Learning Disability: What Is Dyslexia?

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Introduction

Conventionally, dyslexia does not have a common definition. However, the commonly accepted definition is that dyslexia is “a language-based processing disorder that can affect reading, writing, spelling, and speaking, as well as social interactions and self-esteem” (Tunmer and Greaney 230). This condition affects people’s cognitive processes, which are involved in language processing.

It is important to note that dyslexia is not a sign of underlying poor intelligence or indolence (Ramus et al. 850). On the contrary, it is a medical condition with underlying causes, symptoms, management, and treatment procedures. This paper explores dyslexia by looking into its history, epidemiology, effects, symptoms, causes, treatment, and management coupled with how it affects teenagers.

History

The history of dyslexia dates back to 1881 when Oswald Berkhan identified the problem. However, the condition remained known as ‘word blindness’ until 1887 when Rudolf Berlin came up with the word dyslexia. Oswald Berkhan could not understand how a little boy failed to read and write in spite of being intellectually sound in other areas.

Different scholars including Orton and Pringle Morgan advanced the idea of dyslexia with the common characteristic being that of writing and reading letters backwards. Even to date, the arbitrary nature dyslexia poses problems in is definition as in some cases, the line between dyslexic and non-dyslexic individuals is very thin.

Epidemiology

Data on the epidemiology of dyslexia is scarce and poorly documented. The available recorded data on the condition dates back to 2003 where “the prevalence in the United States was estimated to be 5% to 17% of school-age children, with as many as 40% reading below grade level” (Shaywitz and Shaywitz 147).

The available data shows that the condition is not gender specific, and thus it affects the both sexes equally, which nullifies the earlier notion that it affected boys more as compared to girls. Information on how the condition is distributed across different regions or backgrounds is still missing, which underscores the need for further research on the area.

Effects

Dyslexia affects different people disparately, which “depends, in part, upon the severity of the learning disability and the success of alternate learning methods” (Akhavan, Hameedy and Baghal 1013). For instance, while some victims have difficulties in reading, others have problems with writing and some might have issues with differentiating right from left. In addition, the intensity of the problems experienced differs from one individual to the other.

Some with dyslexia have issues with listening skills, and thus it affects how they relate with others because they cannot process verbal information from other parties. It is important to note that these hearing difficulties do not come from hearing problems, but from information processing shortcomings. Therefore, people suffering from this condition will generally have poor self-esteem and most resort to being introverts.

Causes

Scientists often differ on the exact causes of this condition, but evidence points to hereditary factors as people having it have a familial history. Scientists have pointed out DCDC2 as the gene associated with this condition even though the inheritance patterns are still unidentified. Environmental factors have also been known to contribute to dyslexia, but the mechanism of operation is unknown. Finally, several electrophysiological studies point to a neurological cause of dyslexic.

Dyslexics and nondyslexics show different brain formations. A number of studies “have found that the event-related potentials of dyslexics, in contrast with nondyslexics, fail to show what is called mismatched negativity, which is a negative deflection in the wave in response to a change in the stimulus” (Siegel 583).

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of this condition manifest early in childhood. Most dyslexic children have delayed speech, they lack phonemic awareness, they cannot differentiate left from right, and they practice mirror writing. As children grow and start going to school, they may have difficulties in writing or identifying words that rhyme coupled with low phonological awareness.

In addition, such children cannot mix words to make particular sounds and generally, they have poor spelling tendencies. Dyslexic children will add nonexistent words when reading sentences or omit some words. In adolescence and adulthood, dyslexia manifests by poor memorizing and summarizing techniques coupled with slow reading tendencies. Conventionally, these people have poorer phonological awareness as compared to their normal counterparts.

Prevention

The best prevention strategy for dyslexia is early identification of children at risk of acquiring the condition. As children grow, their cognitive processes also grow, and thus it becomes easy to guide them on how to pronounce, write, and read.

Given that the condition does not have specific prescription apart from assisted learning, young age is the best time to start the learning guidance.

Treatment

The basic management and treatment approach to this condition is teaching dyslexic individuals how to identify letters together with their matching sounds. Scholars have come up with programs, which aid in teaching and learning of letters and sounds. In addition, technology has assisted in coming up with computer-based programs to aid in learning.

In this scenario, “children read books on computers, which are linked to speech synthesizers and then obtain feedback on words that are difficult for them” (Siegel 584). Assisted learning is the only way of managing this condition, as there are no prescriptions for the same.

How it affects teenagers

During teenage, individuals go through numerous changes both physically and psychologically. Teenage-hood comes with confusion and controversy as individuals struggle to understand and cope with the changes happening within and around them. With dyslexia, teenagers struggle to express themselves or even understand other people.

Conventionally, in teenage-hood, individuals struggle with self-worth, self-acceptance, and identity crisis. Dyslexia exacerbates this situation, and thus most victims resort to being introverts. Depression sets in as the young minds do not have the right information and capacity to deal with the situation.

The way forward

As noted in this paper, many aspects of dyslexia are unknown, and thus further research is needed to address the problem. In addition, scholars and policy makers should come up with models to assist dyslexic individuals so that they can have the appropriate instructions and guidance. The current model, viz. Response to Instruction is doing great work, but it cannot handle all the reported cases. Extra funding is needed for research and hiring support teams to identify and assist the dyslexics in society.

Conclusion

By definition, dyslexic is a disorder that affects language processing. In most cases, the condition may go unnoticed as it is confused with lack of intelligence or laziness. The condition is linked to hereditary, environmental, and neurological causes.

In teenagers, the condition pushes its victims into being introverts as they cannot express themselves or understand the people around them. Unfortunately, a lot of information concerning the condition is still unknown or undocumented, and thus extra research is needed on the area in a bid to assist the victims from a point of knowledge.

Works Cited

Akhavan, Mahnaz, Mansoor Hameedy, and Nahid Baghal. “Dyslexia, a deficit or a difference: Comparing the creativity and memory skills of dyslexic and nondyslexic students in Iran.” Social Behavior and Personality 37.8 (2009): 1009-1016. Print.

Ramus, Franck, Stuart Rosen, Steven Dakin, Brian Day, Juan Castellote, Sarah White, and Uta Frith. “Theories of developmental dyslexia: insights from a multiple case study of dyslexic adults.” Brain 126.4 (2002): 841-865. Print.

Shaywitz, Sally, and Bennett Shaywitz. “Dyslexia (Specific Reading Disability).” Pediatrics in Review 24.5 (2003): 147-153. Print.

Siegel, Linda. “Perspectives on dyslexia.” Pediatric Child Health 11.9 (2006): 581-587. Print.

Tunmer, William, and Keith Greaney. “Defining Dyslexia.” Journal of Learning Disabilities 43.3 (2009): 229-243. Print.

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