A condition in which reading ability is significantly below the norm in relation to chronological age and overall intellectual potential.

Also referred to as reading disability, reading difficulty, and dyslexia, developmental reading disorder is the most commonly diagnosed learning disability in the United States. Estimates of its prevalence vary widely, ranging from 4% of children (given by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) to 20%, the figure given by a 1995 study directed by Sally E. Shaywitz of Yale University. (According to the latter figure, some 10 million children in the United States have some form of reading disability.) Reading disabilities are diagnosed up to five times more frequently in boys than girls, although some sources claim that this figure is misleading because boys are more likely to be screened for learning disabilities due to their higher incidence of disruptive behavior, which draws the attention of...