Dyslexia and Aspergers, Very Similar?

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So something I've been wondering about for a while now if Dyslexia. I seem to have a lot of the symptoms, but I am sure that I can't possibly have it because I love to read and write. I feel like a few of the symptoms could be similar to Aspergers, but not all of them. So I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction of what this might sound like? (maybe it all can be related to aspergers too, I don't know.)

-Trouble with right and left. Still have so much trouble with this and I am 24. If I have a couple of second to figure it out I can, but if I have to do it quickly, for instance in some kind of sequence, I can't do it. (I -still- have to tell myself "p and b are first in line" to tell a 'b' from a 'd' and a 'p' from a 'q' when writing haha!)
-Which brings me to sequences. I suck at them. And I can't remember them for the life of me, especially when they are direction related. Also number related. If you showed me a short number sequence, I would not be able to repeat it back immediately after you take it away.
-Can't remember how to spell things, can't remember math facts, these are all like sequences too I guess.
-constantly switching numbers around. Just the other day I got a math problem wrong because I wrote "2580" instead of "5280". But when I am looking at information like that, especially a lot of it all at once, my brain gets so foggy.
-Always getting lost when driving (don't know if that really counts though)
-the site a read mentioned having trouble putting thoughts into words. This is a huge problem for me, I can be visualizing the image of what I want to say, and be thinking really hard about saying it, even to the point of closing my eyes and speaking slowly just to get it out right, and I -still- get it wrong! For example, while doing my facilitation for my Teaching PE class, I told the class they needed to spell out the word "Phone", then proceeded to spell it out for them, "F-o-n-e" I was trying REALLY hard to say it right as I was envisioning it in my head, and I even thought I said it right, but they were all like, "f"?
-cant remember names or dates. Still have trouble with what order the months go in, and I will still miss a couple if I try to say them in order (so that I can figure out what next month will be!). Don't even get me started on what number the month is, that will take me a lot of work to figure out!
-It mentioned memorizing books as a child instead of reading them. While I've loved to read since I was very young, even babbling on in baby-speak pretending to read, when I got to kindergarten, I would just memorize what everyone said before me, so when it came to my turn to read the page, I would just recite it.

There's more I'm sure but I think this is getting long. I'm just kind of confused because I feel like I can't possibly by Dyslexic, I LOVE reading, and I love to write. I was more leaning towards having Aspergers than anything else, but I don't know if this could be related to that. I'm not looking for a diagnosis of course, just looking to see if others have experienced the same things and what their findings on the matter have been.

I am just so tired of feeling so dumb and slow all the time though.

Left & right still bedevils me. Never could bike or drive a car. I'm 53.

Couldn't read a clock until age 7.

Can't spell or recite alphabet, would usually flip a dictionary the wrong direction to find a word. (Internet has mitigated this problem quite a bit). But eventually learned decent grammar. I'm a published writer.

Love to read as long as it's poetry or non-fiction.

Call the above dyslexia symptoms.

AS seems to be a deeper set (which may or may not include above).

That so sounds like me! haha. Thank goodness for clocks that have the number clearly written, and online dictionaries!

By deeper set do you mean that these things seem to be only a small portion of the set of Aspergers symptoms?

I have both aspergers and (phonic) dyslexia. I can read very well but have trouble pronouncing words

I don't think AS and dyslexia are similar. Of course, I'm sure they can occur together and maybe that's the case for you, but I'd have thought that Aspies would be better than average with numbers and sequences, if anything. I personally don't have trouble with any of the things you mentioned.

No, there might be a bit of symptom overlap, but AFAIK, AS is more likely to show up as hyper-lexical or hyper-numeric, - i.e. skilled and passionate about words, or numbers.

I tend to "hate" numbers and can't remember them easily, and I even forget the names of women while they're flirting with me , but I wouldn't call any of that dyslexic. I think the names thing is the result of Aspie social ineptitude, anxiety and distraction........the conversation is so profound to me that trivia like knowing each other's names seems meaningless at the time. The numbers thing is probably just common sense for somebody who doesn't have a passion for them........they're just too cold to make any impression on me, and I can usually write them down if it's important to remember them. I do that thing where I get some of the digits or characters reversed, but only when I type, never when I write, so I think it's like I read once, that people make mistakes when using a keyboard that they wouldn't make when using pencil and paper.

I've have both Dyslexia as well as AS. and some say i also have the math version of Dyslexia. Some psychologist I spoke with said that when you have AS the change you have Dyslexia is greater but don't know if its true and yes i also have problems whit left and right and still and read a normal clock only a digital one

I can't really comment generally, but have you considered Dyscalculia too? That's like dyslexia with numbers and includes many of the things you describe struck me as easily fitting into this syndrome as well as Aspergers or Dyslexia. A rough list of Dyscalculia symptoms from Wikipedia below, but there's a lot more to it if you read case studies etc.

-Frequent difficulties with arithmetic
-Difficulty with everyday tasks like reading analog clocks
-Inability to comprehend financial planning or budgeting, sometimes even at a basic level; for example, estimating the cost of the items in a shopping basket or balancing a checkbook
-Difficulty with multiplication-tables, and subtraction-tables, addition tables, division tables, mental arithmetic, etc.
-Difficulty with conceptualizing time and judging the passing of time. May be chronically late or early
-Particularly problems with differentiating between left and right
-Inability to visualize mentally
-Difficulty reading musical notation
-Might do exceptionally well in a writing-related field — authors and journalists are more likely than average to have the disorder[dubious – discuss][citation needed]
-Difficulty navigating or mentally "turning" the map to face the current direction rather than the common North=Top usage
-Having particular difficulty mentally estimating the measurement of an object or distance (e.g., whether something is 10 or 20 feet (3 or 6 meters) away).
-Often unable to grasp and remember mathematical concepts, rules, formulae, and sequences
-Inability to concentrate on mentally intensive tasks
-Low latent inhibition, i.e., over-sensitivity to noise, smell, light and the inability to tune out, filtering unwanted information or impressions. Might have a well-developed sense of imagination due to this (possibly as cognitive compensation to mathematical-numeric deficits)
-Mistaken recollection of names. Poor name/face retrieval. May substitute names beginning with same letter.[9]

Dyslexics can love to read and write.

http://dyslexicbrian.com/things-of-inte ... and-write/

I'm 30 now and still can't tell my left from my right. I wear my watch on my right hand and have to flex my wrist to know. And I can't ride a bike or drive a stick shift for 2 different reasons. I can't balance well enough to ride a bike and I can't get the sequence right to drive a standard shift even though both my husband and my dad have tried to teach me. I can't remember numbers at all, but can remember the pattern on a phone keypad. I couldn't tell you my own phone number but could tell you it is center-left-center-up. As far as names, I can remember names better than anything but can't put them to a face. I can recognize names of patients I had 2 or 3 years ago but won't recognize them on sight until they say their names. And I can say one thing and mean another very easily. People look at us weird in a restaurant when I order a sprite and my husband says "She means water" but he's not being controlling, he just knows I got confused. I never drink any kind of soda with food, but I still say it sometimes, even thinking water and don't realize I said it. I also say "we" sometimes when I mean I, which confuses people lol. It's good to know that other people do that too sometimes.

Can relate to left and right but finally learned it due to a visible consequence of an accident--disfigured index finger = right.

Watches with analog display were always a problem but that's what digital display is for. Thus i could practically bypass the problem.

Switching or confusing numbers is still relevant and causing problems especially at work. Worst job in this regard was as warehouseman--much-digit part numbers were almost impossible to handle.

I have Asperger's, as I have just about every symptom. As for Dyslexia being a possible comorbid--don't know.

- Have a little handedness trouble, but most likely because I am a lefty with some ambi tendencies. That is reason enough to get confused at times.

- Took longer than usual to learn to ride a two wheel bike, and a little longer to learn to tie shoes.

- Do sometimes scramble letters and numbers, but not too much, considering how much I read.--And I learned to read at a normal age, but quickly surged ahead of my grade level, so I have always been a really good reader. I am a good speller, and I was also the only one in my class who liked dictionary assignments, and still like looking words up now when I am in my early 50s. I will look up a word I went into the book to look for, and once I have finished will continue checking out more words just for fun. Oh no! I am a word addict!

- I rarely get lost, as I have a really good sense of direction. Even when I have gotten lost, I was usually able to get lost on my own, but didn't mind asking for directions if I did need help. My mother had a terrible sense of direction, though, and eventually I became her driver when she gave up driving.

- I don't recall any problems learning to read clocks, either analog or digital.

- I am usually fine with basic math, but occasionally my mind throws a boner, and I get confused over something that should be simple. I am not good at higher maths, but don't need any of that, so that's not a big deal.

- I do sometimes have trouble putting thoughts into words. I also am slower at mental inputting and outputting, but that is part of my Asperger's. The big problem with this is that I am on a slower time track than most people because of this problem.

- I do have the sensitivities issue. I am somewhat sensitive to loud noises and certain types of noise, to bright and/or flashing lights, and I have some skin sensitivity issues. Although I have a poor sense of smell, there are some things I can smell, and a few of them are unpleasant, including bananas and certain flowers. However, I can't smell skunk--and yes, I have had a number of chances to smell them. Besides road killed ones, one of the dogs I used to have had not one, but TWO different run-ins with them. I was the only one in the family who could stand to be with him until he had had a tomato bath.

Some of this stuff is fairly normal, like occasionally scrambling numbers and letters. My handedness confusion is undoubtedly due to be somewhat ambi, and some of the rest is probably part of my Asperger's, so I don't know what if any of this stuff may actually be Dyslexia related in my case.

I've been researching this a lot lately. it wasn't totally clear to me at first because the symptom criteria i was reading was aimed towards identifying if another person is dyslexic. however after reading many accounts of people describing thier experience of being a dyslexic person and how their perception worked i could really identify. it seems to be widely excepted to be a part or extension of the autistic spectrum. its just a hard thing to define i guess, but people clearly exhibit signs of both. and i guess i'm not totally sure about this but it kind of became apparent to me anyway that there are quite a few people that have aspergers and don't seem to exhibit signs of dyslexia.

i was diagnosed with aspergers when i was pretty young, and the psychologist that i saw for many years was dyslexic him self. though i'm quite sure that i am dyslexic i may have not been given the diagnosis because my reading comprehension was high, or maybe they didn't see it as necessary to stack a bunch of diagnosis on some one. the later is more likely the case i think because when i've talked to people who work as psychologists they told me that they just give you one diagnosis that fits well so you can then qualify for help. i think they do this because the definition according to the dsm is all about exhibited symptoms and its so vage it becomes a little meaningless especial because every one under these broad definitions is so different anyway.

anyways it would appear to me that you are exhibiting signs of dyslexia. i think not being able to remember sequenses and not being a good speller point to it. i couldn't spell to save my life and even though i know how to spell tomorrow i always spell it wrong and the order of months of the year forget about it. i enjoy reading to but only if its a subject that i'm interested enough in that i can afford to expend the energy to read it.i like writing to it just take a bit longer cause i have to proof read it a few times (thank god for spell check!! !). i guess it doesn't matter as much at my age anyway except that it can shed a little light on perception and the way my brain processes things.

quick answer:

yes you can have dyslexia - even if you can spell, even if you love reading and writing


I am obsessed with reading and I've always been writing - have studied most of my adult life - and I'm over 40 ..

if you can get assessed if there is anything bothering you with your writing skills - procrastinating with writing essays, or
having problems sequencing your thoughts on the page etc...

it could be a sign that you have a specific kind of dyslexia -- I thought as I can spell and do grammar, then there
was no way that I would ever be diagnosed ... and I was wrong - it took me years to find this out !

all the best and do get some support for your assessment or concerns with dyslexia - it can be pretty stressful finding it out- it gets a lot better as you go but initially it could be tricky,