Dyslexia

Albert Einstein, synonymous with the word “Genius” suffered with dyslexia in his early childhood. Is this a disease? No, it is not a disease, but is a difficulty with the words. It is a struggle with one or more facets of learning which causes problems of reading, writing, and difficulty with spellings. However, they do not have difficulty with comprehension, nor the person’s intelligence is affected. Dyslexia can range from mild to severe. It is a lifetime problem and can impact the daily activities of the affected person. Dyslexia in children my affect their growth and development, which is not the case with that in the adults.

Symptoms

The signs and symptoms of dyslexia generally differ from person to person. However, the person with dyslexia may usually have the following symptoms:

  • Problems with the sounds of the letters making it difficult to read and spell
  • Difficulty reading single words in the list and decoding them, thereby jumbling up the phrases
  • Struggle with planning and organization
  • Delayed development of speech and inability to speak fluently
  • Reading slowly with many mistakes

However, most often people with dyslexia have good skills such as problem-solving and creative thinking. Individuals with dyslexia have their unique strengths and weaknesses.

Causes and risk factors

The exact cause of dyslexia is not known, but the below are the possible causes:

Hereditary: The most common risk factor for dyslexia is a family history. It is known to run most often in the families. Certain genes inherited from the brain act together affecting different parts of the brain.

Different working of the brain: Dyslexia is due to the impairment in the processing ability of the brain. The brain cannot understand the smallest units of speech i.e. the words in such persons.

Poor visual coding: It is also believed that dyslexia is possible due to a poor visual coding.

Complications

The below complications can arise if dyslexia is not addressed

  • People with dyslexia become depressed over time and will have a low-self esteem
  • They may often have behavioral problems at school, home or workplaces
  • Success of such children can get jeopardized if not treated in the early stages

Diagnosis

It is more effective to provide treatment of dyslexia if diagnosed in the earlier stages. However, it is difficult for both parents and teachers to identify dyslexia in children as the signs and symptoms are not obvious.

An intelligence test is performed by a psychologist or other health care professional to diagnose dyslexia.

  • The test determines the reading ability of the child.
  • The child’s reading process is also examined to detect where the breakdown is occurring.
  • The test assesses how the child processes the information and uses it. It determines how the child can learn better, whether by hearing information or by looking at the information or by doing something else.
  • It evaluates if the child can perform better when allowed to say something or do something.

Several standard tests are available for performing the above evaluations such as Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test, etc.

Dyslexia Treatment and self-management

Initially, health problems such as problems with hearing, seeing, etc. should be addressed. If these problems are not the cause, then a different approach is needed.

Dyslexia cannot be cured but can be managed with appropriate instructions aiming the learning needs. Most of the children get benefited with these instructions and can lead a productive life by overcoming the learning difficulties.

If you notice that your child has dyslexia, you should talk to the teacher to provide special needs to the child. They may take the below steps for additional support to the child

  • Use of techniques such as one-to-one teaching or targeted teaching
  • Or employing special teachers for such children
  • Using technologies such as speech recognition software using computers, word processors and electronic organizers