Facebook Pixel

Understanding Dyslexia

By HERWriter
 
Rate This

Dyslexia is believed to be a neurological condition. The brain has trouble processing images that come in through the eyes and the ears, and then changing them into words. Lack of intelligence is not an issue. Many dyslexics are of average or above average intelligence.

A dyslexic may reverse letters and numbers. Left and right may be confused. They may jumble the letters in a word, saying "nap" instead of "pan".

They may find it hard to write or print. They may not understand what they have read or heard. They may have difficulty writing their thoughts.

It should be noted that very young children may often display these difficulties but also may outgrow them by about age eight. This is very common, and happens to many children. But those who do not outgrow this problem may have dyslexia.

There are three main types of dyslexia: trauma dyslexia, primary dyslexia, and developmental dyslexia.

Trauma dyslexia is what it sounds like. The person has suffered a brain injury which affects the part of the brain that presides over reading, writing and comprehension.

Primary dyslexia is a dysfunction in the left side of the brain, which prevents the person from ever being able to read beyond a grade school level. These folks will always have trouble reading, spelling and writing. This form of dyslexia can be inherited and happens more often in boys than girls.

Developmental dyslexia is caused by a hormone complication during development in the womb. It decreases as the child grows older. It is also found more often in boys.

Dyslexia involves the visual and auditory pathways. Visual problems cause numbers and letters to be reversed, and it is hard to write out what is seen in the proper order. Auditory dyslexia causes difficulty in processing and translating the sounds of words.

Dyslexia can also affect the ability to hold and use a pencil or pen to write or to print. This particular difficulty is known as dysgraphia.

While dyslexia is a difficult condition to deal with, all is not lost. There is a positive side. Many dyslexics, despite problems with processing language, are visual, intuitive and creative.

Offsetting the language difficulties, they are often very capable, hands-on individuals. They are more likely to be visual learners, and think in pictures rather than words. Teaching to their strengths has been found to be very successful for those with dyslexia.

Resources:

Dyslexia
http://www.mamashealth.com/dys.asp

Dyslexia Online
http://dyslexia.learninginfo.org/

Dyslexia
http://www.medicinenet.com/dyslexia/article.htm

Dyslexia
http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/learning_problem/dyslexia.html

Dyslexia
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=285&id=1548

About Dyslexia & Reading Problems
http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/dyslexia.shtml

Visit Jody's website and blog at http://www.ncubator.ca and http://ncubator.ca/blogger

Add a Comment2 Comments

Interesting piece and it's correct to highlight the benefits of dyslexia. As this talk from Oxoford University's Professor John Stein points out there are advantages that dyslexics have: http://www.dystalk.com/talks/89-the-dyslexia-benefits

He's also done an interesting talk on the causes of dyslexia: http://www.dystalk.com/talks/86-what-causes-dyslexia

December 18, 2009 - 3:24am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

Nice, succint piece - my best friend is dyslexic and she was given a really hard time at school, by parents and fellow pupils alike, so it's nice to find people trying to dispel the myths and correct the misconceptions.
One of the things I find most frustrating about a lot of people's view of dyslexia is that there is a single underlying cause that is present in & responsible for all cases: it is just not true. And if you don't know what specific caus elies behind a particular person's reading difficulty, it is very hard to do anything to help them progress towards fulfilling their potential.
There's an article here about the various causal factors involved in reading difficulty:
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-7-Causes-of-Reading-Difficulty-and-Dyslexia&id=3185748

December 16, 2009 - 9:07am
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
By submitting this form, you agree to EmpowHER's terms of service and privacy policy
Add a Comment

We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.

Tags:

Dyslexia

Get Email Updates

Dyslexia Guide

Have a question? We're here to help. Ask the Community.

ASK

Health Newsletter

Receive the latest and greatest in women's health and wellness from EmpowHER - for free!