Developmental Dyslexia Essay

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.

This means that if a parent has dyslexia, their children will have a greater chance of having the disorder as well. The same essay states that current studies suggest that 15-20% of the U.S. population has a reading disability, and of those 85% have dyslexia. Most of this data is obtained once a child has entered school and reached the age of 9, where reading becomes more vigorous. Most children with dyslexia can learn methods to assist them with their disability and read more fluently, but only if the learning disability is identified, recognized, and treated accurately. Even though dyslexia is a common disorder, obtaining a diagnosis can be difficult because schools are reluctant to spend the money or resources needed to test their

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

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

Screening can only suggest that there is a high probability of dyslexia. This however may change as recent research suggests that there is a genetic marker that can be identified in children with dyslexia (Fisher et al 2002). Currently however, a workable programme has yet to materialise. Screening currently considers a wide range of abilities, such as word recognition, writing style and speed, organisational skills and memory.

The British Dyslexia Association welcomed these findings with care, stressing that the interesting new research would further endorse the fact that the dyslexic brain is different, and emphasizing a unique focus on language skills at a young age to help dyslexic children when they begin reading and writing (Make the Connection).

The study had a sample group of 480 students some with and without dyslexia. The students were examined in the following subjects reading, language, and memory. After being examined the students were put into three groups (1) group being children with below-average comprehension and poor word reading difficulties (2) group being children with below average word reading and blow average comprehension (3) group being children with above average reading and comprehension capabilities. The study found several strategies that was proven to help students improve reading comprehension scores and skills. For example, when given extra time students with dyslexia scores show improvement compared to when given the same amount of time as their peers without dyslexia. Also, early intervention was shown to help children improve their reading comprehension skills compare to students diagnosed later. The articles go on discuss how classroom-based intervention program greatly aid student with

Convergent evidence from longitudinal studies on dyslexia supports this causal hypothesis. Scarborough (1990) identified PA and LK as candidate causal factors by reporting weakness in these two factors in pre-readers who later became dyslexic. However, dyslexic children in the study were less intelligent than normal readers, which cast doubt on the findings. Results from Scarborough’s study are further supported by carefully conducted studies. For example, Snowling, Gallagher, and Frith (2003) followed FR children and control children from the age of 3 years, 9 months to 8 years, and found that language and letter knowledge assessed at Phase 1 predicted phonological awareness and grapheme-phoneme skill at Phase 2 (6 years), which then predicted word-level reading skills at Phase 3 (8 years).

The most hopeful intervention is early intervention. Classroom intervention and pullout remedial approaches have shown positive results. Prevention programs that focus on phonemic awareness, phonics, and meaning of text in reading instruction of early grades can reduce the base rates of at-risk dyslexic students to below five percent. It will also significantly improve the core reading skills of the weakest readers in early grades. For older students, intervention programs that are described as strategy based and direct instruction have been most effective for their grade level. The combination program has been evaluated with sever dyslexic students in randomized experimental designs with control groups. This approach resulted in better standardized reading measures. Students with word-reading abilities below the fifth percentile before the implementation of the explicit programs tested in the average range of word identification following the interventions (Shaywitz, Morris, & Shaywitz,

According to The International Dyslexia Association, the impact that dyslexia has is different for each person and depends on the severity of the condition and the approaches of the remediation. The

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

Some of us in the world may have problems with reading, spelling, and other academics. You might not know why they cannot read or spell as well as you can because they have a disorder. This disorder is called dyslexia. People with dyslexia struggle with: listening, reading, writing, spelling, and even handwriting. However, having dyslexia doesn’t mean that they are not intelligent. Some of the greatest minds in the world have or had dyslexia. One of the most fascinating reasons for dyslexia is the dominate ear. Even though they may be different doesn’t mean that they are stupid. (Hotz, Sollier)

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).

This concludes that speech does affect reading ability and that intervention is necessary when a child is diagnosed with a speech disorder.

One of my primary focuses was to find out how different literatures dealt with Dyslexia and how best to support the child. Dyslexia can be described from a number of different perspectives as we see in Ball et al (2007) who explain that it can be “how one learns (Cognition), what parts of the brain are involved (neurology), what genes are involved (genetics) and behaviour (p14). Their book entitled ‘Dyslexia: An Irish perspective’ is very relevant to my research as it gives a great insight into the history of the special education sector in Ireland. It also looks into some of the key debates that are facing the educational sector today.