ディスレクシア（読字障害）は交差言語的研究において複数の言語で確認されている学習障害の一種です。19世紀末に報告されて以来、その定義や診断のプロセスには多くの議論がありましたが、本書ではこの障害を抱える人の声も交え、ディスレクシアについて概括します。遺伝的側面や環境要素などの潜在的原因について検討し、一般の人と脳での情報処理の仕方がどう異なるのかを理解するのに用いられた、さまざまな脳のスキャニング法について説明します。そして今日行われている支援や訓練について言及します。
   

• Introduces the exciting research surrounding dyslexia today, including analysis of the potential causes of dyslexia
• Discusses the neuroscience of dyslexia, and what we have learned about how it works through techniques such as brain scanning
• Weighs up the various strategies and interventions which can help people with dyslexia today, sifting the fact from the fiction
• Provides a brief history of dyslexia since its recognition in 1896
• Draws on cross-linguistic studies to look at dyslexia in various different languages

　　
Since dyslexia was first described in the British Medical Journal in 1896, there has been debate about the definitions and diagnostic procedures used, with some casting doubt on its very existence. However, there is now a considerable body of research regarding the nature and characteristics of this relatively common learning disorder. The contemporary view of dyslexia has emerged from a century of research in medicine, psychology and more recently neuroscience, and we now understand enough about this learning disorder to guide policy and practice.
　　
This Very Short Introduction provides an accessible overview of this exciting field of research, beginning with its history, and drawing on testimony from people living with dyslexia. Considering the potential causes of dyslexia, and looking at both genetic and environment factors, Margaret Snowling shows how cross-linguistic studies have documented the prevalence of dyslexia in different languages. Discussing the various brain scanning techniques that have been used to find out if the brains of people with dyslexia differ in structure or function from those of typical readers, Snowling moves on to weigh up various strategies and interventions which can help people living with dyslexia today.