"The Paradox of Stealth Dyslexia" by Melinda Karshner on Substack

 

You may read the Substack post here. LINK

The article explores stealth dyslexia in twice-exceptional (2e) children — kids who are both highly gifted and dyslexic. Their intelligence allows them to compensate so effectively that their reading difficulties are often hidden, making them appear “fine” on most classroom measures.

 

Key Points: Personal experience: The author, a veteran teacher trained in gifted education and Orton-Gillingham, shares how her own young daughter showed clear gifted traits (advanced memory, verbal precision) alongside early dyslexia signs (inability to rhyme or identify letter sounds). Despite her expertise, advocating for her child in school proved far harder than expected.

What stealth dyslexia looks like: These students excel in comprehension and discussion but hide serious decoding weaknesses. Tell-tale signs include:

Inconsistent, bizarre spelling

Writing that is far simpler than their sophisticated spoken language

Resistance to reading aloud or decoding words in isolation

 

The hidden cost: Compensation drains enormous cognitive energy. The child builds elaborate strategies to mask struggles, leading to exhaustion, anxiety, and physical symptoms, while schools often see them as unmotivated or “doing fine.”

Research backing: Gifted dyslexic children show the same core phonological deficits as other dyslexics, but their strong verbal memory, vocabulary, and reasoning partially mask the problem. Standard tests (like iReady) frequently miss it. They rarely qualify for proper gifted or special education supports because they don’t fit neat categories.

Core problem: Schools tend to view students in binary terms (gifted or disabled). Twice-exceptional kids need both enrichment for their strengths and intensive Tier 3 dyslexia intervention. Without it, their talents are neglected and their needs go unmet.

 

Main takeaway: A child can be the most insightful thinker in the room and still struggle to decode words. Parents and teachers must “refuse to be fooled” by surface performance and advocate for approaches that honor the whole child — both gifted and dyslexic — instead of forcing a choice between the two.

I wrote two posts on her previous articles you may read HERE and HERE.

In the article above she said:

‘I was a veteran teacher. I knew what to look for. I was certain I had all the knowledge and skills to navigate this easily.’

 I commented as follows:

30 years of doing the same thing over and over does not make you a knowledgeable person.

What you should do is have the decency to listen to experienced people who know why many smart kids can’t read.

 

What the author describes are exactly what I saw in my over 80 dyslexic students I taught since 2004. I taught these students on a one-on-one basis to learn why such intelligent kids could not read in English but could read in Malay and Pinyin.

Melinda Kashner has an ego and refuses to discuss this matter. She prefers to be the proverbial frog in the well.