health

Dyslexia is thought to affect about five out of every 100 school-age children
in the United States, with another 5–10 percent having difficulty
with reading. Some researchers think that as many as 20 percent of
American adults have some of the symptoms of dyslexia, including slow
or inaccurate reading, problems with spelling and writing, or mixing up
words that sound similar.
At one time it was thought that boys were more likely to be dyslexic
than girls; however, researchers now think that boys and girls are equally
likely to have the disorder.


The Fonz Becomes a Writer


Henry Winkler (1945–), the actor who played the
Fonz in the long-running television show Happy
Days, had a miserable childhood because of
undiagnosed dyslexia. He recalls that lunch was
the only subject he was good at doing. Even his
parents thought he was dumb and lazy. Winkler
eventually finished his education, including a
master’s degree from the Yale School of Drama,
and went on to become a well-regarded actor but
still has painful memories of his early years. He was
finally diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of thirtyone,
when his stepson was also diagnosed with
the disorder.
Winkler decided to make a career change and
help children who have trouble with language
skills. He has produced a series of books together
with a writer named Lin Oliver about a boy
named Hank Zipzer, “The World’s Greatest
Underachiever.” The books follow Hank’s
adventures at Winkler’s old school, P.S. 87 in
New York City. Winkler told an interviewer in
2007 that he tries to make the books as goodhumored
as possible to encourage young readers.
He was delighted by a letter he received recently
from a boy in Montana who said, “I laughed so
hard, my funny bone fell out of my body.”