Dr. Hugh Catts journeyed overseas to make a keynote address at the Danish Dyslexia Association meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, on “Revisiting the Definition of Dyslexia.” Catts is a Research Associate at the School of Communication and Science Disorders, having over four decades of experience in dyslexia research.

Initially, Catts was interested in studying dyslexia because of his own personal experience with difficulties learning how to read and his family’s history of dyslexia.

Catts has taken his work to a larger scale by contributing to the International Dyslexia Association’s (IDA) definition of dyslexia. Catts is a Co–Chair of the IDA Steering Committee that recently revised the current definition. The process began with a survey of stakeholders in the field of dyslexia. Catts and the other members of the Steering Committee met in Houston in April 2025 to evaluate survey results and develop a draft of the revised definition. Following public comment, including over 2,000 responses, the definition was finalized and presented at the annual meeting of the International Dyslexia Association on October 24.

The definition was revised to include a more global perspective and to recognize its multifactorial causal basis. The importance of early identification and intervention to reduce literacy problems and secondary consequences was included.

While in Copenhagen, he met with colleagues to discuss updating their national definition.

Catts describes the importance of having these international meetings to discuss issues related to dyslexia. Catts is the past president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, an international academic association, and has been attending conferences around the world for 35 years.

“It’s really useful because you get to see how dyslexia impacts different people with different languages and writing systems,” Catts said. “It helps us understand the condition better and how to address it.