College Essay On Dyslexia

Discussions of dyslexia require a definition of the term, and this is where we can come into some confusion if we are not careful. In fact, the “problem” itself exists in the defining of the word, and thus the labeling of those to whom the definition applies. However, with some knowledge of the etiology of “dyslexia” we can begin to ply our beliefs off the population of “dyslexics” and start to gain some understanding of their experiences with language learning. This is, after all, the intention of this research. Guardiola (2001) also assisted in redirecting the academic focus in this direction, towards the etiology of the term and how its history has shaped current social work, education, neurobiology, and psychology perspectives.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines dyslexia as a disorder in the brain that makes it difficult for an individual to write, read, and spell. People who have been diagnosed with the learning disability are often thought to be “lazy, dumb, careless, ‘not trying hard enough,’ or [have] behavior problems” according to Ronald D. Davis, founder of the Davis Dyslexia Correction Center.

     Dyslexia is a disorder in which someone has difficulty reading, which is not caused from a

A. Dyslexia is defined as a learning disability marked by impairment of the ability to read. In essence, it is a disability in which people jumble letters; for example, confusing God with dog or box with pox.

According to Hull Learning Services (2013), dyslexia continues to be a subject of great debate. The word dyslexia is originated from the Greek dys- meaning ‘difficult’ and -lexia meaning to do with language. There are multiple definitions of dyslexia, because the matter in which in manifest in children and adults vary greatly. Definitions of dyslexia often focus on difficulties with the processes of writing, reading, spelling and general organization of everyday tasks. Dyslexia has been defined as the inability to acquire literacy despite normal intelligence. Other definitions have described dyslexia in terms of a list of symptoms. The symptoms often included are laterality problems; reversals in numbers, letters and/or words; reading

The most recent definition of Dyslexia was published in the DSM-52 as a specific learning disorder; ‘a pattern of difficulties characterised by problems with accurate or fluent word recognition, poor decoding and poor spelling abilities. Dyslexia is understood to be a genetic disorder as many family risk studies on dyslexia have proven3; there is a 50% risk that a child will develop reading difficulties if they have a parent with dyslexia.

For dyslexia to be recognised as a Special Educational Need and the requisite educational support given, an ‘official’ assessment by a dyslexia specialist or educational psychologist is required. These assessments are mainly completed following a referral to the Local Authority usually by a SENCO or parent. This assessment results in a report which outlines not only the child’s difficulties and ways to improve, but also the strengths the child has. It is argued that identifying the strengths of the child is vital to developing a plan to assist a child with their weaknesses. Peer (2006) amongst others is keen to dispel the myth that dyslexia is linked to intelligence; in fact the contrary can be said. Often dyslexic learners have very well developed interpersonal, creative and oral skills, if these skills can be harnessed as a means of developing weaker areas it is argued progress will be made.

In chapter four "David Boise", of the book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, And the Arts of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell talks about the issue of dyslexia and how it impacts people diagnosed with it. Gladwell states that "dyslexia is a problem in the way the words are seen," and is a "problem in the way people hear and manipulate sounds” (100-101). Making it difficult for dyslexics to read and comprehended the difference between different sounds. That would otherwise be very evident to a healthy person, but that's not the only problem that affects them. If you're, dyslexic "It may take you a while to learn to read.

Dyslexia is the term used to describe a cognitive disability in learning that affects reading, writing and communication despite an average level of intelligence and an equal access to education. (Le Jan et al., 2010). Dyslexia is commonly used as a blanket term that covers many smaller forms of cognitive impairment including surface dyslexia, phonological dyslexia, hyperlexia, letter identification dyslexia and letter position dyslexia. Most dyslexics suffer from multiple forms of these specific dyslexias and cases of pure developmental dyslexia are quite rare. (Castles, Bates, & Coltheart, 2006).

Since dyslexia is a neurological condition along with difficulties with different aspects of reading dyslexia can have cognitive aspects as well, such as speech perception, recognizing and manipulating the basic sounds in a language, language memory, and learning the sounds of the letters (citation). All in all, up to 10% of the population is predicted to have some form of dyslexia therefore it is imperative that educators are able to identify these students and know strategies that can help them early on in their formal

“Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability” (“Frequently Asked Questions”). It makes reading, writing, comprehending, summarizing, spelling, and many other things that involve words and letters difficult. Some people with it may even struggle with math while others could be astounding at it. Dyslexia is not a form of retardation, but sadly 80% of people associate dyslexia with some form of retardation (“Dyslexia Facts and Statistics”). In most cases, dyslexia is genetic, but researchers still do not know how it is caused, passed down, or generated with or without a genetic past (“Frequently Asked Questions”). Dyslexia will never go away, so people with it will have to learn to overcome it.

The National Centre for Learning Disabilities says that dyslexia is a neurological and often genetic condition, and not the result of poor teaching, instruction or upbringing. Dyslexia is a specific reading disability due to a defect in the brain's processing of graphic symbols according to the MNT Knowledge Centre. It is a learning disability that alters the way the brain processes written material. It is typically characterized by difficulties in word recognition, spelling and decoding. People with dyslexia have problems with reading comprehension.

Dyslexia is a lifelong struggle with constant challenges with reading and speaking. About five to ten percent of the United States population deals with the learning disorder dyslexia (Van den Honert, n.d.). It is a neurological condition that is mainly caused by genetics but there are some rare cases in which it is acquired. Dyslexia interrupts the normal processes of reading and speaking (Van den Honert, n.d.). All of which are used in daily life and this makes life and school so much harder for dyslexics. They must learn to live with the condition for their entire life and there is not really a treatment for it. With the constant struggle and reminder of their

The characteristics of a dyslexic person can be very different from one person to the other, just as the characteristics of students without disabilities are different. These students show a different combination of learning problems. “Such characteristics are learning style, motor dexterity, time/math, memory/cognition, language/reading skills, behavior and vision. Sometimes the dyslexic youngster has early or late developmental stages, such as crawling, walking or talking” (Grolier’s).

Of the three previously mentioned diseases, Dyslexia impairs a person’s ability to read, write, and spell (NINDS 2003). Although they are of normal intelligence, their reading level is below average. They will usually have “trouble with phonological processing (the manipulation of sounds) and/or rapid visual-verbal responding.” (NINDS 2003). Children with dyslexia complain they cannot read their textbooks, do not have enough time to finish tests, cannot take notes, and are unable to read their own handwriting (GVSU 2000). Dyslexia does not affect every person the same way, and signs of the disorder may not be prevalent until later, when grammar and more in-depth writing skills are introduced. Dyslexia can also create a difficulty in processing vocabulary and thoughts correctly when speaking, and understanding what one says when they are spoken to. Dysgraphia is another neurological disorder that focuses on writing. When a child with this disorder is first introduced to writing, they will make unnecessary spaces between their letters, and some letters will be