Auditory dyslexia, also known as dysphonetic dyslexia, is a disorder that affects a person's ability to distinguish individual letter sounds within words.  Usually there is nothing wrong with the person's hearing, but the brain is unable to correctly process the sounds it receives.  While visual dyslexics can have trouble identifying written letters, auditory dyslexics have the same kind of problems hearing letter sounds.  Some of the symptoms are:

• Difficulty understanding verbal instruction or directions
• Slow to respond in conversations
• Says "Huh" or "What" a lot
• Speech problems. Confusing some word sounds like "R" and "L" sounds
• Need for information to be repeated
• Slow to learn to speak
• A very poor speller

The most prominent symptoms in auditory dyslexia are difficulty remembering letter sounds, identifying individual sounds in words and combining these sounds into words.  Vowel sounds may particularly be troublesome, since each vowel can have several sounds.

It is important to note that these symptoms can also be caused by hearing problems or other issues and not necessarily by dyslexia.  If someone is exhibiting any of these symptoms, an important first step is to have their hearing tested.  There is also some evidence that chronic ear infections in a child's first two years may be linked to auditory dyslexia.  As with any indication of dyslexia, it is important to have an evaluation done by a competent team of professionals to confirm a diagnosis.  While there are online tests available, they should only be used to help decide on professional testing.

Teachers can be an important resource when diagnosing dyslexia.  They often have a better opportunity to observe a child as they are trying to learn.  A discussion with a child's teachers should be one of the first steps taken when you are trying to determine if a child has a problem.  Child psychologists and teachers who specialize in teaching the learning disabled are other excellent choices to include in the discussion during the diagnostic stage.  These professionals can be found through contact with international, national and state organizations for dyslexia or learning disabilities.  They can also provide testing and other resources and tools for dealing with dyslexia.  Often, online forums can be a good place to discover where others found help.  They can also provide support for both you and the person suffering from dyslexia.

While auditory dyslexia is less common than other forms of dyslexia, it is still a serious disorder.  As with all forms of dyslexia, there are many tools and teaching methods that can be used to cope with this disability.  While there is no cure, people who live with dyslexia every day should investigate and pursue those options.