In the U.S., the state school systems are responsible for identifying and helping dyslexics, but a lack of money and resources means many kids fall through the cracks, and parents find they have to pressure the child's school district. Even so, the U.S. is "way ahead of Europe," says Sanson, "because in the States, according to law, every child has to be provided for according to his abilities. One of the problems is that that there is no common legal basis for Europe-wide education."

In France, dyslexia is not treated in the school system — children are helped outside school by speech therapists. The German state school systems have only recently recognized dyslexia as a handicap — Bavaria introduced relief measures in 1999. In Italy there is no special provision for dyslexic pupils, but children with learning difficulties can get help in school. In the U.K., the government has set out guidelines for state schools. "The intention is good, and awareness of dyslexia has grown dramatically over the last 10 years," says Lindsay Peer, education director of the British Dyslexia Association. "However, provision is very patchy and still depends on where you live."

As researchers learn more about dyslexia, myths explode. You may have heard, for example, that it's all about flipping letters and writing them backward. Wrong. Practically all children make mirror copies of letters as they learn to write, although dyslexics do it more. You may believe that more boys than girls are dyslexic. Wrong again. Boys are just more likely to get noticed because they often vent their frustration in unruly behavior. You may think that dyslexia can be outgrown.

This is perhaps the most damaging myth, because it leads parents to delay seeking the extra instruction needed to keep their children from falling further behind. If children are diagnosed late they can still learn to read, but it will never be easy. "If you identify after 9 it takes twice as long to remediate," says Shirley Cramer, chief executive of Britain's Dyslexia Institute.

	The German state school systems have only recently recognized dyslexia as a handicap — Bavaria introduced relief measures in 1999

This is not to say that dyslexics can't succeed despite their disability. In fact, dyslexics are overrepresented in the top ranks of artists, scientists and business executives. Perhaps because their brains are wired differently, dyslexics are often skilled problem solvers, coming at solutions from novel or surprising angles and making conceptual leaps that leave tunnel-visioned, step-by-step sequential thinkers in the dust. They talk about being able to see things in 3-D Technicolor or as a multidimensional chess game. It may also be that their early struggle with reading better prepares them for dealing with adversity in a volatile, fast-changing world.

But that struggle can cut both ways. German researchers who followed a group of dyslexics for 17 years found that they showed more psychopathological symptoms (including self-harm) and were more likely to be unemployed. By age 18, a quarter had committed a punishable offense. The study concluded that "the presence of dyslexia at age 8 has an unfavorable prognosis regarding school performance, professional life and mental development." According to Peer, there is "a significant number [of dyslexics] in the penal system," and some dyslexics — including the very young — suffer depression and suicidal thoughts. Unless corrective action is taken, children's self-confidence often crumbles as they see other students progressing. "Children of 6 to 8 really move fast in reading," says Cramer. But bright dyslexic kids suddenly fall behind, and wonder what's wrong with them. "Then you get the tummy aches — 'I don't want to go to school today.'" Even worse, their peers may taunt or ostracize them — a situation that Sean Slattery's mother Judy remembers all too well. "Sean cried for four hours every day after kindergarten," she says. "He was so unhappy."

To be sure, researchers still don't understand everything there is to know about learning disabilities. Dyslexia, for one, may consist of several subtypes. "For a long time, people were simply diagnosed as 'dyslexic,' but that's too coarse a classification," says Reinhard Werth of the Institute for Social Pediatrics and Youth Medicine at Munich's Ludwig-Maximilian University, who has developed a computer program to help children to read. But whatever the exact nature of the deficit, the search for answers begins with the written word.

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