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Running Head: DYSLEXIA 1

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What General Education Teacher Describe How Dyslexia Affects Writing

Introduction

According to the International Dyslexia Association, dyslexia is a specific learning

disability which is neurobiological in nature (Berninger et al., 2008). Dyslexia is generally

characterized by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition. It is also characterized by

poor decoding, and writing abilities among the dyslexic students. The students with dyslexia also

have extra difficulty in learning or even writing sight words which do not follow the

standardized spelling rules. It is also worth noting that dyslexic students find it difficult to

express their thoughts by writing on paper and have trouble in acquiring adequate use of

grammar (Lyon, Shaywitz, & Shaywitz, 2003). Imperatively, the difficult brought about by

dyslexia of acquisition of the writing literacy skill makes the students suffer anguish, and trauma

because they feel mentally abused by their peers within the school environment, because of their

learning difficulty.

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Further, the dyslexic students are characteristically unable to write or copy written texts.

Their grip of writing materials is unusual, and their handwriting varies or is illegible. The

dyslexic students are also confused by letters, numbers, words, sequences, or verbal

explanations. Their writing is characterized by omissions, substitutions, transpositions, and

reversals of letters, or words. The students also have problems with segmenting words into

individual sounds and blending sounds to form words in what is known as phonetic difficulties.

Moreover, they have difficulties in remembering spelling words over time, and applying the

spelling rules consequently the problems seen in their writing skills. The dyslexic students also

often mix up and confuse the sequence of letters and symbols. This is more so noted in letters

like "b" and "d"; and words like “quite” and "quiet" which greatly hampers their improvement of

writing.

These dyslexic students also demonstrate unusual behaviors such as being disorderly in

classrooms. They also make a lot of trouble or remain silent most of the time. They complain of

feeling or seeing non-existent movement copying texts or writing. Their struggle in spelling

words phonetically and inconsistently when told to spell words in the classroom is what

challenges their writing or what they transfer to paper (Vandermosten et al., 2017). These

students often find themselves daydreaming in the classroom. They also experience difficulties

in sustaining attention hence the inability to write words correctly, and accurately as dictated by

their teachers.

Undeniably, these behaviors have made the general education teachers to note that

dyslexia affects the writing capability of the dyslexic students. The teachers say that these

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students have difficulties in following both the oral and written instructions consequently the

obscured handwriting they are characterized with (Lyon, Shaywitz, & Shaywitz, 2003).

Moreover, the dyslexic students have been known to experience difficulties in decoding

words. This has been the resultant effect of difficulties in writing multisyllabic words. It is also a

result of often omitting entire syllables as well as making single sound errors thus making

decoding of words difficulty for them. They also lack awareness of word structure consequently

the inability to decode words. It has also been advanced that these dyslexic students frequently

misread common sight words, and this is what makes them experience difficulties in decoding

words. The difficulties dyslexic students experience in decoding words could also be explained

by their inability or difficulties in recognizing underlying words (Critchley, 1964). Further, the

dyslexic students have language problems that significantly affects their vocabulary knowledge

and grammar thus difficulties in comprehension of texts. These difficulties in decoding words

also occur as a result of problems in writing, spelling as well as organizing ideas.

It is also notable that dyslexic students have deficits in the phonological component of

language, and speech sounds (Temple, & Marshall, 1983). This has been noted to have

secondary consequences like having reading problems that consequently impede the growth of

vocabulary and grammar which consequently impact the writing of the dyslexic students.

Therefore, in my proposed study, I seek to gain additional evidence that dyslexia

significantly impacts the writing skills of dyslexic students making them experience

phonological deficit, struggle with phonetics, and decoding words hence difficulties in writing.

This will provide better insights on accommodating the dyslexic students, and coping with their

studies more so in the areas of writing as they move to higher levels of education. By furthering

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the research on difficulties of writing among the dyslexic students will enable teachers know

better how to work with these students to improve their writing as they avert learning

consequences resulting from wrongly written texts or illegible writing.

References

Berninger, V. W., Nielsen, K. H., Abbott, R. D., Wijsman, E., & Raskind, W. (2008). Writing

problems in developmental dyslexia: Under-recognized and under-treated. Journal of

school psychology, 46(1), 1-21.

Critchley, M. (1964). Developmental dyslexia.

Lyon, G. R., Shaywitz, S. E., & Shaywitz, B. A. (2003). A definition of dyslexia. Annals of

dyslexia, 53(1), 1-14.

Temple, C. M., & Marshall, J. C. (1983). A case study of developmental phonological

dyslexia. British Journal of Psychology, 74(4), 517-533.

Vandermosten, M., Correia, J., Wouters, J., Ghesquière, P., & Bonte, M. (2017). Phonetic

representations in young children with dyslexia.

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