The advice to do more phonics leaves out two small words. Both sat in the dyslexia definition used from 2002 to 2025: “typically” and “often.” Maybe someone told you the reading trouble is a sound problem, full stop. If so, you heard less than the whole text. You were right to sense there was more to it.
Common questions from parents
Is dyslexia always a phonological problem?
What changed in the 2025 dyslexia definition?
Should my child stop doing phonics?
Where do I start if more phonics has not helped?
From 2002 to 2025, the dyslexia definition never said every case starts with sounds. Two small words show it. Here's why they matter if more phonics has stalled.
What did the old dyslexia definition actually say?
The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) wrote a definition of dyslexia in 2002. It stood for 23 years. Its second sentence is the one that matters here:
“These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.” (IDA, 2002, as printed in Catts, Haynes and Joshi, 2026)
The phonological part of language is the sounds inside spoken words. Now look at two words in that sentence. “Typically” is not “always.” So the 2002 writers never said every case starts with sounds. “Often” is not “always” either. They never said the reading trouble always seems out of step with the child. Read that way, the old text already left room for other kinds of trouble.
In our view, the short version that reached families dropped both words. It went like this: dyslexia is a sound problem, so do more phonics. We do not blame the people who wrote the definition. They hedged on purpose. The hedges were there the whole time, and the field read past them.
Typically” is not “always.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
What does the 2025 definition say instead?
On October 22, 2025, the IDA adopted a new definition. It was the first change since 2002. It says out loud what the old hedges only hinted:
“Underlying difficulties with phonological and morphological processing are common but not universal.” (IDA, 2025)
Morphological means the word parts that carry meaning. Think of a root and its ending. Not universal means it is not true of every child. It is short, and a useful line to bring to a school meeting. The new definition also names the causes. Genes, the brain and the world around a child all play a part. They act on each other as the child grows. We walk through each of those in what causes dyslexia.
The second hedge is gone too. The 2025 text drops the phrase “often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities.” The paper behind the change, by Catts, Haynes and Joshi (2026), gives the reason. Tests built on a gap between IQ and reading “lack predictive validity.” Put plainly, that gap was a poor guide. A bright child who finds reading hard is not a puzzle to explain away. More on that in is dyslexia related to intelligence?
None of this was new in 2025. Researchers made the case for many causes from the mid-2000s. Pennington (2006) and Snowling (2008) did. So did Pennington and colleagues (2012) and van Bergen and colleagues (2014). The definition changed in 2025. To us, that gap is the real story. The science moved long before the advice families got. One more thing: the definition does not rate any reading program, ours included.
Key takeaways
- The hedge was always there: In 2002 the definition said “typically,” not “always,” about sounds.
- 2025 says it plainly: Sound and word-part trouble is “common but not universal” in dyslexia.
- Keep the phonics: Phonics is needed, but it was never the whole answer.
Does this mean phonics does not matter?
No. Please do not read this as a reason to drop phonics. Phonics is necessary. It was never sufficient. Sounding out is the only route that works on a brand-new word.
Here is what sounds alone cannot do. Take “their” and “there.” They sound the same. No sound skill tells a child which spelling goes where. That takes a second route: knowing the whole word by sight. Niolaki and colleagues (2023) tested 641 children. Whole-word measures predicted spelling accuracy better than sound-based ones. We look at that spelling side in why spelling and writing get stuck. Stuck on sounds? Our post on rhythm, rhyme and reading covers that side.
None of this means your child’s sound skills are fine. It means sounds are not always the whole story. Two questions are worth asking the people who teach your child:
- Is the plan checking more than sounds?
- Are tricky words like “their” and “there” taught as whole words too?
So what if your child has had lots of phonics and is still stuck? Ask what else is going on. Keep the phonics going while you look. When reading is hard, we look at more than reading. The sounds, the page, holding words in mind. The free dyslexia screener asks about all of them. A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. Formal supports like an IEP or 504 plan come only through a professional evaluation. The same goes if you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause.
The hedges were there the whole time, and the field read past them.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
You want your child to read, and to feel capable doing it. You spend more hours beside your child than anyone writing definitions. A system that turns “typically” into “always” hands families one answer, then waits. Our free screener asks what you see at home, across more than sounds. It gives you a picture to take to your child’s teacher. Start with the free dyslexia screener.
See what All Access gives your child
Take the dyslexia test
Is your child struggling in school?
Get your free personalized learning roadmap
You describe what you see at home. We turn it into a plan you start this week.
- Answer 5 short questionnaires about what you already notice, 30–45 minutes at your own kitchen table
- Your child sits no test and gets no score: nothing to schedule, nothing for them to dread
- You do the answering, the AI does the writing, and a person reviews it before it reaches you
- Access all 40+ courses instantly: reading, math, focus, processing and more, with new ones added regularly
Why we use AI, plainly: it writes from a knowledge base our team maintains and audits. We work through it line by line and pull anything the evidence stops supporting. The roadmap you get on Tuesday reflects what we corrected on Monday, and a human still reads it before you do.
Your school district must evaluate your child free of charge if you ask in writing, whatever your income and whatever the outcome (US, 34 CFR 300.111 and 300.301(b)). That route takes time and answers a different question than you do. This one starts today, from what you already know.
Your answers stay yours. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not hand identifiable assessment data to outside AI companies to train their models.
A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too. That is the only route to those supports.
