Dyslexia News and Research

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Dyslexia is a learning disability that makes itself manifest primarily as a difficulty with the visual notation of speech or written language, particularly with reading the various man-made writing systems. It is separate and distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as a non-neurological deficiency with vision or hearing, or from poor or inadequate reading instruction. This suggests that dyslexia results from differences in how the brain processes written and spoken language.

Neurodivergent youth face higher risk of early-onset type 2 diabetes

People with neurodiversity, particularly autism and ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), may be more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D) at younger ages, with particularly high prevalence of neurodiversity observed among individuals diagnosed with T2D before the age of 20, finds an analysis of patient data being presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, Italy (September 28–October 2.

27 Sep 2026

Reading for pleasure linked to better mental health and greater empathy

Reading for pleasure – from tucking into a Jane Austen classic to devouring a Heartstopper graphic novel – is linked to better mental health, greater empathy and a lower risk of dementia, say researchers.

15 Sep 2026

Study provides a more nuanced picture of biological mechanisms linked to autism

How does autism manifest in the brain? Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark and Odense University Hospital have investigated this question in a new study involving 60 adults.

21 Aug 2026

Broader autism definition may lead to confusion and possible misdiagnosis

The definition of autism may have become so wide that it risks confusion and even misdiagnosis, according to a new editorial by UCL Professor Dame Uta Frith, whose pioneering research in the 1960s and 70s lay the foundations for how we understand autism.

3 Aug 2026

Broad neurodevelopmental spectrum better predicts children's educational outcomes

A paper published in the leading journal Molecular Psychiatry on Friday 3 July at 1am British Summer time led by researchers from Queen Mary University of London and Royal Holloway, University of London challenges the way we think about neurodevelopmental conditions.

2 Jul 2026

AI and genetics reveal new insights into human language development

Learning French, reading the latest Andy Weir novel, hanging out with friends for St. Patrick's Day - language is central to all these everyday activities.

10 Mar 2026

Brain organoids show goal-directed learning in control task

Imagine balancing a ruler vertically in the palm of your hand: you have to constantly pay attention to the angle of the ruler and make many small adjustments to make sure it doesn't fall over. It takes practice to get good at this.

19 Feb 2026

Dyslexia linked to broader brain network vulnerabilities

A University of Houston psychology professor is challenging the notion that dyslexia, or specific reading disorder, stems from a single faulty gene in the brain, suggesting instead that it is caused by an overall brain network vulnerability.

5 Feb 2026

Phonological processing skills continue to influence text reading fluency in adolescents

Psycholinguists from the Center for Language and Brain found that phonological processing skills continue to influence text reading fluency in 15-to-18-year-old adolescents.

5 Dec 2025

Study maps racial and ethnic differences in repeated reading struggles

Early struggles with reading can have lifelong impacts on mental, physical and emotional health. Understanding who is most at risk of experiencing reading difficulties can inform strategies for early interventions to support students before they fall further behind.

11 Nov 2025

Rethinking kindergarten reading screenings for better outcomes

In most states, schools are required to screen students as they enter kindergarten - a process that is meant to identify students who may need extra help learning to read. However, a new study by MIT researchers suggests that these screenings may not be working as intended in all schools.

29 Oct 2025

Research reveals how signs of dyslexia can be detected in newborns' brains

Brain research can provide valuable information about children who may need extra support before they start struggling with reading in the classroom.

22 Oct 2025

Genetic and behavioral link found between musicality and language skills

In a paper published in Nature Communications, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery leveraged two main studies - one focused on behavior and one focused on genetics - to highlight the correlation between participants' musical rhythm abilities and developmental speech-language disorders.

3 Oct 2025

Brain wave coordination explains how each hemisphere shares visual information

The brain divides vision between its two hemispheres-what's on your left is processed by your right hemisphere and vice versa-but your experience with every bike or bird that you see zipping by is seamless.

22 Sep 2025

Scientists uncover 53 genetic clues that shape math ability beyond IQ

Researchers uncovered 53 genetic loci linked to quantitative ability, distinguishing it from general intelligence and non-cognitive skills. The study highlights brain pathways in axon guidance, synaptic signaling, and mRNA splicing as biological underpinnings of math-related ability.

22 Sep 2025

AI-powered handwriting analysis may help detect dyslexia and dysgraphia in children

A new University at Buffalo-led study outlines how artificial intelligence-powered handwriting analysis may serve as an early detection tool for dyslexia and dysgraphia among young children.

15 May 2025

Study shows the connection between language disorders and handedness

Linguistic symptoms and an onset early in life: Disorders to which this applies are frequently associated with left-handedness resp. mixed-handedness.

5 May 2025

Early detection of primary progressive aphasia through speech and hearing tests

Difficulty finding words or the habit of substituting them with others that are similar semantically – such as knife and cutter – or phonologically – such as knife and wife – are usually the first symptoms of a type of dementia known as primary progressive aphasia (PPA).

30 Apr 2025

Researchers uncover flexibility in brain development and visual recognition

Riddle me this: how can it be that reading these words activates nearly identical word-sensitive patches of the brain's visual system in you and nearly every other reader of this story? And that a different set of face-sensitive visual regions-again in almost identical positions in each reader's brain-would activate to process the faces of the researchers, should you meet them?

17 Mar 2025

New research calls for updated definition of dyslexia

A new definition of dyslexia is needed to more accurately describe the learning disorder and give those struggling with dyslexia the specific support they require, says new research.

26 Feb 2025