Myth: Mirror writing is a symptom of dyslexia.
Truth: In fact, backwards writing and reversals of letters and words are common in the early stages of writing development among dyslexic and nondyslexic children alike. Dyslexic children have problems in naming letters but not in copying letters.

Myth: More boys than girls have dyslexia.
Truth: Boys' reading disabilities are indeed identified more often than girls', but studies indicate that such identification is biased. The actual prevalence of the disorder is nearly identical in the two sexes.

Myth: Dyslexia can be outgrown.
Truth: Yearly monitoring of phonological skills from first through 12th grade shows that the disability persists into adulthood. Even though many dyslexics learn to read accurately, they continue to read slowly and not automatically.

Myth: Smart people cannot be dyslexic.
Truth: Intelligence is in no way related to phonological processing, as scores of brilliant and accomplished dyslexics -- among them William Butler Yeats, Albert Einstein, George Patton, John Irving, Charles Schwab and Nicholas Negroponte -- attest.