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I've been told that dyslexia doesn't exist or is an outdated term, is this true? The term Dyslexia, "Difficulty with Words/Language", has been around for many decades. It has been used to describe why otherwise smart people struggle to achieve reading fluency. These individuals exhibit unexplained difficulties with sight-word recognition and/or phonological processing (and, therefore, the application of phonics). It has also been known for the last hundred years that these capabilities are performed by neurological systems located in the back left part of the brain. But, up until recently, there has been no way to prove that "dyslexics" really process information differently than "non-dyslexics", and so "dyslexia" has, in the past, been a condition described by behavioral symptoms. Today we know differently. Research around the world, including the groundbreaking twenty-year Connecticut Longitudinal Study performed at the Yale University School of Medicine by Dr. Sally Shaywitz, has proved beyond any doubt that 1 out of 5 people struggle with reading fluency because of a specific neurological condition called Developmental Dyslexia (see Yale Study). This condition is so widely accepted that the American Medical Association recognizes Developmental Dyslexia (or simply dyslexia) as a specific and diagnosable neurological medical condition. Do dyslexics see or read words backwards? No. This is a myth that is derived from difficulties that some dyslexics have with letter/number reversals and letter ordering within words. Only about 30% of dyslexics experience letter reversal problems, and the difficulty lies in the discrimination and perception of letter forms. Word reversals (saw <--> was) is an issue associated with deficits in the ability to sequence discrete information (in this case letters). It is just as common for a dyslexic that "reverses" saw/was to mix up the letters in other words, such as dose/does. Why don't schools talk about dyslexia? Schools are not required to discuss dyslexia. They are required to provide educational (not medical) assessments and, based on the results of those assessments, provide additional help if the student qualifies. It is not necessary for the school to provide a medical diagnosis for this purpose, instead a student can be classified as having a "Specific Learning Disability". See the Specific LD section of this guide for more information. Can dyslexia be cured? There
is absolutely no credible research to show that dyslexia can be cured.
However, the vast majority of dyslexics CAN become accurate (and adequate)
readers. Even
the most severe dyslexics can learn to read at the 6th to 8th grade
level. But reading accurately is not the same as reading fluently
and quickly. Reading for a dyslexic may also always be slower and more
laborious than for naturally fluent readers. They may also continue to
struggle with reading comprehension and written expression difficulties
brought about by deficits in sequential working memory if they are not
taught effective strategies for these skills. Working memory and
visual-motor skills can also remain degraded unless they are specifically
addressed. This is why simply trying to teach a dyslexic to read is only
part of the solution. I've
been told that dyslexia can be caused by not reading to a child when they
were younger. No. Dyslexia is a condition that someone is born with and not acquired. There are cases, although rare in the US, were some children read well below their grade level due to an extremely poor educational environment alone (i.e., they have not been exposed to the written language to any large extent). The difference between someone that reads poorly because of past environmental situations and a dyslexic, is that the non-dyslexic will not experience unexpected difficulty in learning/retaining/recalling sight words and applying phonics rules to read/spell words. Will reading to a dyslexic help them? Yes and no. By itself reading to a dyslexic will not help them lean to read better. However, it will help them in the long run. Reading is performed either by knowing a word by sight or phonetically decoding it. Decoding words phonetically can be "accelerated" if a word does not have to be fully decoded before it is recognized. This is done by reading the word in context and having the word as part of your speaking vocabulary. Dyslexics have intact, an in many cases accelerated, speaking vocabularies. So by reading TO a dyslexic AT or ABOVE their grade level it will help them continue to build a vocabulary that they can then use (as we all do) to read words without fully decoding them. Should
dyslexics be encouraged to read In general no. Any struggling reader should read at their READING level. To do anything else is simply unhelpful. They should, however, be read to or listen to recorded books, movies, etc. at or above their grade level. Remember, dyslexia does not affect general comprehension or intelligence, so a dyslexic should receive instruction in accordance with their intellectual capabilities, not their reading level. What is the difference between a developmental delay in reading and dyslexia. Parents
need to be very cautious when they are told that their child's early
reading struggles is just a developmental delay. Roughly 90% of children
that struggle early on with reading will continue to struggle as they grow
older. Many of these children are, in fact, dyslexic. Developmental Delays
are exactly that "delays". A delay, by definition, means that
something is starting later than normal or anticipated. It does NOT mean
that once it has started that it will not progress at a normal or expected
rate. It is a fact that all children start reading at slightly different
ages, some earlier and some later - but when they start to read they do
not experience unexpected difficulties such as those associated with
dyslexia. Therefore, the difference between a child that is not reading
early on because of a developmental delay vs. dyslexia is that a dyslexic
will continue to struggle after the "learning to read" process
has started, whereas, the developmentally delayed child will progress at
or close to an expected rate.
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