Dyslexia is a learning disorder that occurs regardless of intelligence level and affects individuals' language, reading and writing skills. People with dyslexia recognize speech sounds but have difficulty associating these sounds with letters. Dyslexia, which usually occurs in childhood, may not be diagnosed until adulthood in some cases.
Dyslexia is a language-based learning disorder that affects reading, writing and spelling skills without an intelligence problem. Dyslexia, also known as learning disability, is a problem that is usually recognized or emerges in childhood. Although it is categorized as a rare disease, it is a problem known by the society.
Symptoms of dyslexia vary according to age and person. When it occurs in early childhood, it may manifest itself with a symptom such as speech delay. Individuals with dyslexia may have difficulty with numerical concepts, place, direction and time concepts, as well as reading and writing difficulties. Individuals with dyslexia, which is not an indicator of any problems related to intelligence, hearing or vision, can be successful in school and business life.
Early diagnosis and intervention are critical in dyslexia, which is associated with genetic causes. Educational techniques applied in cases of early diagnosis focus on improving the individual's reading and language skills. The support of the family is also important for this process to progress positively.
What are the Symptoms of Dyslexia?
Dyslexia can be difficult to recognize in preschool children. The fact that the child has difficulties compared to his/her peers when he/she starts to learn to read is considered an important symptom and is mostly noticed by teachers. Along with reading difficulties, problems with spelling, writing and reading comprehension are also among the symptoms of dyslexia. The symptoms of dyslexia are as follows;
- Reading difficulty
- Late speech
- Slow reading and writing
- Problems in understanding and processing what you hear
- Difficulty remembering the sequence of events
- Problems pronouncing an unknown word or rhyme
- Confusing the sound order when saying words
- Try to avoid activities that require reading
- Difficulty distinguishing letters with similar shapes such as "d,b" or "p,q"
- Having problems learning new words
- Not associating sounds with letters or word groups
- Difficulty remembering the names of letters, colors and numbers
- Difficulty saying nursery rhymes or learning rhymes
- Not being able to summarize any story
- Difficulty performing numerical operations
- Difficulty in learning a foreign language
What are the Types of Dyslexia?
Types of dyslexia indicate that reading and writing difficulties experienced by individuals are based on different causes and symptoms. There are six types of dyslexia. These are as follows;
- Phonological Dyslexia: People with phonological dyslexia may have difficulty vocalizing some words. In this type of dyslexia, the problem of visual processing is more prominent than auditory.
- Superficial Dyslexia: This is the type that causes difficulty in recognizing and writing words.
- Visual Dyslexia: This is a type of dyslexia caused by visual problems or visual processing disorders.
- Primary Dyslexia: Primary dyslexia, the most common type of dyslexia, is a functional disorder in the left cerebral cortex (cerebral cortex) of the brain. It is inherited and persists throughout life.
- Secondary (Developmental) Dyslexia: Occurs in the early stages of brain development during fetal development. Unlike primary dyslexia, this type of dyslexia begins to decline as the child gets older.
- Trauma Dyslexia: Occurs in adults or children due to damage to the brain caused by trauma or illness.
What Causes Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is thought to be caused by impairment in the brain's ability to process phonemes (the smallest units of speech that make words different from one another). Dyslexia usually occurs in members of the same family. It is thought to be linked to genes in the part of the brain that manages reading and speech and to various environmental factors.
A family history of dyslexia or other learning difficulties is an important risk factor for dyslexia. In addition, premature birth or low birth weight, exposure to nicotine (smoking), drugs, alcohol or infection during pregnancy that can alter fetal brain development, and incompatibilities between the various parts of the brain that enable reading can also increase the risk of dyslexia. The causes of dyslexia also vary depending on the type.
How is dyslexia diagnosed?
Dyslexia is not a problem that can be diagnosed with a blood test or laboratory screening. However, a number of factors are taken into consideration during diagnosis. These factors include genetic history, stress and trauma, vision, hearing and neurological tests, psychological tests and educational tests.
The doctor may order several standardized tests to determine the child's reading and language skills. These tests can analyze the level and quality of the child's reading skills. Reading difficulties can also be diagnosed with a dyslexia test. The dyslexia test includes
- Decoding (reading foreign words by sounding them out)
- Oral language skills
- Reading fluency and reading comprehension
- Improving the writing side
- Vocabulary and word recognition
How is Dyslexia Treated?
Dyslexia is a lifelong problem. However, early identification and assessment to determine appropriate treatment in line with specific needs can increase success.
Treatment for dyslexia includes contact with speech and language therapists and special education teachers. While most dyslexic children adapt to their learning difficulties and can continue to learn in a regular classroom, some dyslexic children may require special education.
There is no drug treatment that will eliminate dyslexia, but if there is a psychiatric illness that accompanies dyslexia, it is very important to treat it. The success of children with dyslexia depends on how severe the dyslexia is, how early it is diagnosed and the quality of treatment. In summary, the following points should be considered for the treatment of dyslexia:
- Using specific fonts that your child's brain can recognize more easily
- Receiving speech and language therapy to address articulation problems
- Teaching phonemic awareness, which involves breaking words into their smallest phonemes
- Implementation of dyslexia exercises such as practicing the words that are difficult to read by reading them over and over again
- The use of multisensory therapy, where language skills are based on written or spoken words accompanied by pictures, objects or sounds
- If necessary, dyslectic children should be given individual or group special education by specialists in this field
