Dyslexic Children

The BDA Dyslexia Friendly Schools Pack for Teachers (2009) provides an overall guide of what dyslexia is and how a dyslexia friendly school should be delivering education to the dyslexic learner. The writers begin with a definition of dyslexia stating that “dyslexia is a learning difference, a combination of strengths and weaknesses”. This is an informative definition as opposed to the recommendation of Norwich et al (2005) that exemplary schools should promote an inclusive school system whereby dyslexia is considered but not in isolation. The BDA (2009) state that importance ought to be

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.

I am a student that has had to work hard for as long as I can remember in achieving my goals, dreams, both personal as well as academically. After many years of testing, I was diagnosed with dyslexia in my sophomore year of high school. Dyslexia is a congenital language process disorder. It can hinder reading, writing, spelling and sometimes speaking. Dyslexia is not a sign of poor intelligence

Several studies have shown that when dyslexia is undiagnosed, it can cause a lot of frustrations and anxieties in the individuals involved (Riddick & Edwards as cited in Glazzard, 2012). Dyslexia is a ‘hidden’ disability, as there are no obvious external signs for people to recognize (Riddick as cited in Glazzard, 2012). It is not like some other disabilities, as for example down syndrome, or cerebral palsy which people can recognize from the moment they see them. People can get confused and assume different reasons for the children’s poor performance in school. That is why, when dyslexia is undiagnosed, the characteristics like ‘stupid’, ‘thick’, and ‘lazy’ are commonly used to describe students with dyslexia. People who are not aware about dyslexia cannot find any other explanations for them who are not doing well at school. Lack of assessment may result in low self-esteem compared to non-dyslexic students (Humphrey as cited in Glazzard, 2012 ). On the other hand, lack of appropriate help and support can have long-term effects for people with dyslexia when reaching adulthood (Morgan & Klein,

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.

These children will need additional support in order to maximise their potential in class. A dyslexic child will struggle more than her peers to acquire confidence in reading and writing, which can affect other areas of cognitive development. Her confidence may also suffer, and she may suffer frustration and anger at not being able to do what her peers can do with ease (read a sentence; differentiate between b and d). Whilst considering the effects of personal factors on child development it is worth mentioning that some factors may influence development in an advantageous way. For example, a dyslexic child may be able to think more creatively about certain types of problem solving, or they may be very artistic. This can have a positive influence on social and emotional development. Every child is an individual and the better that personal and external influences on development are understood, the better that child can be supported as she grows, learns and develops.

When hearing the word Dyslexia what comes to mind? Nothing? Knowing the basic concepts about dyslexia can help teacher get a better understanding to help students improve and excel in school. It helps the students with improving their comprehension skills and getting a better grasp on phonics skills. Lastly, it can improve preparations for test and or quizzes. The problems caused by dyslexia will be reviewed with the goal of better understanding the condition so that we can better help students who have dyslexia improve in their reading comprehension skills, improve their ability to study better, and do better in school.

According to the Dyslexia & Learning Disability Centre in Las Vegas, Dyslexia is an ability within the sensory mechanism of the nervous system to perceive the world with a multidimensional view. However it comes with poor word reading, word decoding, oral reading fluency and spelling. Though with appropriate teaching methods, dyslexic individuals can learn successfully throughout their lives. Also, when properly trained and informed, a dyslexic can use their

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

Dyslexia is a family problem as well as an academic problem for children around the world. All cultures are affected by it. The entire family has to deal with the issue. It can be recognized as early as kindergarten, (Zieman). According to Theories of Childhood, Second Edition, “Vygotsky believed that learning and development are similar but not identical. The combination of instructing the child and honoring the child’s individual development optimizes learning.” When children are silent from socializing and are quiet most of the time, there is no way to observe them to get a complete assessment of their learning according to Vygotsky (Mooney, 2013). A dyslexic child whose self-esteem has been lower or the child has been called names, may

Developmental Dyslexia is characterized by comparatively low reading abilities in regards to age, education and intelligence. Reading is a multifaceted mechanism, including phonological awareness in order to sound out different words, and also orthographic abilities to map the sounds to their visual forms. Any type of impairment to one of these facets can have a huge impacts on the other systems that are incorporated. Because of this, the many different theories in regards to dyslexia don’t often contradict each other, they just explain what happens in the different systems and facets that are incorporated in the complex cognitive process of reading. One of these theories is on the topic of the magnocellular system. This system is responsible

    “Dyslexia is a learning disorder that affects your ability to read, spell, write, and speak. Kids who have it are often smart and hardworking, but they have trouble connecting the letters they see to the sounds those letters make.” (WebMD) People with Dyslexia are just as smart as everyone else, but it just takes them longer to process information. Children aren’t the only ones who can get Dyslexia, adults can too.

Dyslexia is very difficult to diagnose in young children because some of the symptoms are normal mistakes that are made at that age. Dyslexia is also hereditary, so if someone in their family has it they are most likely to have it as well. Children with dyslexia often see words backwards for example if the word is bat they might see it as tab. In some cases the child sees what is known as “floating letters” where the letters scatter, making it difficult for the child to understand. Dyslexia can bring a child’s self-esteem down, because they might not know why they cannot read like their classmates. It can be embarrassing if they are asked to read out loud and they simply can’t.

If a child is unable to recognize letters, finds it difficult to rhyme, is slow to learn the sounds of letters, reads slowly, has poor spellings, or has problem in decoding unknown words, then most probably, the child is suffering from Dyslexia, which is a common learning disability. Dyslexia in children is a common problem; however, most of the time, it goes undiagnosed and untreated and this causes problems in the later stage. The problem occurs in the brain and it can be easily treated if diagnosed at an early stage. Both parents and teachers can help a child overcome the problem by being considerate and recognizing the symptoms on time.

I have Dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols. However, it doesn’t affect a person’s general intelligence. Living with Dyslexia is an everyday struggle. When I was younger, learning was something that I considered to be a nuisance; especially when I entered into middle school and high school. I noticed that there were things that I had trouble with that my peers didn’t seem to have a problem with.