What is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a neurobiological condition caused by a different wiring of the brain. There is no cure for dyslexia and individuals with this condition must learn explicitly and sequentially to read and spell. Research indicates that dyslexia has no relationship to intelligence. Individuals with dyslexia are neither more nor less intelligent than the general population. But some say the way individuals with dyslexia think can actually be an asset in achieving success.
ABOUT DYSLEXIA
DEFINITION
"Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterised by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”
Adopted by the IDA Board of Directors, Nov. 12, 2002.
CAUSES
Exact causes of dyslexia are still not completely clear, but anatomical and brain imagery studies show differences in the way the brain of a person with dyslexia develops and functions.
Dyslexia runs in families and is associated with genetic markers. The biological foundations were identified through brain imaging. Poor readers have only one active area in their brain while proficient readers have three that are activated. This slows language processing and development for such students.
Dyslexia is not due to either lack of intelligence or desire to learn; with appropriate teaching methods, individuals with dyslexia can learn successfully.
EFFECTS
The impact that dyslexia has is different for each person and depends on the severity of the condition and the effectiveness of instruction or remediation.
The core difficulty is with reading words and this is related to difficulty with processing and manipulating sounds. Some individuals with dyslexia manage to learn early reading and spelling tasks, especially with excellent instruction, but later experience their most challenging problems when more complex language skills are required, such as grammar, understanding textbook material, and writing essays.
Most people with dyslexia have been found to have difficulty identifying the separate speech sounds within a word and/or learning how letters represent those sounds, a key factor in their reading difficulties.
It is characterised by an inability to connect letters to sounds, difficulty blending sound together.
People with dyslexia can also have problems with spoken language, even after they have been exposed to good language models in their homes and good language instruction in school. They may find it difficult to express themselves clearly, or to fully comprehend what others mean when they speak. Such language problems are often difficult to recogniSe, but they can lead to major problems in school, in the workplace, and in relating to other people. The effects of dyslexia can reach well beyond the classroom.
Dyslexia can also affect a person’s self-image. Students with dyslexia often end up feeling less intelligent and less capable than they actually are. After experiencing a great deal of stress due to academic problems, a student may become discouraged about continuing in school.
FACTS
For purposes of research, "reading impaired" children may be all those who score below the 30th percentile in basic reading skills. About 70-80% of this group are considered dyslexic (weakness in sound/letter correspondence, phonological processing, sounding out words and spelling).
Dyslexia is a neuro-biological condition that occurs on a spectrum (similar to autism). The initial characteristics of dyslexia are poor phonological awareness and processing and poor letter/sound correspondence (incorporating sound retrieval processes). As students get older, on top of these initial characteristics, they often additionally present with dysfluent reading (poor fluency as decoding is cumbersome), ongoing vowel confusions, and an inability to develop spelling skills. Dyslexics can present with mild to severe symptoms, and in different combinations.