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Dyslexia

A Parent Guide

Overview

Dyslexia is a learning disorder affecting reading, spelling, and writing due to difficulties processing language and speech sounds. It is the most common language-based learning disorder and effects males, females, ethnicities, and socioeconomic populations the same (Dyslexia Center of Utah, n.d.). While learning can be a problem, children can flourish in school with tutoring and/or special education programs. Dyslexia has no cure, but early assessment and interventions can improve the child’s outcome (Mayo Clinic, 2017).

Signs and Symptoms

Preschool Children

· delay in speaking

· difficulty forming words correctly

· reversing letters, words, numbers

· difficulty remembering or naming letters, numbers, colors

· difficulty learning nursery rhymes

· difficulty playing rhyming games

(Mayo Clinic, 2017)

School Age Children

Condition Image

· reading below expected age level

· difficulty remembering order sequence

· difficulty processing/understanding what is heard

· difficulty seeing/hearing similarities/differences in letters/words

· requires extra time to complete task requiring reading/writing

· may avoid activities requiring reading/writing

(Mayo Clinic, 2017)

Adolescent Children

· Like signs and symptoms in children

Pathophysiology

Dyslexia is a specific type of learning disorder. It involves problems in reading, mathematics, spelling, written expression/handwriting, and understanding or using verbal and nonverbal language. There is an inability to learn the rules of printed language. It is hereditary and tends to affect children with a family history of reading and learning difficulty.  Dyslexia may affect both production and comprehension of written language which often results in further problems with auditory memory and producing speech. Underlying weaknesses in verbal language can be noticed in a child with dyslexia.

Changes have been identified in the brains of people with dyslexia, experts believe dyslexia results predominantly from cortical dysfunction stemming from congenial neurodevelopmental abnormalities (Dyslexia - Pediatrics - Merck Manuals Professional Edition, 2018). Lesions affecting the integration or interactions of specific brain functions are suspected. Most researchers concur that dyslexia is left hemisphere–related and linked to dysfunctions in brain areas responsible for language association (Wernicke motor speech area) and sound/speech production (Broca motor speech area) and in the interconnection of these areas via the fasciculus arcuatus (Dyslexia - Pediatrics - Merck Manuals Professional Edition, 2018).

Treatment

Treatment involves early detection and evaluation to identify the needs of the child. A combination of treatment techniques may be required to meet these needs.

Options:

· special education resources

· educational therapist/specialist

· reading programs

· multisensory instructions

· special accommodations such as audio books and extra time to complete task

Strategies:

· parent-teacher collaboration

· breakup task into manageable parts

· read in a quiet area

· minimize distractions

· read aloud daily

· ask for help

· remain patient

Overall

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that affects each child differently. It can have a disastrous impact on an individual's self-image and ability to live up to their potential (Adlof & Hogan, 2018). Some children eventually learn to manage symptoms while others can have more trouble with management. Although there is no cure, children can be successful in all aspects of life.

Diagnosing

Dyslexia is diagnosed through a series of evaluations that determine deficits in reading ability and rule out other etiologies for the deficit, such as social, environmental, or cognitive factors (Werth, 2019). To get an accurate assessment, children should wait until they are school-aged (Pavey, 2016). The assessment includes homelife, developmental, educational, and medical history of the child as well as vision, hearing, reading, academic, and psychological testing (Adlof & Hogan, 2018).

The diagnosis of reading ability should involve speed, accuracy, and comprehension when reading. The test often tests how a child receives and handles information and what they do with the information. (Adlof & Hogan, 2018). Also, they determine if a child learns by auditory, visual, or kinesthetic. Some of these tests are the Wechsler Individual Achievement Tests, Kaufman Tests of Educational Achievement, and Expressive On-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (Pavey, 2016). If the child falls below average skills like comprehension, decoding, word recognition, reading fluency, and word retrieval, further cognitive testing is required (Werth, 2019). Diagnostic decisions consider the overall child's development, integration in school, relations with peers, and child's family support.

References

Adlof, S. M., & Hogan, T. P. (2018). Understanding Dyslexia in the Context of Developmental Language Disorders. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 49(4), 762–773. https://doi.org/10.1044/2018_LSHSS-DYSLC-18-0049

Dyslexia Center of Utah. (n.d.). Dyslexia. https://www.dyslexiacenterofutah.org/Statistics

Dyslexia - pediatrics - merck manuals professional edition. (2018). Merck Manuals Professional Edition. https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/pediatrics/learning-and-developmental-disorders/dyslexia

Mayo Clinic. (2017). Dyslexia. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dyslexia/symptoms-causes/syc-20353552

Pavey, B. E. (2016). Dyslexia and Early Childhood: An Essential Guide to Theory and Practice. Routledge.

Werth, R. (2019). What causes dyslexia? Identifying the causes and effective compensatory therapy. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 37(6), 591-608. https://doi.org/10.3233/RNN-190939