Dyslexia is the most common of Learning Disabilities and has a strong genetic basis.
People believed Dyslexia was caused by visual perception problems, however now it is known that this disorder is characterized as a language processing issue at the phoneme level.
There is much confusion among the general public, on what the term “Dyslexia” actually refers to. Most people believe that Dyslexia refers to the reversing of letters or words or the shimmering and dancing of words on a page. Research now shows that letter and word reversals are common among early average and dyslexic readers alike, and in itself, word reversals may or may not indicate a reading problem.
Causes of Dyslexia?
The exact causes of dyslexia are still not completely clear, but anatomical and brain imagery studies show differences in the way the brain of a person with dyslexia develops and functions. It was discovered over 125 years ago. In 1887, a German ophthalmologist, Rudolph Berlin was the first to use the word “Dyslexia” which referred to “difficulty with words”.
Further Reading:
The History of Dyslexia – Learn historical facts about dyslexia
Dyslexia is not due to either lack of intelligence or desire to learn; with appropriate teaching methods, students with dyslexia can learn to be successful such as Richard Bronson.
Now, it is known that Dyslexia is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with “fluent word recognition” and problems with decoding. Decoding refers to the ability to identify new words using letter-sound relationships within sentence context. There appears to be a deficit in the phonological component of language. The teacher and/or parent may notice that the child may not be able to read as many words as classmates by sight (fluent word recognition) and in addition, the child may guess or attempt to sound out words. Word recognition is the main component of normal reading. As a child’s reading skills improve, they eventually need to be able to recognize a word without the benefit of adjacent words for contextual help.
Spelling problems are usually present as well. Spelling ability also has a genetic component to it as Dyslexia does. Spelling, in particular, can be difficult for people with Dyslexia. Analyzing phonemes (individual sounds in words) can be problematic for children with Dyslexia. If Dyslexia is suspected, the teacher can administer a phoneme awareness and letter awareness test. These tests can help to predict future spelling issues. Dyslexia does not only affect the spelling, but can impact writing and math as well.
Dyslexic children frequently struggle in their everyday life. They can suffer from insecurities arising from the process of reading and can be greatly affected by social stigmas that equate reading issues with low intelligence. Furthermore, those with Dyslexia can be easily distracted/annoyed by noises and other events in their environment. Frustration levels can be high due to the above issues.
If you noticed your child showing similar symptoms, take the test below to determine if your child may have a condition that requires further action.
Dyslexia Symptoms in Children
Does your child show these dyslexia related symptoms? If you answer positively on questions below, they might be suffering from dyslexia and you might need to go to a dyslexia specialist for further testing. Remember, an accurate diagnosis can only be made through clinical evaluation.
Does your child has any of these Dyslexia Symptoms:
- Does your child have trouble recognizing rhyming words?
- Does your child have difficulty taking away the beginning sound from a word?
- Does your child have difficulty reading unfamiliar words and often guesses at them?
- Does your child resist writing tasks?
- Does your child have trouble with punctuation and capitalization?
- Does your child have messy handwriting?
- Does your child make frequent spelling errors and sometimes cannot recognize common sight words?
- Does your child not like to read for fun?
- Does your child struggle to understand what he or she has read and reads slowly?
- Does your child have issues remembering details from passages read the day before?
- Does your child have difficulty with word problems in math?
- Does your child mispronounce certain words with more than one syllable?
- Does your child pause, repeats or makes frequent mistakes when reading aloud?
- Does your child become frustrated or angry when doing schoolwork?
The above list may assist you in identifying if your child has an educational risk and may aid you in deciding if further professional testing is required.
We do know that 50 percent of students who receive Special Education services are identified with dyslexia. We also know that individuals with dyslexia, experience academic difficulties, motivational issues, higher levels of frustration and that all these issues can eventually lead to a lower level of occupation satisfaction.
Dyslexia Facts:
- About 15% of the student population suffers from dyslexia unfortunately often not getting detected early.
- Dyslexia is the most common learning disability. Individuals with this medical condition have difficulty in the areas of language processing.
- 1 in 5 people suffers from dyslexia.
- Dyslexia does not reflect an overall defect in language, but a localized weakness within the phonological module of the brain.
- Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability.
- Dyslexics often have dysgraphia and dyscalculia.
- Multisensory cognitive enhancement programs and working on the weak cognitive skills.
- Early intervention leads to increased performance and strengthening a child’s performance in reading, writing math and, helps increase general learning ability.
- Dyslexia includes dysgraphia and dyscalculia.
- Dyslexia can also affect a person’s self-image.
- Dyslexia affects individuals throughout their lives, however, with appropriate teaching and with the right intervention they can be successful (Famous people with dyslexia)
Dyslexia Symptoms:
- Difficulties in language skills, reading, spelling, writing, and pronouncing words.
- Problems with identifying the separate speech sound within a word and/or learning how letters represent those sounds especially in vowels. The most common manifestation is the difficulty in recognizing words.
- Poor oral reading characterized by the omission reversal of sounds, letters, syllables of words is very common.
- Dyslexics often have spelling and reading deficits.
- Often they have a lack of short-term auditory and visual memory.
- The notion of the reversal of words is wrong.
- They have difficulties often interpreting between right and left.
Assistive Technology:
AT provides the tools that offer support and allows independence for dyslexic students.
Often a dyslexic student struggles with reading, writing, spelling, and notetaking. Assistive technology tools help by utilizing spell checks, grammar checks and vocabulary building like word prediction tools.
Some inexpensive apps offer tools to support note-taking that dyslexic students often struggle with.
Students can download from libraries textbooks in audiobooks or digital books, allowing a struggling reader to complete their reading assignments and often those libraries are free. (Book Resources).
Browse Assistive Technology tools organized by categories. LDRFA.ORG offers grants for free assistive technology tools to dyslexic students. To apply for LDRFA Award program, click here.
Conclusion
If you have concerns about your child’s performance in school and they show some of the symptoms listed here, consider taking action by requesting a meeting with the teacher to discuss the possibility of beginning the RTI (Response to Intervention) process. RTI is not a special education program, however, it can help the teacher to determine if special education services will be needed.
Help is available and parents can become involved by requesting that the school evaluates the child. Know your rights and become familiar with the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” (IDEA). Know Your Rights.
***** The key to success is an early intervention! *****
LDRFA.ORG offers grants for free assistive technology tools to students with learning disabilities and dyslexia.