Dyslexia is something that we might not fully understand. Dyslexia may be something we don't talk enough about. Dyslexia might be more prevalent than we realize.

It's a learning disorder that Children's Dyslexia Center (CDC) of Lancaster can help manage and, in some instances, even overcome.

"What everyone needs to understand is that (dyslexia is) neurological, it runs in families and it affects language processing," said Heather Brown, who's been CDC of Lancaster's director for 10 years. "What it's not is reading backwards. It's about how kids process language, how the brain processes language. Words and sentences look the same, but it's daunting to read. Students work so hard to get through paragraphs that by the end of them they don't remember the meaning. You have to break the reading code. We teach kids how to break that code, so it frees the brain up."

Located at 213 W. Chestnut St., Lancaster, CDC of Lancaster teaches school-age children with dyslexia from Lancaster, Dauphin, York, Chester and Lebanon counties how to read, write and spell. Much of the work is performed in one-on-one settings after school.

CDC of Lancaster also trains adults how to tutor kids with dyslexia. All of its services are provided free of charge.

"(The number of people affected by dyslexia is) a hard number to quantify," said Brown. "It's estimated that between 10% and 20% of the population has some form of dyslexia. I'd say that half of our parents are undiagnosed dyslexics. But only 8% of the population is getting tested."

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the literacy rate among adults in the United States is 79%.

CDC of Lancaster, which employs about a dozen instructors, works with about 20 kids with some form of dyslexia each semester, or about 40 per year.

"They come here after a day of school and push through an hour of hard tutoring," said Brown. "For a lot of our kids, it takes them two or three times longer to read than their peers. When they see how easy it is for their peers, it becomes frustrating. They're on the same level, but they're putting forth so much more effort. But you need to read to succeed. We accomplish our goals by putting one step in front of the other every day. We teach kids how to be confident readers and writers."

"Most of our students are born with dyslexia, so it can be hereditary," Brown continued. "It's neurological. It's how we're born. Somebody can be really good at math and others not as good. It's the same with reading. For some kids, it takes longer to read. There are even different kinds of dyslexia. We teach kids the steps to overcome the challenges with dyslexia."

A regional organization associated with the Scottish Rite of Masons of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, CDC operates more than 40 centers in 13 states in New England, Pennsylvania, Ohio and parts of the Midwest. Since being established in 2002, CDC of Lancaster has helped more than 260 kids with dyslexia, 150 of whom have graduated from its program.

"The science behind this isn't fancy," said Brown. "It's breaking down the reading code, and a lot of it hasn't changed. We want to build confidence in our students so they can succeed. We teach the why behind language to make meaning of it."

CDC of Lancaster performs its work independently and is not associated with any public or private schools.

"It costs money to treat (dyslexia), and it's expensive," said Brown. "The good news is that Pennsylvania is starting to recognize it and they're starting to teach the science of reading. They are requiring reading teachers to take classes in the science of reading."

"I wish we didn't exist," Brown added. "I wish we didn't have to have a Children's Dyslexia Center because schools were teaching their students with dyslexia."

For additional information, go to http://www.childrensdyslexiacenteroflancaster.org.