Dyslexia and the Language Connection

Dyslexia is described as a neurological, hereditary condition in which a child has an impaired or grave difficulty in basic academic functions such as reading and writing. When tested, dyslexic children, on intelligence level testing, will exhibit average to above average intelligence. As parents raising a child who suffers from dyslexia, remaining on the cutting edge of scientific discoveries will ensure the dyslexic child is provided with the most current and most valuable treatment plans available.

Symptoms of a dyslexic child will often present, initially, as an inability to pronounce words correctly. With a basic phonetic deficit, children who are dyslexic often possess the motivation to speak but find great difficulty in processing and receiving language. As a result, many dyslexic children will present as shy and embarrassed to speak in public and may be misdiagnosed or under diagnosed by an educator or pediatrician.

On MRI diagnostic examination, dyslexic children will exhibit larger right hemisphere brain size which may, in part, attribute to the dyslexic child's ability to process spatial reasoning more readily than that of non-dyslexic children. As a result, dyslexic children are, for the most part, gifted in areas of mathematics and technical reasoning but lack in reading and spelling.

In recent scientific research, studies have shown dyslexic children co morbidly possess a deficit in the visual acuity and processing areas of the brain. While there may be a deficit in the visual mechanics of the eyes, an increasing number of dyslexic children are also suffering from a disorder in the area of the brain responsible for visual perception and interpretation.

Of significant interest to researchers is the area in the back of the brain known as the angular gyrus. Within the angular gyrus, the words we received through written and verbal communication are processed and put into a language set for the brain to decipher. For dyslexics, when the angular gyrus, in the rear of the brain, is damaged or not fully utilized, dyslexia symptoms will present with the patient often compensating for an under active angular gyrus by activating other parts of the brain. Thus, the result is an inadequate reading and spelling response.

For parents and educators working with a dyslexic child, understanding the basis on which the disease is formulated and the neurological component affected, will work to ensure further progress in the child's academic advancement. For children suffering from dyslexia, a series of test, including IQ testing, neurological testing and vision testing, are crucially important to assessing and making the correct diagnosis.

For more information regarding dyslexia and the organic brain connection, visit www.sfn.org.