A proneness to becoming distracted and an inability to filter out irrelevant information could be one of the root causes of dyslexia, according to a new study.

The investigation by a group of university researchers suggested that children who cannot properly distinguish data that can be ignored from important information could have problems identifying letters and word sounds.
Anne Sperling of the National Institute of Mental Health in the US and co-author of the study said that deep-lying problems, which affect all areas of perception, could be at the root of dyslexia.
"It's harder to make a [language] task automatic when your categories are fuzzier than they ought to be to begin with," Ms Sperling added.
"In terms of treatment, the results suggest that programs that foster the development of sharper perceptual categories for letters and letter sounds might be a good way to supplement existing dyslexia interventions."
One of the possible treatment strategies suggested by the study was for children to be taught and trained under noisy conditions to help strengthen their mental templates and categories for recognising incoming information.
It is currently estimated that between five and 15 per cent of children are affected by dyslexia.