Dyslexia can be said to be an unexpected and persistent challenge with acquiring and using written language.
Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writing words, "sounding out" words in the head, pronouncing words when reading aloud and understanding what one reads. Often these difficulties are first noticed at school. The difficulties are involuntary, and people with this disorder have a normal desire to learn.
Understanding dyslexia:
Dyslexia is not a disease! The word dyslexia comes from the Greek language and means difficulty with words.
Individuals with dyslexia have trouble with reading and spelling despite having the ability to learn. Individuals with dyslexia are quite capable of learning, they just learn in a different way. Often these individuals, who have talented and productive minds, are said to have a language learning difference.
Dyslexia and reading difficulties are on a Continuum:
Dyslexia occurs on a continuum from mild to severe and no two are alike. There is no cure for dyslexia since it is a brain based difference, however with appropriate instruction aimed towards their learning needs, most can overcome their literacy difficulties and lead productive lives.
Central Difficulty:
A student with dyslexia will have a particular difficulty with single word reading networks that are brain based (neurological). Dyslexia is not a problem with comprehension. Individuals with dyslexia are able to use higher level language skills to support their reading of connected text (stories) and this ability to ‘compensate’ may mask their underlying difficulties with single word reading (decoding).The central difficulty for a student with dyslexia is to convert letter symbols to their correct sound (decode) and convert sounds to their correct written symbol(spell). Research into dyslexia subtypes indicates that poor visual (i.e., orthographic) coding can also be part of the difficulty.
What causes dyslexia?
Dyslexia is:
What are the primary indicators of dyslexia?
Strengths of dyslexia:
We need to be careful about assuming that challenges in language and literacy equate to innate challenges in other areas. The Difference Theory is producing more and more research that individuals with dyslexia can and do have remarkable abilities in other areas.
Research has indicated that we should be wary about automatically assuming that language processing difficulties/differences or cognitive difficulties/differences associated with dyslexia are deficits. Some of the cognitive differences that dyslexic individuals display may actually confer advantages for some kinds of thinking or encourage them to find different paths to learning.
The following are some of the strengths that individuals with dyslexia may display:
Understanding dyslexia:
Dyslexia is not a disease! The word dyslexia comes from the Greek language and means difficulty with words.
Individuals with dyslexia have trouble with reading and spelling despite having the ability to learn. Individuals with dyslexia are quite capable of learning, they just learn in a different way. Often these individuals, who have talented and productive minds, are said to have a language learning difference.
Dyslexia and reading difficulties are on a Continuum:
Dyslexia occurs on a continuum from mild to severe and no two are alike. There is no cure for dyslexia since it is a brain based difference, however with appropriate instruction aimed towards their learning needs, most can overcome their literacy difficulties and lead productive lives.
Central Difficulty:
A student with dyslexia will have a particular difficulty with single word reading networks that are brain based (neurological). Dyslexia is not a problem with comprehension. Individuals with dyslexia are able to use higher level language skills to support their reading of connected text (stories) and this ability to ‘compensate’ may mask their underlying difficulties with single word reading (decoding).The central difficulty for a student with dyslexia is to convert letter symbols to their correct sound (decode) and convert sounds to their correct written symbol(spell). Research into dyslexia subtypes indicates that poor visual (i.e., orthographic) coding can also be part of the difficulty.
What causes dyslexia?
Dyslexia is:
- Highly hereditary.
- A difference in the way the brain works
- Problems in the development of phonological awareness
What are the primary indicators of dyslexia?
- Problems learning the letter sounds for reading (decoding) and spelling (encoding)
- Difficulty in reading single words, such as on flash cards and in lists (decoding)
- Lack of accuracy and fluency when attempting to read (and decode)
- Reading slowly with many mistakes
- Poor spelling
- Poor visual gestalt / coding (orthographic coding)
Strengths of dyslexia:
We need to be careful about assuming that challenges in language and literacy equate to innate challenges in other areas. The Difference Theory is producing more and more research that individuals with dyslexia can and do have remarkable abilities in other areas.
Research has indicated that we should be wary about automatically assuming that language processing difficulties/differences or cognitive difficulties/differences associated with dyslexia are deficits. Some of the cognitive differences that dyslexic individuals display may actually confer advantages for some kinds of thinking or encourage them to find different paths to learning.
The following are some of the strengths that individuals with dyslexia may display:
- Inquiring mind
- Problem Solving
- Comprehending new ideas
- Generating ideas Analytic thinking
- Creative thinking
- 3-D construction
- Finding different strategies
- Seeing the big picture
- Insightful thinking
