I hate to intrude on all this fun, but I feel bound to mention that dyslexia does not mean reversing letters, or not being able to spell. Dyslexia is a specific reading disability. People with dyslexia by definition have scores on a reading achievement test that is 15 points or more below their IQ score. (A reading achievement test measures, among other things: letter-word identification, reading fluency, passage comprehension, word attack, spelling, vocabulary, phonology, and rapid naming.)

Dyslexia represents a problem with how the brain processes language, not with vision or motor skills. It is most likely an inherited condition, which is associated with specific differences in the structure and function of the brain. Most commonly affected is the ability to separate words into "phonemes," their basic building blocks.    The sine qua non of dyslexia is difficulty with reading aloud. Children who later turn out to have dyslexia commonly have delayed onset of talking (first words after 15 months), prolonged "baby talk," persistent mispronunciations after 5 or 6 years, and difficulty repeating rhymes.

Many people with dyslexia do have problems with spelling as well. Letter reversals are a common developmental trait in normal children. Some people, including people with dyslexia, have persistent problems with left-right discrimination, but that is not the main problem that leads to difficulty reading.

Interestingly, many children and older people with dyslexia do not have language problems when they sing. (There, I knew I could make this a musical thread!)

Aloha,

Mark

PS If this sounds a little pedantic, it's because I'm busy studying for my Board certification exam in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, which I take on Monday in San Francisco.