Dyslexia, what is it?

by: AimyD
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Dyslexia is known to be a learning disability. Dyslexia primarily affects language including writing, reading and spelling. It is separate and distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as a non-neurological deficiency with vision or hearing, or from poor or inadequate reading instruction. Evidence also suggests that dyslexia results from differences in how the brain processes written and/or spoken language. Although dyslexia is the result of a neurological difference, it is not an intellectual disability. Dyslexia occurs at all levels of intelligence.

DIRECTIONAL CONFUSION

Directional confusion may take a number of forms, from being uncertain of which is left and right to being unable to read a map accurately. A child should know his left and right by the age of five, and be able to distinguish someone else's by the age of seven. Directional confusion affects other concepts such as up and down, top and bottom, compass directions, keeping one's place when playing games, being able to copy the gym teacher's movements when he is facing you, and so on. As many as eight out of ten severely dyslexic children have directional confusion. The percentage is lower for those with a mild condition, she says.

Directional confusion is the reason for reversing of letters, whole words or numbers, or for so-called mirror writing. The following symptoms indicate directional confusion:
The dyslexic may reverse letters like 'b' and 'd', or 'p' and 'q', either when reading or writing.

May invert letters, reading or writing 'n' as 'u', or 'm' as 'w'.

May read or write words like 'no' for 'on', or 'rat' for 'tar'.

May read or write 17 for 71.

May mirror write letters, numbers and even words

Troubles with Sequence

Many living with Dyslexia have problems with sequence. This will affect their ability to read, write, and spell. In order to read one has to perceive the letters in sequence, and also remember what word is represented by the sequence of letters in question. By simply changing the sequence of the letters in 'name', it can become 'mean' or 'amen'. Here are some symptoms of sequencing difficulty.

When reading they may put letters in the wrong order reading 'felt' as 'left', or 'act' as 'cat'.

May put words in the wrong order, meaning they will see 'are there' for 'there are'.

May omit letters meaning they will read or writ 'cat' for 'cart', or 'wet' for 'went'.

Dyslexics may also have trouble remembering the order of the alphabet, strings of numbers, for example telephone numbers, the months of a year, the seasons, and events in the day. Younger children may also find it hard to remember the days of the week. Some are unable to repeat longer words orally without getting the syllables in the wrong order, for example words like 'preliminary' and 'statistical'.

There are other symptoms of dyslexia including, difficulty with small words. This means that they are able to recognize big words that would normally be difficult, but have problems recognizing small words such as ‘like’, ‘if’, and ‘to’.

Late talking is another symptom. Studies have shown that there is a link between abnormal development of spoken language and many learning disabilities including dyslexia.

Difficulty with hand writing is another symptom that many times can be mistaken for just learning a new technique. Many times their hand writing will be illegible, have a mixture of upper and lower case letters, and even unfinished letters. This symptom should not be mistaken for something other than what it really is.

If you suspect your child may be dyslexic you should contact their doctor as soon as possible. There is no cure for dyslexia, but the sooner you notice the symptoms, the better things will be for your child and you.