I have a problem with left and right reversals, and also with vertical reversals when reading and numbers. I don't agree, Wolfgang, that up and down is universally easy to distinguish, especially when you are looking at a page on a horizontal surface. I have always said aloud "2" when looking at "5" and when you look at 2 upside down it looks like a 5.

I am dyslexic. It is a function of the way my brain processes visual information when it is *correlated with* the associated words. For me it comes down to "labels" - which are the mutually agreed upon meanings assigned arbitrarily to a collection of letters. The label "left" and the label "right" don't intrinsically mean anything. It is just that our society agrees on their meaning. And the connection in my brain between the visual and the verbal is not as automatic as some other people's connections. Often, I have to make logical deductions in my head to find the right words for things, and often these deductions begin with a visual image which is a marker or code for that word, which shows me the mental path to follow to find the word.

Now I look at my watch and know that it is on my left wrist and then I know what side of the street to drive on or which way to turn. So, in my reality, "left" = "watch" = "the correct side of the road to drive on in Australia", but they are visual cues to arrive at the correct interpretations.

Dyslexia is considered a "disability" in a world which focuses on words more than visual or conceptual ideas.

Helen