A year after scientists discovered a gene whose flaw contributes to dyslexia, scientists have identified two more such genes.
The findings strongly support the idea that many people deemed lazy or stupid because of severe reading problems may have a genetic disorder that interfered with the connections in their brains before birth.
Dr Albert Galaburda of the Harvard Medical School, an authority on developmental disorders who was not involved in the latest discoveries, said the combined findings meant that, for the first time, „we have a link between genes, brain development and a complex behavioural syndrome“.
A genetic test for dyslexia should be available within a year or less, researchers into the condition said. Children in families that have a history of the disorder could be tested before they started learning to read. If children were carrying a genetic risk of dyslexia they could be put in early intervention programs.