Now, more than ever, it is important to raise awareness of dyslexia and identify warning signs that parents can be on the lookout for. It is important to understand that dyslexia is not simply “reading backwards.”
The International Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition, and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.
Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. Dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence, birth defects, mental illness, level of education, or economic status.
Some of the problems experienced by dyslexics include:
• Difficulty learning to speak
• Trouble learning letters and their sounds
• Difficulty organizing written and spoken language
• Trouble memorizing number facts
• Difficulty reading quickly enough to comprehend
• Trouble persisting with and comprehending longer reading assignments
• Difficulty spelling
• Trouble learning a foreign language
• Difficulty correctly doing math operations
Not all students who have difficulties with these skills are dyslexic. Formal testing of reading, language, and writing skills is the only way to confirm a diagnosis of suspected dyslexia.
Parents who suspect that their child might be exhibiting signs of dyslexia or another language-based learning difference are encouraged to take action as soon as they suspect a problem. The earlier a child receives intervention, the sooner he or she can get on the path to successful learning.
• Contact your child’s teacher, head of school, guidance counselor, or pediatrician and express your concerns.
• Request a formal evaluation of your child by a professional or request a referral for testing to confirm a diagnosis of dyslexia or another language-based learning difference.
• Visit the International Dyslexia Association’s website for fact sheets and helpful resources for parents. In addition, the Association also has a new program designed to support parents and connect them with other parents of dyslexic children.
• Be an advocate for your child. If your child is diagnosed as being dyslexic, fight for proper accommodations in his or her current school or look into specialized schools or tutors.
• Keep a positive attitude. A diagnosis of dyslexia or another learning difference is not the end of the world. Children with dyslexia are bright, capable, and able to go on to college and successful careers. If your child has dyslexia, it simply means that she learns differently. Many top CEOs, scientists, artists and entrepreneurs are dyslexic.
Watching a child struggle with reading, writing, and other academic areas can be heartbreaking for parents and other family members. The Association strives to help parents of dyslexic children, as well as those with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences overcome these challenges. The organization estimates that one in 10 people have dyslexia, and a recent study revealed that as many as 35 percent of entrepreneurs may be dyslexic.
The latest dyslexia research is focusing on the brain in order to determine whether there is a physiological difference in the brains of dyslexic individuals. In fact, the Association’s president and world-renowned dyslexia expert, Dr. Guinevere F. Eden, uses brain imaging technology to visualize how reading pathways of the brain are impacted by instruction, mode of communication, and writing systems.
MRI scans conducted by Eden and her team show that learning areas activated in the brain of a dyslexic are different from those of “typical readers.”
Recently, Eden released the results of a groundbreaking study which showed that improvements in reading ability were accompanied by changes in brain structure after a reading intervention in 11 children with dyslexia. The study’s findings were featured in the scientific journal NeuroImage.
Children in the study showed marked improvement in reading and reading-related skills as the result of eight weeks of intensive instruction. MRI scans of the brain of students participating in the study, conducted by Eden and her team, show four areas with increased volume at the end of the instruction, as compared with the start. Both the improvements in reading skills and changes in brain structure continued to be observed on follow-up. The study concluded that intense instruction can have positive and lasting outcomes in improving reading skills in children having difficulty learning to read.
To find an International Dyslexia Association member professional in your area, become a member of the Association or the Parent Program, or to find out more information about dyslexia and the organization, please visit www.interdys.org.
Steve Peregoy is the executive director of The International Dyslexia Association, which is based in Baltimore, MD.
