Is Dyslexia Related to Intelligence?
Struggling to read says nothing about how smart your child is. The International Dyslexia Association's 2025 definition sets no bar for how bright a child has to be. The IDA's 2002 definition said the trouble was often unexpected, given a child's other abilities. The 2025 definition dropped that. We hold no study showing that dyslexia itself brings strengths.
What does intelligence have to do with dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a name for a pattern of trouble reading words, spelling, or both. Struggling to read says nothing about how smart your child is.
The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) wrote a new definition in 2025. The 2002 definition said the trouble was "often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities". The 2025 definition dropped that phrase. Catts and colleagues (2026) wrote the paper on the revision. They give the reason. Methods built on a gap between IQ and reading "lack predictive validity". That means they do not predict well.
The 2025 definition says nothing about how bright a child is. On ability, it only dropped the old phrase. There is no new sentence that sets reading against intelligence.
To us, a bright child who finds reading hard is not a contradiction. In our view, being bright is no reason to stop looking at the reading.
We hold no study showing that dyslexia itself brings strengths. So we hold no study showing children with dyslexia are more creative. Children who find reading hard are not a type. Their strengths are their own. Find your child's, rather than assuming a list.
Our page on dyslexia myths has more.
Common questions from parents
Is dyslexia related to intelligence?
Struggling to read says nothing about how smart your child is. The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) wrote a new definition in 2025. The 2002 definition said the trouble was "often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities". The 2025 definition dropped that phrase. Catts and colleagues (2026) wrote the paper on the revision. They give the reason. Methods built on a gap between IQ and reading "lack predictive validity". That means they do not predict well. On ability, the 2025 definition only dropped the old phrase.
Can a child with a high IQ have dyslexia?
In our view, yes. The International Dyslexia Association's 2025 definition sets no bar for how bright a child has to be. By Catts and colleagues' account (2026), nothing beyond the reading and spelling trouble reliably identifies dyslexia in one child. To us, a bright child who finds reading hard is not a contradiction. In our view, the next step is the same however bright your child is. That step is to work out which job of reading is going wrong. The exception is a skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
Are children with dyslexia more creative?
We hold no study showing that dyslexia itself brings strengths. So we hold no study showing children with dyslexia are more creative. Children who find reading hard are not a type. Their strengths are their own. Find your child's, rather than assuming a list.
Is dyslexia a sign of intelligence?
Struggling to read says nothing about how smart your child is. In our view, dyslexia is not a sign of high intelligence. We hold no study showing that dyslexia itself brings strengths. To us, a bright child who finds reading hard is not a contradiction.