of word formulation without opening a workbook.

    Picture of the Day shows a new spot-the-differences picture every day. Your child solves it online, or you print it as a PDF with or without the solution. It looks like a game, and it is one, but it trains visual recognition: the child has to look closely, compare two pictures, and notice where they differ. In the AFS-Method that is the function part of the training, visual differentiation, and it is the same skill a child needs to tell b from d or to see that a word on the page is not the one they just read. If you prefer paper, there is a printable set of 10-differences puzzles on this blog.

    Ten math games in one free app, with no ads

    Free apps for children usually pay for themselves with advertising. A University of Michigan study of 135 apps for young children found ads in 95 percent of them, and in every single free app (Meyer et al., Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 2019). AFS5 is the exception we built: ten math games in one app, from addition and subtraction to fractions, counting money, and telling time. Ten languages, no account, no ads, no subscription. It runs on iPhone, Mac, and Android.

    A learning platform for families: parents.learnedy.com

    parents.learnedy.com is our online learning platform for parents. The parents package is free: access for up to four children, quizzes without limits, and exercise books you put together for your own child. It has been free of charge and free of advertising since March 2020, and the site promises to ask its users before that ever changes. The platform is endorsed by the American Dyslexia Association and by the International Federation of Dyslexia and Dyscalculia Associations.

    How much practice does a child with dyslexia need?

    Ten to fifteen minutes a day at home, plus one session a week with a trained specialist. That is the pattern the AFS-Method has used since 1997, now in more than 60 countries, and it is the pattern behind the numbers: in a long-term study of children trained this way, 85 percent improved significantly (Kopp-Duller and Pailer-Duller, Dyslexia – Dyscalculia!?, 3rd edition, 2020). Every home session follows the same order: a minute or two of attention, a few minutes of perception exercises, then one reading, writing, or math task. Stop while the child is still willing. Praise every small step, because, in the words of the method’s author, praise is the daily bread of these children. If you want to see how trainers plan this, Lesson 9 of our free 48-part series turns a training plan into home practice.

    Which of the three areas a child needs most is not something you have to guess. The AFS-Test is the educational test built for that question: it looks at the attention span, the sensory perceptions, and the errors the child actually makes, and it has been evaluated on more than 100,000 children between 6 and 14. Dyslexiatest.com explains what the test covers and lists the certified trainers who conduct it.

    Questions parents ask us

    How much should a child with dyslexia practice each day?

    Ten to fifteen minutes a day at home, every day, plus one session a week with a Certified Dyslexia Trainer. Short and daily works better than long and rare. This is the home-training pattern of the AFS-Method (Kopp-Duller 2021). In the long-term study of children trained this way, 85 percent improved significantly (Kopp-Duller and Pailer-Duller 2020).

    Are free worksheets enough to help a child with dyslexia?

    No. Worksheets that only repeat the errors do not help a child with dyslexia and can make things worse. The AFS-Method trains three areas in every session: attention, sensory perception, and only then the symptom, meaning the actual reading, writing, or math task. Use worksheets as the last step of a short session, not as the whole session.

    From what age can a child use these free dyslexia resources?

    The perception exercises, the picture puzzles, and the counting games work from preschool age. The AFS-Test, which tells you which areas to train, has been evaluated on more than 100,000 children aged 6 to 14. If you suspect a problem before school, start with perception games and have the child assessed once reading instruction begins.

    What if the problem is math, not reading?

    The International Dyslexia Association describes dyscalculia as a mathematical disability in which a person has unusual difficulty solving arithmetic problems and grasping math concepts. An estimated 4 to 7 percent of students have it, one or two per classroom, and it often goes together with dyslexia. The same three-part training applies. For arithmetic, always pair the written number with a quantity the child can touch or count. Pictures on a page are not enough: use coins, blocks, or beans, because counting real things is the base of all arithmetic.

    For teachers who want to go further

    If you teach and want to work this way professionally, the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program is accredited by the American Dyslexia Association. Lesson 1 is free. In September the program site marks International Literacy Month with half-price enrollment for the first 50 sign-ups, through September 30.

    Read to them tonight

    International Literacy Day is a good excuse for the simplest thing that works: read aloud to your child, even if the child can read alone, and especially if reading is hard. If you need a text to start with, bestselling author Don Bentley wrote a message to children with dyslexia for us last month. It is short, and it is worth reading out loud.

    Sources: UNESCO, International Literacy Day. Astrid Kopp-Duller, Dyslexia – Training Using the AFS-Method, 3rd revised edition, 2021. Astrid Kopp-Duller and Livia R. Pailer-Duller, Dyslexia – Dyscalculia!? The importance of pedagogical-didactic assistance in cases of dyslexia, dyscalculia, and other problems in reading, writing, and doing arithmetic, 3rd edition, 2020. Meyer et al., “Advertising in Young Children’s Apps: A Content Analysis,” Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 2019, PMID 30371646. International Dyslexia Association, Frequently Asked Questions. Learning Disabilities Association of America, What is Dyscalculia?. Understood, What is dyscalculia?.

    Photo: Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

    More on this topic: put these free resources to work with our 31-day Dyslexia Awareness Month plan, one 10-minute activity for every day of October.

  • The Book Lady: What Dolly Parton Gave to Children Who Find Reading Hard

    The Book Lady: What Dolly Parton Gave to Children Who Find Reading Hard

    Dolly Parton died on Tuesday, August 25, in Nashville. She was 80. Her publicist said she faced a brief battle with cancer and died peacefully, and her family will hold a small private service. In place of flowers, they asked people to give to her Imagination Library.

    That request tells you what she wanted remembered. Not the 3,000 songs, the eleven Grammys, “Jolene” or “9 to 5.” The books.

    Since 1995, her Imagination Library has mailed a free book every month to each enrolled child, from birth until the child turns five. There is no income test. A parent registers a name and an address, and the book arrives addressed to the child. By the week of her death the program had given away more than 332 million books, and it sends about three million more every month across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia. Roughly one American child in seven under the age of five gets a book from Dolly in the mail.

    Dolly Parton reads to children at the Library of Congress in 2018
    Dolly reads to children at the Library of Congress in February 2018, the day the Imagination Library gave away its 100 millionth book. Photo: Shawn Miller, Library of Congress.

    The father who could not read

    She built all of it for one man.

    Robert Lee Parton farmed tobacco in the mountains of East Tennessee. He came from a large family, was needed at home, and never went to school. He never learned to read or write. Dolly, the fourth of his twelve children, was born in a one-room cabin on the Little Pigeon River, and she said for the rest of her life that her father was one of the smartest people she ever knew. She credited him for her business sense.

    “My Daddy couldn’t read and write, and we were just mountain people,” she said. “Daddy was always kind of embarrassed.” He had decided the door was closed: “Daddy thought it was just something he couldn’t learn after he was grown, so he never tried to learn to read and write.”

    When she started mailing books to children in her home county in 1995, she told him: “There are millions of people around this world that can’t read and write. You’re not the only one. You don’t need to feel embarrassed about that.” She asked him to help her with the program. The children of Sevier County started calling her the Book Lady, and she said her father thought that was the grandest thing. Before he died in 2000, the year the program went national, he told her the Imagination Library was probably the most important thing she had ever done.

    Why this belongs on a dyslexia website

    Lee Parton was not dyslexic, as far as anyone knows. He never had the chance to find out. But if you are raising a dyslexic child, you recognize the two things he carried: the embarrassment, and the conviction that reading belongs to other people.

    A dyslexic child tends to reach that same conviction by second grade. She watches the class take off while she is still sounding out the same word, and she draws a conclusion about herself. Undoing that conclusion takes more work than teaching the letters ever did.

    The numbers make this urgent. In the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, 40 percent of American fourth graders scored below the basic level in reading, the highest share since 2002. More fourth graders now read below basic than read at a proficient level.

    Dolly’s answer was to get books into homes before any of that could start, and researchers have measured what that does. Children enrolled in the Imagination Library for three years or more arrive at kindergarten ahead of their peers in letter naming, print concepts and phonemic awareness. In one state study, enrolled children were nine times more likely to be read to four or more days a week. Those are the exact skills a dyslexic child finds hardest.

    A book in the mail does not prevent dyslexia and does not cure it. What it does is give the child a running start on the skills that matter most, and it makes reading together an ordinary part of the household. The child meets school having been read to a thousand times.

    That second part matters more than most parents realize. A dyslexic child who is read to takes in the vocabulary, the sentence patterns and the shape of a story without decoding a single word. Her listening keeps pace with her intelligence while her decoding catches up. A child who has never been read to arrives at the reading struggle with nothing to fight for, because she does not yet know what a book holds.

    The message in the mailbox

    One detail of the program is worth pausing on. The book comes addressed to the child. A two-year-old cannot read the label, but a four-year-old can find her own name on it. Month after month, the mail carrier delivers something that says: this is yours, and you belong with books.

    For a child who will later be told she is “behind,” that history is an asset. She owns sixty books before she has read one. She has a favorite. She knows how the story ends before she can decode the first page. The dyslexia is still there, and it will still need proper training. But she walks into that work as a reader with a problem to solve rather than as a non-reader.

    Dolly said it herself: “If you can read, even if you can’t afford education, you can go on and learn about anything you want to know.”

    Two books

    The first book every enrolled child receives is The Little Engine That Could. It was the one book Dolly remembered having in the house as a girl.

    The 100 millionth book, presented at the Library of Congress in February 2018, was her own picture book, Coat of Many Colors, drawn from the song about a coat her mother stitched from rags and the classmates who laughed at it. The girl in the story is poor and mocked and knows she is loved anyway. That is a story a lot of our children need.

    What you can do this week

    Sign up. If you have a child under five, go to imaginationlibrary.com and check whether a local partner covers your area. Most of the United States is covered. It costs you nothing.

    Keep reading aloud. If your child is older and finds reading hard, do not stop at the age when children are “supposed” to read on their own. Audiobooks count. What matters is that the stories keep coming while the decoding catches up.

    Have it looked at early. If you suspect dyslexia, get an assessment. Every year you wait adds to the “reading is for other people” belief you will later have to undo. Our free worksheets are a place to start, and you can read about the American Dyslexia Association here.

    Give, if you can. Her family asked that gifts in her memory go to the Imagination Library, and September is Imagination Library Month. The Dollywood Foundation said after her death: “The work ahead has never felt more meaningful, and we will carry it forward.”

    She had one more line that we will keep on the wall: “You can never get enough books into the hands of young children.”

    Thank you, Dolly.

    Reading, and being underestimated because of it, keeps turning up in famous lives. In 2026 Charles Spencer said he believes his sister Diana, Princess of Wales, was dyslexic. Here is what the record actually shows.

    The American Dyslexia Association is a nonprofit organization in Osprey, Florida, supporting children, families, educators, and adults affected by dyslexia and other reading and writing differences.

  • Bestselling Author Don Bentley: The World Needs What’s Waiting Inside of You

    Bestselling Author Don Bentley: The World Needs What’s Waiting Inside of You

    Author Don Bentley
    Don Bentley

    Some writers spend a career imagining danger. Don Bentley spent a decade flying into it.

    Before he became a New York Times bestselling novelist, Bentley flew Apache helicopters for the U.S. Army and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Air Medal with “V” device for valor in Afghanistan. He went on to serve as an FBI special agent working foreign intelligence and counterintelligence, and as a member of a SWAT team. Today he writes the Matt Drake thrillers and four Tom Clancy Jack Ryan, Jr. novels, and he now writes in the Mitch Rapp universe created by the late Vince Flynn.

    We wrote to him with a small request. We asked whether he would say a few words to children who find reading hard, and to the families sitting at the kitchen table with them. He answered within the week.

    Dyslexia is an obstacle, but it doesn’t have to be a limitation. My favorite author, Vince Flynn, was dyslexic and his thirteen novels reflect the creative, out of the box thinking common among dyslexics. Writing was a struggle for Vince, but his perseverance birthed one of commercial fiction’s most iconic protagonists, Mitch Rapp, and delighted millions of readers. Don’t give up—the world needs what’s waiting inside of you too!

    Don Bentley

    Why Vince Flynn

    There is a reason Flynn came to mind. He was open about his dyslexia, and the start of his career was anything but a straight line. He collected rejection letter after rejection letter and finally published his first novel himself, in 1997. Readers found it anyway. The character he created went on to fill shelves in airports and libraries all over the world, and the series is still running today, written by the author who sent us these words.

    That is the part we want children to hear. Not that dyslexia is easy, and not that it goes away. It is that the way a dyslexic mind works, arriving sideways at an answer other people walk straight past, is the same quality that made those books worth reading in the first place.

    If your child has decided that books are for other people, this is worth reading out loud to them.

    Double Tap, out September 22

    Double Tap, a Mitch Rapp novel by Don Bentley

    Bentley’s next novel, Double Tap, arrives on September 22, 2026 from Atria/Emily Bestler Books. It continues Vince Flynn’s American Assassin storyline and sends a young Mitch Rapp on his first deep cover mission. A Pakistani chemical weapons scientist has been snatched off the streets of Verona, and Rapp has to get inside the cell that took him before anyone can put that expertise to use.

    It is his third novel in the Mitch Rapp series, after Capture or Kill and Denied Access.

    Buy the book: Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, Books-A-Million and Audible. All retailer links are on his website: donbentleybooks.com/books/double-tap

    Capture or Kill by Don Bentley
    Denied Access by Don Bentley
    Without Sanction by Don Bentley
    Forgotten War by Don Bentley
    More from Don Bentley: the Mitch Rapp novels Capture or Kill and Denied Access, and the Matt Drake thrillers Without Sanction and Forgotten War.

    Our thanks to Don Bentley for taking the time. You can find all of his books at donbentleybooks.com.

    The American Dyslexia Association is a nonprofit organization in Osprey, Florida, supporting children, families, educators, and adults affected by dyslexia and other reading and writing differences.

  • Dyslexia Has Nothing to Do with Intelligence – Why Trump’s Attack on Dyslexic People Is Wrong

    Dyslexia Has Nothing to Do with Intelligence – Why Trump’s Attack on Dyslexic People Is Wrong

    A recent public controversy in the United States has once again exposed how much misinformation still exists about dyslexia. California Governor Gavin Newsom has spoken openly about living with dyslexia. President Donald Trump then publicly mocked Newsom’s dyslexia and used it to question both his intelligence and his fitness for office. Newsom responded with a message aimed directly at children:

    “To every kid with a learning disability: don’t let anyone, not even the President of the United States, bully you.”

    — Governor Gavin Newsom

    That exchange matters for one reason above all others: dyslexia is still widely misunderstood.

    What dyslexia really is

    Dyslexia is not a sign of low intelligence. It is a difference in how the brain processes written language. Leading institutions such as the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity explain that dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty in reading that has no connection to overall intelligence. Yale also notes that many people with dyslexia are often highly creative thinkers with strong reasoning abilities.

    Dyslexia is also far more common than many people realize. Yale states that it affects about 20 percent of the population, making it one of the most common learning differences related to reading.

    This means that in classrooms, workplaces, and communities across the United States, millions of bright and capable children and adults are navigating reading and spelling challenges that have nothing to do with their potential.

    The real harm of public misinformation

    When a public figure treats dyslexia as proof that someone is “dumb,” that message does not stop with one politician. Children hear it. Teenagers hear it. Adults who struggled silently for years hear it too.

    That is why this conversation is bigger than politics. It is about stigma. It is about whether children with dyslexia grow up believing they are broken, or whether they grow up understanding that they learn differently and can absolutely succeed with the right support.

    Public ridicule does real damage. Accurate information does the opposite. It opens doors.

    Dyslexia and success are not opposites

    For decades, researchers and educators have observed that dyslexic individuals often develop strong compensatory skills such as persistence, problem solving, big-picture thinking, and creative approaches to challenges. A comparative study on entrepreneurship found a significantly higher incidence of dyslexia among entrepreneurs than among corporate managers and the general population.

    That does not mean dyslexia is easy. It is not. Reading, spelling, and written expression can be frustrating and exhausting without the right instruction. But dyslexia does not define intelligence, and it does not set a ceiling on achievement.

    Why early identification and the right instruction matter

    The real issue is never whether a child with dyslexia is capable. The real issue is whether that child is identified early and taught with methods that match how they learn.

    At the American Dyslexia Association, this is exactly why awareness matters. The sooner families and educators understand what dyslexia is, the sooner children can receive structured, targeted support instead of blame, shame, or the false label of being lazy or unintelligent.

    How ADA and DRC USA support educators and families

    The American Dyslexia Association and the Dyslexia Research Center USA are committed to helping educators, tutors, specialists, and homeschooling parents better understand dyslexia and support learners effectively.

    Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program - Accredited by the American Dyslexia Association

    The Dyslexia Trainer Certificate Program, accredited by the American Dyslexia Association, is a structured 48-lesson online certification designed to give educators practical tools they can apply immediately. According to the official program information, the training includes the AFS Method, access to the standardized AFS Dyslexia Test, and serves participants worldwide across 64 countries. The program builds on 30 years of experience and is delivered according to the training standards of the IFDDA, the International Federation of Dyslexia and Dyscalculia Associations.

    This work is grounded in a simple idea: children and adults with dyslexia do not need ridicule. They need understanding, appropriate instruction, and educators who know what to do.

    This is not about party politics

    Let’s be clear. This is not about taking a partisan political position. It is about correcting a false and harmful belief.

    Dyslexia is not stupidity. It is not a character flaw. It is not a reason to dismiss someone’s future, leadership, or potential.

    When influential people spread misinformation about dyslexia, organizations like ADA have a responsibility to speak up clearly and confidently.

    The message every child needs to hear

    Every child with dyslexia deserves to know this:

    You are not less intelligent.
    You are not less capable.
    You are not disqualified from success.

    You may need to learn in a different way. You may need better tools, better teaching, and more informed support. But dyslexia does not define your worth, and it does not determine how far you can go.

    Conclusion

    The recent debate in the United States is a reminder that even in 2026, public understanding of dyslexia still has a long way to go. That is exactly why education, advocacy, and professional training remain so important.

    At ADA, we believe the answer to misinformation is not silence. It is facts, support, and action.

    Because every learner deserves the chance to succeed.

    Related articles on Dyslexia.me:

    Further information:

    The American Dyslexia Association does not take any partisan political position. This article serves exclusively for factual education about dyslexia.

  • Presidents Who Struggled in School and Why That Should Inspire Us

    Presidents Who Struggled in School and Why That Should Inspire Us

    Every year around Presidents Day, stories circulate about famous leaders who were not academic stars in childhood. Some had poor spelling. Others disliked reading assignments. A few were considered slow learners early on.

    Today, we might look at those early struggles differently.

    While there is no formal evidence that any U.S. president was diagnosed with dyslexia, several historical figures are sometimes discussed by educators and historians as possibly having had learning differences. Of course, modern diagnostic criteria did not exist in the 18th or 19th centuries. Dyslexia was not formally recognized or understood the way it is today. Any discussion is retrospective and speculative.

    Still, their stories send a powerful message.

    George Washington

    George Washington is often described as having struggled with spelling and grammar. His surviving letters show inconsistent spelling, which was not uncommon at the time. Some modern writers have wondered whether these difficulties reflected traits we might today associate with dyslexia.

    There is no diagnosis, and spelling standards were less rigid in the 1700s. Still, what matters most is this: early academic weaknesses did not prevent him from becoming a military leader and the first President of the United States.

    Thomas Jefferson

    Thomas Jefferson is sometimes mentioned in discussions of learning differences. As with Washington, speculation centers around language patterns and reported academic challenges in certain areas.

    Jefferson went on to draft the Declaration of Independence and become one of the most influential thinkers of his time. If he did struggle with aspects of reading or spelling, it certainly did not define his intellectual legacy.

    Woodrow Wilson

    Woodrow Wilson reportedly had difficulty learning to read as a child. Some biographical accounts suggest that he did not read fluently until later than his peers. Because of this, some modern commentators have speculated about dyslexia.

    Again, no formal diagnosis exists. However, Wilson eventually earned a PhD and became a university president before entering politics. His early reading challenges did not stop him from achieving academic distinction.

    John F. Kennedy

    John F. Kennedy experienced significant health problems in childhood and struggled academically at times. Some educational writers have speculated about attention or learning differences, though dyslexia has not been formally documented.

    What is clear is that Kennedy became a powerful communicator and inspirational leader. Academic struggles in youth did not limit his future.

    What Can We Learn From This

    It is important to be clear. There is no confirmed historical diagnosis of dyslexia for these presidents. Dyslexia as a recognized learning difference emerged much later. Any suggestion is based on interpretation of historical records, not medical documentation.

    However, their stories reflect something very real.

    Struggling in school does not mean a child lacks intelligence. It does not mean a child cannot succeed. It does not determine future leadership, creativity, or achievement.

    Today we are fortunate. We understand far more about dyslexia and reading differences than ever before. We know that with structured support, appropriate intervention, and qualified instruction, children can learn to read and spell successfully.

    The key is getting the right help.

    Hope for Today’s Students

    If a child struggles with reading or spelling, early assessment and targeted support make a tremendous difference. Dyslexia is not a barrier to success when it is properly addressed.

    Parents, educators, and schools play a crucial role. Evidence based intervention, consistent practice, and encouragement build both skills and confidence.

    For professionals who want to make that difference, specialized training matters.

    The Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program is accredited by the American Dyslexia Association and prepares educators and therapists to work effectively with individuals who have dyslexia and other reading differences. Well trained specialists change lives by helping students overcome obstacles and experience success in literacy.

    The same pattern shows up in royal families. Diana, Princess of Wales, sat every one of her O-level examinations twice and passed none of them, and she grew up being told she was the slow one. In 2026 her brother said publicly that he believes she was dyslexic. We checked what the record actually shows.

    Final Encouragement

    If you or your child struggle in school, do not let that define your future.

    History shows us that early academic challenges do not prevent extraordinary achievement. With the right support, the right instruction, and the right mindset, strong reading and spelling skills can be developed.

    Struggle is not the end of the story.

    It can be the beginning of success.

  • Mastering Word Formulation: How the AFS Method is Transforming Language Learning for Dyslexic Individuals

    Mastering Word Formulation: How the AFS Method is Transforming Language Learning for Dyslexic Individuals

    In the ever-evolving landscape of educational resources, innovative tools that cater to diverse learning needs are invaluable. For the millions of individuals worldwide who struggle with dyslexia, finding the right approach to language learning can make the difference between frustration and success.

    Enter Wordformulation.com — a platform dedicated to enhancing language acquisition through the proven AFS Method. Developed by Dr. Astrid Kopp-Duller, this structured approach to word formulation offers hope and practical solutions for individuals with dyslexia and other learning challenges.

    What Is the AFS Method?

    The AFS Method is far more than just another learning technique. Standing for Attention, Function, and Symptom training, it represents a comprehensive, research-backed approach designed specifically to address the unique challenges faced by dyslexic individuals.

    Here’s how each component works:

    Attention Training focuses on helping learners concentrate when working with letters, words, and symbols. Dyslexic individuals often experience attention lapses specifically when dealing with written language — not due to lack of effort, but because their brains process information differently.

    Function Training targets the underlying sensory perceptions that are essential for reading and writing. This includes visual differentiation, auditory memory, spatial orientation, and other cognitive functions that form the foundation of literacy skills.

    Symptom Training addresses the actual difficulties in reading and writing — but only after attention and functional skills have been strengthened. This is crucial: traditional approaches often jump straight to symptom training, which is why they frequently fail dyslexic learners.

    By addressing all three areas in a coordinated manner, the AFS Method ensures that learners receive targeted support tailored to their specific needs.

    Exploring Wordformulation.com

    Wordformulation.com serves as a practical treasure trove of resources for teaching and training in the English language. The platform offers a variety of exercises and materials designed with flexibility in mind — resources can be used both online and offline, accommodating educators, learners, and parents in various settings.

    The website is thoughtfully organized into grammatical categories:

    This structure allows users to focus on specific areas of interest or difficulty, making it easy to create customized learning paths based on individual needs.

    Why This Matters for Dyslexic Learners

    Dyslexia presents unique challenges in language acquisition that often require specialized strategies to overcome. Traditional teaching methods — which typically involve repetitive practice of the same material — rarely work for dyslexic learners. In fact, they often lead to frustration, decreased self-esteem, and a growing aversion to reading and writing.

    The AFS Method, as implemented on Wordformulation.com, takes a fundamentally different approach. By first strengthening attention and functional skills, learners build a solid foundation that makes symptom-level work (actual reading and writing practice) far more effective.

    The benefits extend beyond just improved literacy skills:

    • Increased confidence as learners experience genuine progress
    • Reduced frustration through appropriately targeted exercises
    • Better self-understanding as individuals learn how their minds work
    • Long-term skill development rather than short-term memorization

    Practical Application in Daily Learning

    One of the greatest strengths of Wordformulation.com is its practicality. The resources are designed for ease of use by:

    • Educators looking for effective classroom materials
    • Parents supporting their child’s learning journey at home
    • Learners themselves working independently to improve their skills

    Exercises can be completed online or printed for offline practice, accommodating various learning environments and preferences. The platform’s user-friendly interface ensures effortless navigation through different sections, making it a convenient tool for both daily practice and long-term learning strategies.

    The Science Behind the Success

    The development of the AFS Method by Dr. Astrid Kopp-Duller is grounded in decades of intensive work with individuals facing learning challenges. Since 1995, this approach has been refined through real-world experience with thousands of learners, contributing to its proven effectiveness.

    The method acknowledges a fundamental truth that many educational approaches overlook: dyslexic individuals are not “weak students” — they are people with a different way of processing information. This shift in perspective is transformative, both for the learners themselves and for those who support them.

    Getting Started

    Whether you’re an educator seeking effective teaching materials, a parent supporting your child’s learning journey, or a learner striving to improve your language skills, Wordformulation.com offers resources that can make a meaningful difference.

    The platform is free to explore, and the structured organization makes it easy to find exactly what you need. Start by identifying areas of difficulty, then work through the relevant exercises systematically.

    Remember: progress in language learning, especially for dyslexic individuals, is rarely linear. Celebrate small victories, maintain consistency, and trust in the process.

    Conclusion

    In a world where literacy is fundamental to success, tools like Wordformulation.com and approaches like the AFS Method are more important than ever. By offering specialized, research-backed resources that address the root causes of reading and writing difficulties, these platforms are helping countless individuals unlock their full potential.

    Explore Wordformulation.com today and discover how a different approach to language learning can open new doors for you or someone you care about.

    For more information about the AFS Method and comprehensive training in supporting dyslexic learners, visit www.dyslexiacertificate.com

    Wordformulation.com is a resource provided by the Austrian Dyslexia Association (EÖDL), celebrating 30 years of service to individuals with dyslexia and dyscalculia.

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