Dyslexia; theory of a Phonological deficit
Dyslexia or DRD is described as the difficulty with learning to read fluently despite regular intelligence. This includes struggles with letter awareness, letter decoding, processing speed, short-term memory, language skills/verbal understanding, and rapid naming (Silverman, L. (2000). Dyslexia is a very common learning difficulty and a highly recognized reading disorder. According to Castles, A. 2014; there are two types of dyslexia: “Acquired dyslexia which is a reading impairment in someone who learned to read normally but then lost that ability after brain damage. Developmental dyslexia is reading impairment in someone (often a child) who never learned to read normally in the first place”. I will be focusing on developmental dyslexia.
Back in 1897 Shaywitz. S wrote about a teenage boy called Percy F, who was easily the intellectual equal of his classmates. However, was at a disadvantage with his poor ability to learn how to read. Like 1897, today most societies associate intellect with the proficiency to read, but the millions of people with dyslexia breakdowns the connection between reading and intelligence (Shaywitz. S, 1996). Scientists are then left with the problem of what are the origins of dyslexia if intellect is not the indicator?
Reading difficulties in such children are established in troubles (extreme) obtaining rudimentary reading skills such as “word identification and phonological decoding” (Harris & Sipay, 1990). Problems such as these have been expected to take place in almost 12% of children aged between 6 and 16 and are usually go specific shortfalls in cognitive abilities such as reading, writing etc (Benton & Pearl, 1978; Harris & Sipay, 1990; Shaywitz, ...
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...ia: Review of evidence for a selective visual attentional disorder.
(Valdois, S, et al)
Vellutino, Frank R.; Jack M. Fletcher, Margaret J. Snowling, Donna M. Scanlon, January 2004. "Specific reading disability (dyslexia): what have we learned in the past four decades?". Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (Blackwell Synergy)
McCrory E. 2001, A neurocognitive investigation of phonological processing in dyslexia. London PhD: University College London.
Vellutino FR. 1989, Dyslexia: research and theory. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press.
Snowling MJ. 1999, Phonemic deficits in developmental dyslexia. Psychol Res.
Daal V, Leij A. 1999, Developmental dyslexia: Related to specific or general deficits? pg 71–104.
Per Henning, U & Egil Tønnessen, F, 2007. "The notion of phonology in dyslexia research: cognitivism - and beyond". Dyslexia (John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)
The specific language based disorder of dyslexia is a learning “disability” or “syndrome” that creates an imbalance of reading, writing and comprehension skills in children and adults (Lucid Research, 2006; Shaywitz, 1998). Around 4 percent of the population are affected by the specific language based disorder (Lucid Research, 2006), as well as 80 percent of people with a learning disorder are reported to be dyslexic (Shaywitz, 1998). Dyslexia is not connected to low levels of intelligence, inadequate schooling and education or social circumstances, rather, an individual who is deficit in the phonological process, the breaking down of a word, and the auditory process, taking in sound and interpreting correctly (Lucid Research, 2006; Shaywitz, 1998; Wang and Yang, 2014). Since dyslexia is reported to be a life-long learning disability and symptoms are varied for each person, large amounts of research have been conducted in attempts to understand the severity and the impairments associated with
Doctor Morgan of Sussex, England, published the first case of what is now known as dyslexia in 1896. Dr. Morgan wrote about Percy F, a 14-year-old boy who was intelligent, bright, quick with learning games, and the intellectual equal of his peers. He fell behind, however, in his inability to learn how to read. Today, as in 1896, most people associate intelligence with the ability to read, but Percy F and the experience of millions of people with dyslexia breaks down the relationship between reading and intelligence (1). But, researchers were left with the question, "What causes dyslexia if intelligence is not the marker?
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
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...
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...
Hugh, W. C., Fey, E. M., & Zhang, J. B. (2002). A Longitudinal Investigation of Reading Outcomes in Children With Language Impairments. Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, 1142-1157.
Goldish, Meish. Everything You Need to Know About Dyslexia. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 1998.
The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS)(OECD,2000) assessed literacy by using a questionnaire with a sample of 38,358 in 21 countries. It showed the percentage of the population at the lowest literacy level United States (20.7), United Kingdom (22.6).The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) provided evidence that 10 year old English school children are rated 3rd out of 35 countries. At national level 20% of children do not achieve the level of reading expected of them at 11 years old. Anxiety is the most common effect that children experience; it causes children to fear reading and writing. Latest research show that 15 to 20% of the population has reading disability ,out of which 85% has dyslexia.,
“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
Before we can expect people to alter their perceptions, they must understand what it is. Dyslexia is a learning disability linked to those who struggle with reading. Although, it seems pretty simple, dyslexia is extremely challenging to identify because it is not defined by one specific thing. Moreover, it includes a wide array of difficulties such as: trouble spelling words, reading quickly, writing out words, “sounding out words in” head, pronunciation and comprehension.
The common learning disability in reading is called dyslexia. Reading problems occur in a student when they have difficulty unders...
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...
Dyslexia is now a widely accepted condition that is prevalent in many classrooms. However, defining dyslexia is difficult as it can be described as a continuum. Although experts largely agree that dyslexia is identifiable as a developmental difficulty of language learning and cognition (Rose, 2009). Dyslexia can pose a host of difficulties for the child and can make daily activities and school life very challenging. The NCLD (2013) states children with dyslexia may have difficulties with ‘accurate and fluent spelling, accurate and fluent written expression, phonological awareness, memory, verbal processing speed and information processing.’ As teachers it is vital that we are aware of the underlying difficulties as the child’s consistent underachievement can appear on the surface as carelessness and lack of effort (Hodge, 2000). Dyslexia is not only about literacy, although weaknesses in literacy are often the most visible sign, it effects all areas of learning as the ability to read and write sufficiently permeates all areas of learning within the curriculum. ‘Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities’ however, the difficulties posed by having dyslexia can affect a child’s ability to learn (Rose, 2009). Every child has the right to succeed and so the teacher must strive to provide the key for learning and implement effective interventions which develop the child’s literacy skills and help them reach their full potential (DCSF, 2007; DfES, 2004).
According to dyslexic researchers, Emma Sumner, Vincent Connelly, and Anna L. Barnett dyslexia shows it itself via, “ …significant difficulties with acquiring orthographic knowledge and [children with dyslexia] show poor phonological skills” (Sumner, Connelly, and Barnett, 2013). Owen Barden, another dyslexia researcher states, “Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty which mainly affects the development of literacy and language related skills… It is characterized by difficulties with phonological processing, rapid naming, working memory, processing speed, and the automatic development of skills that may not match up to an individual’s other cognitive abilities” (Barden, 2014). Finally, according to the International Dyslexia Association the formal definition of dyslexia is, “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized 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” (International Dyslexia Association). Another definition for dyslexia, according to Emma Sumner et la, dyslexic researchers, is, “ Children with dyslexia have significant