Roughly one in five children has dyslexia. Most of them go undiagnosed for years — sometimes never. Their parents are told to wait and see. Their teachers say they’ll grow out of it. They don’t.

In this first episode of the Dyslexia 101 Podcast, host Brad Moore sits down with Dr. David P. Hurford — founder of the Center for READing at Pittsburg State University and recipient of the 2026 IDA Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award — to answer the question every concerned parent eventually asks: what actually is dyslexia?

Dr. Hurford has spent four decades studying how children learn to read and what happens when that process breaks down. He explains what dyslexia is and isn’t, why it has nothing to do with intelligence, and why the most common myths about it (letter reversals, “lazy” kids, kids who’ll catch up on their own) keep parents from getting the right help at the right time.

If you’ve been worried about your child’s reading and don’t know where to start, this episode is the foundation. It’s the conversation we wish every parent could have before the school year ends.

The Dyslexia 101 Podcast is for parents and educators who want evidence-based answers about dyslexia — and what to do about it. New episodes every other week.

Learn more at dyslexia101.com.