Different Types of Dyslexia
Same Effect on Organized Living

Different types of dyslexia affect organized living in the same way. The dyslexia symptoms of difficulty with processing and sorting information create the greatest challenges to personal organization.

There are many different ways that dyslexia interferes with information processing. Different theories about the causes have led to different names and labels of the different types of dyslexia.

Some common classifications and symptoms of dyslexia are:

Auditory - difficulty remembering what was said or not grasping the relationship or links between the sounds the letters on the page are supposed to make when spoken.

Visual - difficulty with putting symbols in the correct sequence when writing.

Orthographic - this label simply means difficulty with interpreting the language symbols such as the letters of the alphabet.

You may understand dyslexia as a reading difficulty but it is more than that. It is a learning disability that arises from difficulties with processing the information of written and phonetic language. It can significantly affect a person's ability to read, write, and spell.

Not only are there different types of dyslexia, but there are varying degrees of the impairment as well. Some people may experience severe challenges, it just depends severity of the learning disability. Similarly the more severe the disability the greater the challenge to getting organized.

All references indicate that time management, planning, sorting materials, and grouping or sequencing tasks are skills that present varying degrees of challenge to personal organization in the dyslexic population. The severity of the impairment seems to be direct related to the severity of the effect on personal organization skills.

One thing that is known is that dyslexia is not related to level of intelligence. Within the population that lives with this learning disability there are varying levels of intelligence. Other skills such as problem solving, visual and spatial awareness, oral skills, and creativity are not necessarily related or in any way diminished by the presence of any of the different types of dyslexia.

There are many well known people with dyslexia including scientists, inventors, artists and performers. I wonder if any of these people had issues with closet organization?

For a person with dyslexia the inability to achieve personal organization in life is not a character flaw and does not arise from laziness or lack of motivation. Getting organized is a challenge because of the different way in which information is sorted in the brain.

Help in establishing organizing systems can help keep the person with dyslexia more in control of every day life. A dyslexic person may not be able to establish the system independently but once a system is set up that suits their own style they should be be able to follow it.