Term Paper on "Manifestations of Dyslexia"

Term Paper 18 pages (5427 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Manifestations of Dyslexia

Dyslexia is considered to be an hereditary and genetic neurobiological disorder (Dyslexia, fluency, and the brain, 1999) whose symptoms frequently include, but are not limited to, difficulties with learning to read, write, spell, and to master various other tasks associated with auditory processing and the learning and usage of (particularly written) language (What is Dyslexia (2005); Dyslexia symptoms and Dyslexia signs (2005); The nature of Dyslexia (2005).

According to the International Dyslexia Association (2002):

Dyslexia... is a specific language-based disorder of constitutional origin characterized by difficulties in single word decoding, usually reflecting insufficient phonological processing abilities. These difficulties in single word decoding are often unexpected in relation to age and other cognitive and academic abilities; they are not the result of generalized developmental disability or sensory impairment. Dyslexia is manifest by variable difficulty with different forms of language, often including, in addition to problems reading, a conspicuous problem with acquiring proficiency in writing and spelling.

The term "dyslexic" comes from the Greek root "dys" (difficult) combined with the Greek noun "lesicos" (pertaining to words)(Dyslexia 2005). According to the International Dyslexia Association (2002), Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.

The word "dyslexia" itself, used to describe a specific medical condition, however, was first introduced by Berlin in 1887 to describe extreme difficulty in reading and spelling words (The nature of dyslexia). According to the World Federation of Neurology (1968; cited in Critchley 1970):

Specific developmental dyslexia is a disorder manifested by difficulty learning to read

Despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and adequate sociocultural opportunity. It is dependent upon fundamental cognitive disabilities which are frequently of constitutional origin.

Further, according to Frith (1986) use of the term "developmental," within that neurological definition of the word "dyslexia," implies a disorder of suspected congenital or hereditary [emphasis added] origin, in contrast to acquired Dyslexia, a disorder resulting from brain injury after the onset of reading (cited in The nature of dyslexia, 2005). Individuals with Dyslexia typically experience difficulties with various components of the processing and use of language. These typically include, but are not limited to, skills children typically are required to learn in school, such as reading, writing, and spelling (What is dyslexia?, 2005).

Critical Evaluation of the Available Literature

According to the available literature, Dyslexia most often manifests itself as a severe reading disability, and is, unfortunately, not a condition that a child can look forward to "outgrowing." (What is Dyslexia (2005) Moreover, "Dyslexic adults... tend to continue to have difficulty with language skills throughout their lives (Dyslexia, 2005).Still, with proper diagnosis, treatment, and support in childhood and adolescence, "a dyslexia diagnosis is no barrier to success" (Dyslexia). In fact, Individuals who have been helped to manage their dyslexia in childhood will almost always have easier, less problematic adulthoods than will those left to fend for themselves in a predominantly non-dyslexic world (Frith, (1991); Stein & Walsh (1997); Stein & Talcott (1999); Gorman (2003); Dyslexia teacher (2005); ("Dyslexia Project - Interim Report (summary)," (2003). Conversely, however, children who are not helped early on to manage their Dyslexia will almost always find it more difficult to live with the disorder as adults. It has been estimated that one in 10 children is dyslexic (Gorman, 2003).

Specific signs and symptoms of Dyslexia in childhood. According to available literature, indications of possible dyslexia first appear most clearly in the first two or three grades of primary school (Dyslexia-How to help, 2005), that is, when a child initially begins the formal, systematic processes of learning to read and write. Up to that point, signs of dyslexia, though they may have already have been present, are not as easily or definitively identified or diagnosed. This is because many typical signs of dyslexia (e.g., directional confusion; sequencing difficulties, and late talking or immature speech) are present during normal pre-school-age child development.

Additional childhood symptoms of Dyslexia may include, but are not limited to, difficulties with learning to read (often characterized by confusion between letters like "b"; "d"; "p," and "q") (What is Dyslexia (2005); bizarre reading and spelling (Dyslexia symptoms and Dyslexia signs (2005); poor eye-hand coordination; and poor handwriting (The nature of Dyslexia 2005). Other difficulties may include kinetic clumsiness; directional confusion; sequencing difficulties; handwriting difficulties (such as poor-quality handwriting and/or the mixing of printed and cursive letters); and poor motor coordination (The nature of Dyslexia; Dyslexia symptoms and dyslexia signs). Moreover, children with Dyslexia symptoms can be, and often are, badly misunderstood, and underestimated at school, by their teachers and their peers alike. This is why it is important to understand that Dyslexia is not so much a disability or a handicap (although its symptoms can easily lead to the perception, among Dyslexic individuals themselves, and others, that it is exactly that) as it is "a kind of mind. Very often it is a gifted mind, but it is a mind that is physiologically different. This brain difference is not a defect, but it makes learning language excessively hard" (What is dyslexia? 2005).

According to Dyslexia (2005):

Dyslexic learns at his/her own level and pace, and typically excels in one or more

Other area. Some of their experiences include difficulties with concentration, perception, memory, verbal skills, abstract reasoning, eye-hand coordination, social adjustment (low self-esteem is commonly observed behavioral characteristic), poor grades, and underachievement. Often, people with dyslexia are considered to be lazy, rebellious, class clowns, unmotivated, misfits, or of low intelligence. These misconceptions, without understanding dyslexia's [sic] effect on the person's life, lead to rejection, isolation, feelings of inferiority, discouragement, and low self-esteem.

Treatments for dyslexic children. Based on the literature, treatments for dyslexic children, particularly those also showing signs of Irlen Syndrome (IS) may include: use of a dark patch over one eye in order to help focus vision in the other eye; prescription of glasses with coloured lenses; glasses, and use of coloured overlays for reading (Stein & Walsh, 1997). Another treatment plan for dyslexic children is "an exercise-based treatment" (Young, 2002):

The treatment regime involves physical exercises designed to improve functioning of the cerebellum, a part of the brain involved in co-coordinating movement. It has been taken up by 10,000 people at Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and attention Treatment (DDAT)

Centres in the UK, U.S., and Australia.

Potential hazards of untreated childhood Dyslexia. The literature points out that children with Dyslexia, especially when the condition remains undiagnosed and untreated, statistically seem to have a greater than average chance, according to some research ("Dyslexia Project - Interim Report (summary), (2003); Poverty and social issues (21 July 2000), pp. 6; 11; 12-13; 14) of becoming troubled adolescents and adults (though that outcome is certainly not inevitable). Dyslexia is overrepresented, for example, within prison populations. According to Poverty and social issues (21 July 2000):

survey of young prisoners has found that one in two is dyslexic... An estimated 4-10 per cent of Scots are dyslexic, but a study at Edinburgh

University by Jane Kirk, a dyslexia adviser, and Gavin Reid, a senior lecturer, found that in a random sample of 50 young offenders at Polmont Institute, half were affected. Their report warns that undiagnosed dyslexics "might very well feel devalued at school and turn to deviant behaviour as a way of responding to a sense of low esteem - and as a way of achieving recognition from peers.

A pattern of maladjusted behaviour at school might well lead to more serious forms of deviant behaviour and then to imprisonment. (p. 14)

Specific problems of adults with Dyslexia. According to the literature, adults with Dyslexia who have received the help they need, in their early years, with their managing Dyslexia symptoms, usually have learned how to make successful compensations for the disorder by adulthood. Such adults typically lead normal, productive, and sometimes even extremely successful lives. Well-known adults with dyslexia have included Pablo Picasso; Tom Cruise; Richard Branson; Leonardo da Vinci; Thomas Edison; Jay Leno, and Whoopi Goldberg (Dyslexia, 2005; Dyslexic? You're not alone..., (2003).

Among adult dyslexics, however, symptoms will persist throughout life. Such lingering symptoms of Dyslexia in adulthood may include, but are not limited to: difficulties with following detailed discussions; slower-than-average reading speed and comprehension; difficulties with mentally working out sums (e.g., simple addition, subtraction, or multiplication); poor spelling; mixing up the order of syllables in long words; filling out forms; reversing numbers (e.g., 85 and 58); misdialing the telephone, or mixing up dates and times and [consequently] missing appointments (Dyslexia in adults, 2005).

Treatments for dyslexic adults. Available literature on the subject of treatments for dyslexic adults (Dyslexia treatments 2004; NSRI, 2005 EasiReader, 2005) indicates that treatments for dyslexic adults are controversial, and evidence of their efficacy remains anecdotal. One treatment for adults is through the DORE Achievement Centers (), a privately funded company in the United States, based in Louisville, Colorado. DORE individualized treatment "involves exercises aimed at minimizing or eliminating Cerebellular Developmental Delay (CDD), the likely cause… READ MORE

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