Dyslexia is a reading disorder caused by individual differences in areas of the brain that process language.
It results to difficulty reading and interpreting what someone reads. Ordinary readers use the left-brain systems while dyslexic readers mostly rely on the right brain areas.
It is a disorder that a person is born with and it often runs in families thus it is linked with genes.
There are four types of dyslexia.
- Phonological dyslexia
It is also called dysphonetic or auditory dyslexia where an individual has difficulties in processing sounds of individual letters and syllables.
- Rapid naming dyslexia
This type of dyslexia involves issues with naming a letter, number, color or object quickly and automatically.
- Double deficit dyslexia
This shows a deficit in the phonological processes and naming speed.
- Visual dyslexia
It involves difficulty in recognizing whole words which results from vision issues or visual processing problems in the brain.
According to the Mayo Clinic the following are symptoms of dyslexia at different stages of a child’s development;
Before school
Late talking
Learning new words slowly
Problem remembering or naming letters ,numbers and colors.
Problems forming words correctly
Difficulty learning nursery rhymes
School age
Once your child is in school, dyslexia symptoms may become more apparent, including:
Problems processing and understanding what is heard
Difficulty finding the right word or forming answers to questions
Problems remembering the sequence of things
Difficulty seeing (and occasionally hearing) similarities and differences in letters and words
Inability to sound out the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word
Difficulty spelling
Spending an unusually long time completing tasks that involve reading or writing
Avoiding activities that involve reading
Teens and adults
Dyslexia signs in teens and adults are a lot like those in children.
Difficulty reading, including reading aloud
Slow and labor-intensive reading and writing
Problems spelling
Avoiding activities that involve reading
Mispronouncing names or words, or problems retrieving words
Spending an unusually long time completing tasks that involve reading or writing
Difficulty summarizing a story
Difficulty doing math word problems
Parents are advised to talk with health care providers if a child’s reading level is below what’s expected because if dyslexia goes undiagnosed and untreated, childhood reading difficulties continue into adulthood.
It is a chronic disorder that can last for a lifetime. Treatment can help but it cannot be cured. Treatment includes therapy and using special specific educational approaches.
BY CHRISTINE OMONDI