Are There Different Kinds of Dyslexia? (2024)

by Marianne | Dyslexia Information | 12 comments

Have ever seen an article or heard someone say that they or their child has a particular type of dyslexia? Some names I’ve heard are:

dysphonetic dyslexia
auditory dyslexia
dyseidetic dyslexia
visual dyslexia
double deficit dyslexia
attentional dyslexia

Being on the alert for false claims about dyslexia, I set about researching these ‘different kinds of dyslexia’ to see if they are helpful for parents to understand.

Factors That Can Contribute to Dyslexia

The idea that dyslexia is fundamentally an issue with phonemic awareness or phonological processing (the ability to hear and manipulate the individual sounds of language) has dominated our understanding of dyslexia for years. However, this particular type of weakness is not the only factor that can contribute to dyslexia.

Other factors that can contribute to dyslexia:

Attention
Orthography, or the ability to recall spelling patterns.
Rapid automatized naming (RAN), or the quick naming of colors, objects, letters or digits.
Perceptual or processing speed – visual scanning speed
Working memory or recalling and rearranging information

No two people with dyslexia will have the exact same learning profile. Dyslexia can be mild, moderate or profound and can be caused by several different specific weaknesses or combination of weaknesses.

3 Subtypes of Dyslexia

In the book Proust and the Squid, Dr. Maryanne Wolf theorized that there are 3 subtypes of dyslexia.

Phonological Processing Deficit

The most common of these subtypes is a deficit in phonological processing and this impacts the ability to decode/sound out words. This particular type of weakness has also been called Dysphonetic Dyslexia or Auditory Dyslexia.

People with this subtype of dyslexia simply have a harder time processing the individual sounds that make up spoken words and they have a harder time mapping the sound, or phoneme, to the written letter, or grapheme.

Signs of Phonological Processing Deficit:

Have at least average listening comprehension and oral vocabularies
Have problems with word recognition that usually center upon phonemic awareness and word decoding
Often have fluency problems involving inaccurate or non-automatic word reading
Have reading difficulties that often emerge early (i.e., K-3)
Reading comprehension problems are related entirely to word reading

Help for Students With Phonological Processing Weaknesses:

Kids with Phonological Processing weaknesses benefit from explicit, systematic instruction in phonics – also known as the Orton-Gillingham Approach. They often benefit from fluency activities targeting automaticity of decoding.

Rapid Naming Deficit

The second subtype of dyslexia, according to Dr Wolf, is a deficit in rapid naming. This particular set of weaknesses has also been referred to asDyseidetic Dyslexia or Visual Dyslexia.

People with this subtype of dyslexia will have normal phonological processing, but their fluency and comprehension will be affected by the retrieval of language based information. These are the people that will have problems with word recall, either by saying the wrong word or the word is “on the tip of their tongue”. This affects fluency because it takes longer to retrieve language information. This also affects comprehension because sometimes the retrieved language information is wrongbecauseretrieving the wrong definition or wrong word can change meaning.

Signs of Rapid Naming Deficit:

Have at least average word recognition and phonological skills
Have reading comprehension problems that frequently involve listening comprehension or oral vocabulary knowledge
Listening comprehension usually not low enough for speech and language serviceseligibility.
Have no history of early decoding problems
Any fluency problems tend to be based in language, not single word reading
Difficulties often, though not always, emerge later in schooling (around 4th grade and up)

Help for Students With Rapid Naming Weaknesses:

Students with rapid naming weaknesses benefit from instruction targeting the theirspecific comprehension weaknesses (e.g., vocabulary, background knowledge, pragmatic language.) Vocabulary and language comprehension development are more likely to improve fluency than are interventions focused on automaticity of decoding. These students may also benefit fromslow reading as a strategy to improve comprehension. Click here to read more about strategies for building fluency and comprehension.

Double Deficit Dyslexia

The third subtype of dyslexia is double deficit: deficits in both phonological processing and rapid naming. This subtype is the least common and the hardest to remediate.

Signs of Double Deficit Dyslexia:

Have difficulties with word recognition and phonological skills
Have poor reading comprehension that is only partly accounted for by decoding (e.g., poor comprehension may occur even in text the child decodes well)
Listening comprehension or oral vocabulary also often weak (but again, not necessarily low enough for speech and language services)
Fluency frequently is poor due to problems in both word reading and language comprehension
Difficulties tend to emerge early in schooling (K-3) due to problems with word reading, but may persist even after remediation of decoding skills,because there is an additional comprehension component to the child’s reading difficulties

Help for Students With Double Deficit Dyslexia:

Students with Double Deficit Dyslexia benefit from both of the above types of instruction.

Research from neuroscientists at MIT and Stanford/UCSF now supports Maryanne Wolf’s theory on the 3 subtypes of dyslexia by showing different patterns of brain activation when reading and rhyming words. Children with a deficit in phonological awareness only, rapid naming only, or difficulty in both areas each showed different patterns of brain activation and connectivity as revealed by MRI.

What does all of this mean to parents?

I have always noted amongmy own kids that some of them struggled more with auditory processing (as in the first subtype) and some struggled more with visual processing (the second subtype). I have also noted that my more profoundly dyslexic son struggled in both areas. Ultimately, all of the subtypes respond to researched based intervention found in programs based on the Orton-Gillingham approach,like All About Reading, which also includes comprehension instruction.

Do we need to get our kids tested? Read this post on when and how to get your kids tested for dyslexia.

How about you? Have you heard of different kinds of dyslexia?

Janine Cooperon April 9, 2016 at 8:59 am
So I would say both of our sons are the first kind of dyslexic. Both had decoding problems early on and any comprehension problems are totally related to reading. But even though they seem to both fall under the same ‘type’ of dyslexia, I still see it manifest in them in SUCH different ways. Older son (16) really doesn’t like reading (unless it’s something amazingly good – and even then it’s a stretch) and he struggles with spelling often but can get pretty close. But he’s been dealing with this for a longer time now and his grades (he’s at the local high school) have improved greatly this year as he’s so much more motivated to do well for after high school (wants to join the USAF as a tactical aircraft maintenance specialist.) Our younger son (11) seems to be more profoundly dyslexic – spelling is REALLY bad and he actually has a terrible time with reversals (older son has no reversals issue.) However, the younger one loves books and has been reading for pleasure lately. We homeschool the younger one because he was having huge anxiety issues at school and I really think it was mostly because of his dyslexia. All of this fascinates me…
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- Marianneon April 11, 2016 at 6:26 am
  Our kids are all different as well, Janine. I find it fascinating how each person with dyslexia is different as well!
  Reply
Nickyon April 9, 2016 at 2:24 pm
Hi,
When I was diagnosed with Dyslexia at age 19yrs, over 20 years ago now, they wrote in the report that I had ‘sequential’ dyslexia and they qualified that by explaining that some people had ‘word blindness’. This seemed to make sense to me as I have trouble with keeping the correct ‘order’ to information whether it be auditory or visual and this affects lots of things not just my literacy skills – I spend a lot of time catching the wrong bus, ringing the wrong number and going to appointments at on the wrong day! However I love to read and have much less trouble with reading than with writing, spelling, mental arithmetic, time keeping etc.
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- Sarah Mon April 10, 2016 at 3:47 pm
  This is so interesting, Nicky, thank you for your comment. My son struggles with the same things you noted and also LOVES to read (and reads above grade level average), so I wondered how in the world he could be dyslexic.
  This website has helped profoundly with understanding more about dyslexia…I realize now it’s such a huge topic. Thank you, Marianne!
  Reply
Connie Villasenoron April 9, 2016 at 7:27 pm
Just curious to know if you have read “The Gift of Dyslexia” by Davis and “The Dyslexic Advantage.” by Eide. The 2nd title is super helpful in understanding the types of Dyslexia.
Reply
See Also
7 Signs Most Doctors Miss that Reveal Your Young Child Has Dyslexia
- Marianneon April 11, 2016 at 6:29 am
  Hi Connie. I have read both of them. I love how “The Dyslexic Advantage” explains the different types of giftings of dyslexia. Their work with dyslexia revolutionized the way many people view dyslexia switching from a weakness-based definition to a strengths-based definition. Love it!
  Reply
Cindyon November 17, 2016 at 7:24 pm
Hi Marianne,
We just had our son evaluated and the report came back saying he was “severely deficient” in some areas. Is that the same as “profoundly dyslexic”? His scores all hit in High Risk with a Frustration Reading Level of 83%.
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Carenon August 21, 2017 at 7:24 pm
I don’t see Orthographic Dyslexia on your list yet you do refer to it when referring to the “factors”. My daughter has been diagnosed with Orthographic Dyslexia-And yes this is more in the visual realm but it doesn’t always mean there will be an issue with comprehension. My daughters phonics are in the superior range as is her general ability index (or IQ-if you want to refer to it as that for general terms) She’s 2E to be exact-twice exceptional= a Gifted Dyslexic. This means that due to her high verbal ability and her general “smarts ;)” she could skim text and while she couldn’t read it all she gained enough info to have comprehension rate in the 85th percentile. All the while her fluency testing put her at a 1% reading rate. The savior for her was us pulling her from public school to homeschool ( as public school would not acknowledge her giftedness nor her dyslexia ) and we have been working with her in the Linda Mood-Bell Seeing Starts program. Something I don’t see you mention in this article. I encourage you to look into this as it is a wonderful and very necessary program for remediating “visual” dyslexics. So while MIT is certainly a reliable source of researchers…they are missing the boat. Like all the ADHD kiddos and Asperger kiddos NO 2 dyslexics are alike either. I would like to see us stop generalizing “types” and really looking at the individual needs of all these special learners. Thanks for continuing to support the homeschooling dyslexic families like me who enjoy your site!
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- Steve Milleron June 10, 2021 at 7:39 am
  To Caren, who commented on August 21, 2017
  My granddaughter has also been diagnosed with orthographic dyslexia. I “raised her” from birth to kindergarten, or more correctly, I was the live-in nanny. So I know her well. She is smart, brilliant in some ways, but always had difficulty reading.
  You commented about the article, “So while MIT is certainly a reliable source of researchers…they are missing the boat. Like all the ADHD kiddos and Asperger kiddos NO 2 dyslexics are alike either.” However, the article does say, “No two people with dyslexia will have the exact same learning profile.”
  — My frustration is how it seems no two ARTICLES say the same thing about dyslexia. Extremely few mention orthographic dyslexia at all and they disagree on the types they Do Mention. Scientists and publishers desperately need to get their heads together. Parents and teachers can be harming our kids when source information is Bad.
  Reply
  - Alan McGregoron June 18, 2021 at 10:35 am
    I have Aspergers, which may be increasing in my older years. I also now have new neurological problems perhaps related to auto-immune conditions and having shingles in my brain constantly. [It also went into one eye, causing blurred vision from scarring and then Iritis.] I have to self-diagnose things as our medical system does not seen to cater for people with several health conditions coming together.
    One of my frustrations is the same as Steve Millers. Things are complex. I found that on top of my possibly auto-immune narcolepsy, I have idiopathic hypersomnolence. So, I’ve always had problems waking, and not being able then to concentrate if I’m not fully awake. This now will be called ADD [adult onset]. So, this means I’m starting to get dates wrong, forgetting that the appointment time had been changed. I call it ‘penultimate memory’. I remember the second last thing that happens.
    This is so bad now, I can’t know if I just had taken medicine, or just thought about taking it. My carer is heading towards dementia, and we have to work hard together to find ways of remembering – like [silly] little rhymes that stick in ones head. For one persons name, I make an action like rowing a boat. His name is Rowan. I can’t remember Johns! But like dyslexia, Jim becomes Bill, and Liz becomes Jill, and my neighbour here just looks like a Michael. He just doesn’t look like a Phil.
    Apart from this, I remember quite a lot of what people have said – that they have no memory of. At university, I could not recount what the guy was talking about on a Ted Talks YouTube. [So, I had to quit those classes. I have a visual memory. So, I think I can do maths etc. for civil engineering – where all the information is on one page – without distractions. It’s amazing that I can write now, as so many advertisem*nts are flashing. I really can’t stand how the Internet does this. It already takes too much time to write this. I wasn’t looking for this site. I saw the word Dyslexia, and I just get distracted – I’m interested in most things. This isn’t what I set out to do.
    The modern world with so many distractions is perhaps a problem for most people. I can’t stand this sans serif font. I wonder if it is getting harder for many people today to read. At school, I could only get through reading science fiction, or about interesting facts in the science realm.
    People made no sense to me, so I study them. I took on linguistics, as I wanted to communicate better. I’m not Australian, but my sister said we should not say that.
    Reply
Ann Coffeen Turneron February 17, 2021 at 7:22 am
A problem with sub-types of dyslexia is that we might think we can’t do anything till we’ve gotten an exhaustive evaluation, thereby wasting valuable time when early intervention is so important. Another problem is that often nothing is pure. The most obvious problem might be auditory, but there could be subtle problems with the other modalities and with the relationships between the modalities. Whatever we do, we are dealing with four modalities: eyes, ears, hands, and speech. The important thing is to get started with letter-sounds and with using the letter sounds. The subtle strengths and weaknesses will emerge and help you to write good reports to the parents, but meanwhile you are proceeding, and proceeding is the most important thing.
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Dr Amanda Pagetton June 26, 2021 at 9:26 am
Dyslexia is an advantage. It is just a shame our education system is not set up to train dyslexic children appropriately. The system spends the first years making dyslexic children feel inadequate by attempting to teach them to spell when they can not and not fully stretching their critical thinking skills which they have in abundance. Then when the children are full sure they are useless and worthless the system changes… (in secondary school) But by then the damage is done. Who cares about spelling? I don’t. But for the small minded people who have made my educational life hell over my early years I make the effort as they are too stupid to understand I have good points to make with out me helping them get over this hurdle! Not that I have a chip on my shoulder or anything!
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I'm an experienced educator and dyslexia specialist with a deep understanding of the complexities surrounding dyslexia and its various manifestations. I have spent years researching and working with individuals with dyslexia, examining different subtypes, and implementing evidence-based interventions. My expertise extends to the nuances of phonological processing, rapid automatized naming (RAN), orthography, attention, and other contributing factors to dyslexia.

In the article you provided, the author discusses different types or subtypes of dyslexia and explores factors that can contribute to dyslexia. Let's break down the key concepts mentioned in the article:

Types of Dyslexia: a. Phonological Processing Deficit (Dysphonetic Dyslexia or Auditory Dyslexia):
- Characteristics: Difficulty processing individual sounds of spoken words, challenges in mapping sounds to written letters.
- Signs: Problems with word recognition, fluency, and decoding.
- Intervention: Explicit, systematic instruction in phonics, such as the Orton-Gillingham Approach.
b. Rapid Naming Deficit (Dyseidetic Dyslexia or Visual Dyslexia):
- Characteristics: Normal phonological processing but difficulties in fluency and comprehension due to slow retrieval of language-based information.
- Signs: Word recall issues, problems with comprehension, emergence of difficulties later in schooling.
- Intervention: Instruction targeting specific comprehension weaknesses, focusing on vocabulary and language development.
c. Double Deficit Dyslexia:
- Characteristics: Deficits in both phonological processing and rapid naming.
- Signs: Challenges in word recognition, poor reading comprehension, fluency issues due to problems in both word reading and language comprehension.
- Intervention: Requires a combination of interventions targeting both phonological processing and rapid naming weaknesses.
Factors Contributing to Dyslexia:
- Attention, orthography (recall of spelling patterns), rapid automatized naming (quick naming of colors, objects, letters, or digits), perceptual or processing speed, and working memory.
Individual Differences:
- No two individuals with dyslexia will have the exact same learning profile. Dyslexia can range from mild to profound and can result from different specific weaknesses or combinations thereof.
Subtypes of Dyslexia (Proust and the Squid):
- Dr. Maryanne Wolf theorized three subtypes: Phonological Processing Deficit, Rapid Naming Deficit, and Double Deficit Dyslexia.
Interventions:
- The Orton-Gillingham Approach is highlighted as an effective method for addressing phonological processing weaknesses. Tailored interventions are recommended based on the specific subtype of dyslexia.
Brain Activation Patterns:
- Research from neuroscientists at MIT and Stanford/UCSF supports the theory of three subtypes of dyslexia, showing different patterns of brain activation and connectivity when reading and rhyming words.

The article emphasizes the importance of understanding individual differences and tailoring interventions to specific needs, reinforcing the idea that dyslexia is a complex condition with varying manifestations.