Dyslexia
For Children
Jimmy’s Story: Jimmy was a 10 year old boy who had done well in school through the third grade. Once he got the fourth grade he was having trouble following the readings as fast as the other children could. He was mixing up words and confusing letters. He was very upset so he told his mom and she decided to check out what was happening. She took Jimmy to the doctor and the doctor had Jimmy take some tests and the doctor discovered that Jimmy had dyslexia. This didn’t mean that Jimmy was stupid, it just meant that he had trouble reading certain words. Jimmy would have to see a special teacher to fix his problem.
Facts about dyslexia:
1.Children who are dyslexic are not stupid
2. Dyslexic is a word used to describe children who have trouble putting words together or spelling
3. Although many people may think so, dyslexic people do not see things backwards.
4. Many dyslexic children seem to have good creative skills like drawing, painting or playing a musical instrument.
5. Dyslexia can have more of an affect on one person than it does another or it may have less of an affect on one person or the other.
6. Experts think that 10% of all children have some degree of dyslexia and only 4% have a really bad case of dyslexia. This means that if you have dyslexia, you are not the only one. There are many other children who work with dyslexia everyday.
7. No two dyslexic children are alike. Children who have dyslexia are just like everyone else except they have to work through their reading and writing a little harder.
8. Many famous people have worked through dyslexia for example: Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb; Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain and Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America.(1)
Causes of dyslexia:
There is no real answer for the cause of dyslexia. Dyslexia is not contagious so you can’t get it from someone else, it is not in something that you eat and it is not a cough or the flu so it won’t hurt you if you have it. Doctors think that dyslexia runs in families, so it might get passed down from your mom or dad when you are born.(1)
Solving dyslexia:
The best known solution to dyslexia is working with a special teacher and working hard. There are some medicines that are available (ritalin and adirol) that will help you concentrate better but the way to getting past dyslexia is all in the hard work.
The exact cause of dyslexia is unknown. However, researchers believe dyslexia is a reading disability with underlying genetic, developmental and neurological causes (8). People with dyslexia have trouble reading despite normal or high intelligence and exposure to sufficient language instruction. Specific reading problems apparent in dyslexia include reversal of words and letters, difficulty in pronouncing new words, difficulty in making a distinction between similarities and differences in words (on for no), and difficulty in discerning differences in letter sounds (ten, tin) (2).
This is a subject and disorder near and dear to my heart. My personal experience with dyslexia, with myself and my daughter, has given me great insight into what dyslexia is, what the signs are, and how soon you can detect the potential for problems. It is not always the case that dyslexia is the sole source of reading and reading comprehension difficulties, there are other disorders that can exist at the same time, and this is important to know in order to help students improve their reading abilities. But, dyslexia will not only affect reading abilities and reading comprehension. It can affect writing, spelling, math, memory, listing comprehension, self-esteem, social skills, the ability to understand sarcasm, understanding spatial concepts,
Too frequently dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia are clumped together and thought to be the same problem. In reality, the three issues are similar but also constitute many of their own distinct complications. Dyslexia is manifested not only in seeing letters backwards and upside down but is the inability to decipher sounds and letters or shapes. “Dyslexia reflects a deficiency in the processing of the distinctive linguistic units, called phonemes, that make up all spoken and written words.” (Shaywitz pg98) This makes it difficult for the child to sound out words phonetically to read fluently; they might also struggle with remembering
Millions of people in the world struggle with dyslexia. While dyslexia can be hard to overcome, people with the disability can still achieve their goals. One of the most famous dyslexics is Cher.
To begin with, dyslexia is not a something that can be seen right away. People do not have symptoms like nausea or congestion to show that have dyslexia. Dyslexia is a disability that happens in the brain. Even though it can not always be physically seen, there are a few ways to tell if someone has dyslexia. If a child has dyslexia, it can be shown by the child reading with pauses or reading the words incorrectly by placing another word in instead of the one written down. An example would be by confusing the word ‘cat’ with bat or word like “fell/fall and who/how” (Dyslexia) There can be many possible reasons for misreading these words, one reason would be because the brain is just too tired to be able to connect what it sees to what it is supposed to sound like. Non dyslexic people can tell how words are supposed to sound by dividing the word into “individual phonemes” (V., Nathan). Phonemes are similar to syllables. Except there can be many phonemes in a one syllable words. Phonemes are the units of sounds words. An example is the words ‘bag.’ If divided by phon...
Living with the learning condition dyslexia, can be a very hard challenge to face alone and thanks to the essay “Living with Dyslexia” by Gareth Cook, he allows us to see the challenges he faced while growing up. Cook states “I was never able to learn cursive, and I am virtually unable to take handwritten notes while someone is talking.” (158). this is a powerful statement by Gareth Cook as this is a biography on his challenges with Dyslexia. Students in modern society multitask daily by taking notes and listening to the teacher. It is something we are taught how to do at a younger age and we build up our knowledge on how to do it better each year. Cook describes what goes on in a dyslexic’s brain very well… He said “Dyslexia involves a problem with how the brain translates sounds and those funny squiggles on a page.” (159). This statement here shows how valuable language is in learning how to read and write. Without the birth of our language, we could potentially have the verbal capacity of a baby and that would lead us nowhere. Most careers in any field of work demand the ability to be able to speak a language and communicate with their peers. We learn how to speak at a very young age and learn to read and write as the years progress. However unfortunately with Gareth Cook, it took him a bit longer to learn the reading and writing process. Not being able to read and write as well as the rest of the population, can hinder the confidence of some children with dyslexia but for the most part I think it would encourage them just to try even
Many of us can identify with struggling at least once during our school years. Imagine struggling every day and in every class just cause your learning strategy is not the same as everyone else. Dyslexia is a specific difficulty with learning how to read or write in nearly 3.5 million American children (Dyslexia Research Trust). This difficulty originates in children who are normally intelligent and receive adequate teaching; however, they are not able to process information as efficiently as regular learners. Dyslexia is an inherited condition, which children inherit from parents or family members. The condition results from abnormal nerve cells usually inherited which make children vulnerable to immune factors affecting brain development and causing deficiency of Omega-3. Dyslexia begins to become a problem when children are learning to read and write but, many children show signs of dyslexia before learning to read Dyslexics have problems concentrating in the classroom, pronouncing words properly and visualizing words. Many individuals often identify dyslexic people as people who...
Wood, Frank B., and Elena L. Grigorenko. “Emerging Issues in the Genetics of Dyslexia: A
“Once dyslexia is identified, and a child gets the right type of help, they can finally reach their potential” says a mother, named Susan Barton (Bright Solutions). Many people around the world have dyslexia. Dyslexia is a condition that is inherited and makes it extremely difficult to read, write, and spell. The cause of dyslexia is genes and neurological differences (Bright Solutions). Dyslexia makes life more difficult. Although many people think dyslexics people see things backwards that is not true because dyslexia is not from seeing it has nothing to do with your eyes it is all in the brain. According to Bright Solutions, “People with dyslexia do not use that part of their brain, and there appears to be no consistent part used among
Dyslexia is the most prominent learning disability here in the United State but, it is also the most misunderstood. For centuries, those with dyslexia have been labeled as stupid and incompetent, when in fact they extremely intelligent, excelling in areas such as art, science and music. Due to our lack of knowledge and understanding, we as a nation are ignorant, deeming truth to the stereotypes that have long been associated with this so called “disease.” In order to reverse the damage that has already been done, we must differentiate fact from fiction. In order to fully understand dyslexia, individuals need to be provided with resources that address every aspect of the disability, including what it is, the possible causes, signs, symptoms and treatments available. Awareness is key to change.
Whether we graduate from highschool or college we all hope to find a challenging career that will propel us forward in today's society. For those suffering from dyslexia this only adds to the frustration and fears associated with seeking employment. Many adults with dyslexia or other forms of learning disabilities never disclose their disability in interviews or once employed for fear of being discriminated against. Several investigators have noted, however, that many persons with learning disabilities adjust well to the demands and complexities of adulthood. (Greenbaum et al. 1996). The basic cause of dyslexia is still not known, however, much research is being done to determine the problems underlying dyslexia. In many cases, dyslexia is highly inherited. Studies have shown a number of genes that may set the stage for its development. Characteristics of dyslexia are now more apparent to educators than ever before. Early educational interventions are helping individuals to manage their dyslexia. There have been some studies that attend to accommodating persons with learning disabilities in post-secondary and occupational settings. Only a few articles will be reviewed having been found worthy of this subject. However, before reviewing the articles, in order to gain a greater understanding of the types of learning disabilities people face lets define one of the most significant learning problems: dyslexia. A Type of Learning Disability: What is Dyslexia? The word dyslexia is derived form the Greek "dys" (meaning poor or inadequate) and "lexis" (works or language). Dyslexia is a learning disability characterized by problems in expressive or receptive, oral or written language. Problems may emerge in r...
One is called Trauma Dyslexia. Which is caused by a serious illness or a brain injury. Another is secondary dyslexia. Which is from when students had a problem with the way their brain was developing when they were a fetus. Many students and adults don’t get these, but they can happen sometimes. So teachers should be aware of these just in case one of their students has these as well. (Types of Dyslexia).
Multiple cases show dyslexics having exceptional talent in drawing, painting, and music. The appropriate way to describe dyslexia is not calling it a disability but as a learning difference. Despite the fact that the obstacles flourish, treatment, educational techniques, positives can provide wellbeing and overpowers the weaknesses.
People tend to think that Dyslexia is only related to reading, but it also causes problems in writing, math, and even music. “People with Dyslexia usually have an 'impoverished written product.' That means there is a huge difference between their ability to tell you something and their ability to write it down” (“What is Dyslexia?”). According to the website, Bright Solutions for Dyslexia, students that struggle with Dyslexia may try to avoid writing whenever possible. When they do write they make errors in sentence structure. Some common mistakes are run-on sentences, fragments, punctuation and capitalization. They will also have many misspelled words (“What is Dyslexia?”). When dyslexics read and write, they don't usually notice errors. And when they read out loud, they will say what they think they wrote, but not what is actually on the page (“What is Dyslexia?”). Most dyslexics are very bright and have good imaginations, but they lose their momentum when trying to put their thoughts on paper. Most of their energy is spent trying to remember grammar rules and fix errors. So, their overall thoughts get lost.
Due to dyslexia’s prevalence in schools, there have many studies conducted to discover the causes of it. Unfortunately, even with numerous studies