Aetiology
Dyslexia is a learning disability in children which persists throughout life when not treated at early stages. It hinders one the ability to write, read and speak. It’s a diverse neurological disorder with a complex hereditary and environmental aetiology. Dyslexia is classified in to three subtypes that are, auditory, visual, and attention. This condition is not intellectual disability because it is not related to IQ. Dyslexia and IQ develop independently and therefore it does not affect intelligence of a person. It is a brain based condition that affects ability to read despite having normal intelligence. People with dyslexia experience problems in spelling, manipulating sounds and rapid visual-verbal response. It normally occurs in children through inheritance but it can occur in adults as a result of brain injury and dementia. The brains fail to translate images received by eyes and ears in to comprehensible language. It does not occur as result of visual and hearing impairment. A person with dyslexia may have problems in separating sounds that make up letters and word. This makes it difficult for them to comprehend sentences (Valdois, Bosse, and Tainturier, 2004).
Symptoms of dyslexia include; a child not being able to understand a simple sentence, difficulty in rhyming and recognizing written words, delayed speech, reversed letter writing and slow or difficulty in reading. A child may not be able to remember what he learnt or heard. The child can also appear to be reserved or miserable (Stanovich, 1988).
Diagnosis
It is not easy to diagnosis dyslexia and thus other causes of learning disability such as emotional disorders, mental retardation and diseases of brain must be ruled out first. These conditions can lead to reading disability which can be confused with dyslexia. The health professionals must first run a neurological and complete medical examination before diagnosing dyslexia. Family history and development of the child must also be obtained. Health professionals review many factors in diagnosis of dyslexia (Valdois, Bosse, and Tainturier, 2004). Tests are carried out which involves testing functional reading ability and comparing it with the potential reading ability which is then evaluated by an intelligence test. The process assesses how the child is processing information and what he/she does with the information. All aspects of learning are examined to determine where the problem is arising from. The tests assess how the child understands information better that is, whether he understands through hearing, looking at it or using objects. It also examines how a child gives out information orally (Stanovich, 1988). These tests assess how all the sensory systems operate in cooperation with others. The tests used are reliable and they are usually in form of games to make a child comfortable. The child is supposed to have a good sleep and breakfast before testing. It is advisable for parents not to be present during the test and they should not coach a child prior. Such standardized tests include Peabody Individual Achievement Tests-Revised, Wechsler Individual Achievement Tests, Kaufman Tests of Educational Achievement, and Bender Gestalt Test of Visual Motor Perception among others. When the diagnosis is made and the child is found to have dyslexia, treatment is the next step to be taken to correct the disorder (Schulte-Körne, Warnke and Remschmidt, 2006).
Treatment
There is no actual cure of dyslexia. The child should be evaluated first to determine the exact area of disability. The school should be ready to offer the special training to the child or a child might be transferred to a school that offers special education to children with dyslexia. The aim should be to teach a child coping and compensation skills but not to read like those without dyslexia. The treatment program should focus on intensification of weaknesses while using the strength. A direct approach may include use of phonics. Making all the senses work together can also be helpful. A method that makes a child to see, hear, say and do something at the same time can be used to make all senses work together (Marcia, 2005).
Computers are of great help to these children and they should be used as much as possible. They help them in using all the senses at the same time (Heim, Tschierse, and Amunts, 2008).
Learning conditions and alternative avenues should be favorable to improve the performance of the children. The attitude of people around these children greatly affects the performance. Frequent breaks between the lessons are important because children with dyslexia tires easily. Teachers should devise ways of teaching that is more interesting to help children who may learn best using diverse techniques (Facoetti, et al. 2003). For example a bag decorated with numbers and letters can help a child learn easily.
Teaching should be individualized because children might have a different weakness from others. Though reading difficulties might persist for life, specialized education helps to improve reading and understanding. Parents should encourage their children through gifts and appraisals for the achievements. Many children with dyslexia usually have low self-esteem and depression and therefore psychological counseling may be helpful (Birsh, 2005).
References
Birsh, J., 2005. Research and reading disability, In Judith R. Birsh. Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills. Baltimore, Maryland: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.
Facoetti, A., 2003. Auditory and visual automatic attention deficits in developmental dyslexia. London: Cambridge Press.
Heim, S., Tschierse, J., and Amunts, K., 2008. Cognitive subtypes of dyslexia. Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis. New York.
Marcia, H., 2005. The history and structure of the English language, Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills. Baltimore, Maryland: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.
Schulte-Körne, G., Warnke, A., and Remschmidt, H., 2006. Genetics of dyslexia. New York: Oxford University.
Stanovich, K., 1988. Explaining the differences between the dyslexic and the garden-variety poor reader: the phonological-core variable-difference model. Journal of Learning Disabilities,1(2), pp. 89-102
Valdois, S., Bosse, M., and Tainturier, M., 2004. The cognitive deficits responsible for developmental dyslexia: Review of evidence for a selective visual attentional disorder. Dyslexia, 10 (4),pp. 12-63.
Warnke, A., 1999. Reading and spelling disorders: Clinical features and causes”. Journal European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 8(3), pp. 9-20.