Top 10 Is Dyslexia Hereditary in Your Family? Parent Answers

I believe dyslexia is hereditary that it runs in my family, I have it and now so does my little girl. I believe she got dyslexia from me.

At school I struggled to learn and focus at school. When I had my own child I noticed she too struggled to learn at school. Now she get special SEN help at school for dyslexia.

I asked parents on my Facebook group about their experiences. To help you I turned these true comments into the blog post below. Names have been removed to protect privacy.

Is dyslexia genetic?

“Absolutely genetic 100%”. Real Comment
“Yes, it's genetic”.
“It’s definitely genetic for us. My father-in-law, husband and son all have the same thing. I do not think it is always genetic but certainly can be.”

Research has shown: Dyslexia is a genetic disorder

There is a 50% chance that a child will have dyslexia if 1 x parent does.
There is a 75% chance that a child will have dyslexia if both parents do.

Is dyslexia hereditary?

"There are a lot of suspected cases (in my family), but no one is officially diagnosed beyond my kids. Just a lot of people that struggled to learn to read." Real Comment‍
"The oldest is 90 years old. He’s is the classic dyslexia success story. Brilliant, successful entrepreneur that couldn’t learn to read".
“They say if 1 parent has it, the children are more likely to have it. My husband has it and my oldest son. Not sure about my younger 2 yet.”

Research has shown: Dyslexia is not always inherited and can sometimes be caused by other things. Such as exposure to toxins and prenatal complications.

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Does dyslexia run in families?

“Yes it does run in families. My husband has it. Our daughter and granddaughter both have it. I am not sure if anyone had it before my husband”. Real Comment

“It runs in the family. My husband has it. He believes his father had it too”.

“Yes, my son and his dad are identical with their dyslexia!”

Research has shown: Close family members can have dyslexia, siblings of dyslexic children are more likely to have dyslexia.

If 1 x sibling has dyslexia there is a 40% the others will.
If both parents have dyslexia, this increases to 50% chance.

Can dyslexia be inherited?

“Yes. And as we learn more about what it looks like and the amazing parts of it, I’m guessing more than we realized.” Real Comment

“It’s on both sides in my family.”

Research has shown. Whilst there is a genetic link, not all children of dyslexic parents get dyslexia and not all family members will.

Can dyslexia skip a generation?

“No known prior family history, 3:4 kids with it here. Guess it has to start somewhere lol”. Real Comment

“No. No one on either side has dyslexia but my youngest has it. My oldest has dyscalculia.”

“Doesn’t run on either sides. They say it’s hereditary”.

Research has shown: Dyslexia can skip a generation. So a child may get dyslexia from a grandparent, rather than a parent.

“It could be undiagnosed in families. A lot of mild cases are missed as people find coping mechanisms around it. Even in the 80’s it wasn’t well understood or identified”. Real Comment

Who in your family has dyslexia?

“Husband and both kids have dyslexia” Real Comment

“All my husbands siblings may have and their children definitely have it. We are not close.”

“My husband and both kids have dyselxia. My oldest is worse than my youngest though.”

“Yes it does run in families. My husband has it. Our daughter and granddaughter both have it. I am not sure if anyone had it before my husband”.

Research has shown dyslexia is a combination of mum and dad genes.

Yet children are more likely to get dyslexia from mum.
Girls more likely to be dyslexic if their mum has dyslexia.

This could be because the child spend more time early years with mum and copies how they speak and write.

Is it my fault my child is dyslexic?

“As someone who has been in therapy for feeling like some issues my kids have are “my fault”- I would really encourage everyone to never ever try to find “where it came from. Just from a mental health stand point”. Real Comment
“I would think knowing it is genetic would take some of the unnecessary guilt away. They were born with certain genes and doesn’t mean anyone is at fault. I think it’s easier to accept they are who they were born and you just love them.”
“Some of it may be my experiences of “well that didn’t come from OUR family” that I experienced. Either way- I advocate for people to be careful and kind to themself."

Research has shown: Dyslexia makes it hard for people to learn to read, write and spell. Genetics differences in the brain effect how information is processed. This is no ones fault and with the right help dyslexic child can achieve great things. See 100 Famous people with dyslexia".

Helpful Articles - Is Dyslexia Hereditary?

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