About Dyslexia

If your child is having trouble learning to read and write, or seems to become confused about concepts others appear to find fairly simple, you might think about having the child evaluated for dyslexia.

Although dyslexia is the most prevalent known learning disability, parents and educators sometimes still fail to recognize it as the child becomes further and further behind in their studies. They may first suspect vision problems or insufficient intelligence; however, what the child is experiencing is impairment in understanding spoken language and in interpreting images between the brain and the words on a page. Another term used for dyslexia is "specific reading disability."

It is thought that dyslexia is caused by a slight defect in the part of the brain connected to language interpretation. It quite often is an inherited trait.

Dyslexia should not be ignored. If not dealt with, this condition can lead to poor self-esteem, problems in behavior, frustration that leads to hostility and aggression, and an inability for the individual to relate socially or adapt to the world in general.

Symptoms

Some preschool signs of dyslexia might be difficulty in rhyming, beginning to talk later than most children, or being slow to add new words to the vocabulary.

Once the child is in school, the dyslexia will present itself in multiple ways. He will be slower to learn how to read. There will be letters and words he can't differentiate from each other. He may not be able to take in the instructions given by the teacher, in particular if they are given in a spoken list. The child may seem to have a poor memory and need directions to be repeated often while trying to complete a task.

Usually spelling will be a problem for the dyslexic child, and some letters or short words may be written backwards. In children under eight backwards letter writing is not uncommon and does not necessarily indicate dyslexia. However, if this continues past eight years of age, taken along with other symptoms, dyslexia should be suspected.

Note that almost all children have the ability to read by kindergarten or first grade. If reading is still very difficult past that stage, the possibility of dyslexia should be considered and suggested to the child's doctor.

Diagnosis

An accurate diagnosis of dyslexia requires not only cognitive testing, but hearing, vision, and neurological tests should be performed to rule out other possibilities. Family history will be taken, the child's basic reading and writing ability will be tested, and a psychological evaluation may be done.

Treating dyslexia

Thus far, there has been no medical breakthrough to treat the brain malfunction which causes dyslexia. Instead, it is approached through multisensory techniques emphasizing phonics, reading aloud, recognizing basic word sounds, and language comprehension. This is often done with the aid of recordings, the sense of touch -- for example, the child tracing the letters as he reads - and other techniques which increase concentration and focus. Tutoring from a reading specialist can assist the dyslexic child greatly.

Although dyslexia is a condition that is never "cured," with proper professional help, a dyslexic child can complete school and go on to a successful, well-adjusted life.

Sources:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dyslexia/DS00224

http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/learning_problem/dyslexia.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/dyslexia2.shtml