WHAT IS DYSLEXIA?

"Dyslexia is neurologically-based, often familial disorder which interferes with the acquisition and processing of language. Varying in degrees of severity, it is manifested by difficulties in receptive, and expressive language including phonological processing, in reading, writing, spelling, handwriting, and sometimes in arithmetic. Dyslexia is not the result of lack of motivation, sensory impairment, inadequate instructional or environmental conditions but may occur together with these conditions." (International Dyslexia Association)

Dyslexia is a word of Greek origin, dys means problem, and lexia means language, so dyslexia simply means a problem with words. It falls under the umbrella of language disorders and research shows that language comprehension and expression problems in young children are often associated with later reading difficulty. It is a natural biological variation in the wiring of the brain in which language is processed differently, both written and oral, than in the general population.

Basically the brain of a dyslexic person is not wired efficiently for language, but they may have strengths in other areas such as math, music, art, problem solving, or in fields that require visual/spatial ability such as design and architecture.

Dyslexia affects nearly 20% of the population, males and females equally, as well as people from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. Dyslexia is the most common learning disability affecting nearly 1 in 5 people to some degree. Nearly 80% of students that are receiving supplemental instruction for reading are dyslexic. In a typical classroom of 25 students, as many as 5 of those students could be dyslexic.

Dyslexia is more common than ADD/ADHD and autism and the below figures are approximate:

1 in 5 have dyslexia
1 in 14 have ADD/ADHD
1 in 68 have autism
1 in 2 people with ADD/ADHD is also dyslexic

Below is a list of warning signs and a dyslexic child will have at least several of these symptoms. Also, dyslexia tends to run in families, and if a close family member is dyslexic, chances are 50% that a child will be dyslexic as well.

Preschool Age:

Delayed speech
Articulation problems
Mispronunciation of words (bisghetti for spaghetti, aminal for animal, continents for consonant)
Saying the wrong word or forgetting the word (expressive language)
Difficulty rhyming words
Difficulty manipulating the sounds of speech (what is the word if the /t/ sound in CAT is changed to an /n/ sound?)
Difficulty remembering letter names and their speech sound(s)

School Age:

Difficulty learning sight words
Difficulty spelling words, especially retaining the correct spelling after a test
Misreading words
Slow and choppy reading
Problems with word recall
Problems with rote memorization
frustration
anxiety
low self-esteem

The research is clear:

If a child falls behind in 1st grade, they will have a 1 in 8 chance of ever catching up to grade level without extraordinary efforts
74% of children who are poor readers in 3rd grade will remain poor readers in 9th grade
High school graduation can be predicted with reasonable accuracy by knowing a child’s reading skill by the end of 3rd grade

A child that is a poor reader in 1st grade will continue to be a poor reader in 3rd grade unless they receive the appropriate intervention. It is important to identify the struggling readers early so they will not be held back due to their learning difference.