Dyslexia is a language processing disorder in which people have difficulty in interpreting words or numbers, even though they may be otherwise smart and motivated.
Dyslexia is not considered to be a disease, in fact it is a condition that a person is born with and often runs in the family. It basically occurs because of the different ways the brain processes information when people with dyslexia read than with people without dyslexia.
What Happens in Dyslexia
The main issue with those with dyslexia is trouble in recognizing phonemes. Phonemes are the basic sounds of speech and those with dyslexia find it a struggle to make the right connection between the sound and the letter symbol and blend them into words.
Since it takes a lot of time to focus on word reading, the meaning of the word often becomes lost and comprehension becomes poor for a person with dyslexia. Many people also have trouble spelling or expressing themselves in writing.
How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Read
Traditional ways of teaching reading to a child doesn’t usually work for people with dyslexia, but there are other reading strategies which dyselexic students can adopt to enhance their language reading skills.
Since students with dyslexia respond better with visual methods of teaching, online reading programs can lead to better understanding and retention.
Parent’s should find dyslexia reading programs online that aid independent mastery. An ideal online reading curriculum should be multisensory with plenty of visual instructions and support content.
Living With Dyslexia
For a person with dyslexia or a language disability, it will not only affect the individual’s capability to communicate, but will have other far reaching effects on other actions of daily life as well. From written communication to vying for a job or promotion, the list can be endless.
The rapid growth of communication and technology may have added to the challenge, but thankfully these innovative literacy based tools have also opened the doors for help in speech programs, writing and spell-check among others.
Here are some everyday activities a person living with dyslexia may have to cope with:
- Listening comprehension: Trouble discerning background noises and finding it difficult to concentrate in class.
- Social skills: Children with dyslexia may suffer from an inferiority complex in the classroom, be less inclined to mix with their peers and feel frustrated and unmotivated.
- Memory loss: Because of the struggle in reading, the effort results in difficulty to retain the information they have read. This may affect their daily lives as well with regards to remembering instructions from parents and adults etc.
- Navigation: Those with dyslexia may find it hard to differentiate between spatial concepts like left or right. This can lead to fearful thoughts of getting lost in school and other familiar places. They should use a buddy system for transitioning from one class to another.
Final Take
Dyslexics have no need to despair as with successful treatment they can become proficient readers and authors. Given an opportunity they have a lot to offer.
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