What Is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a reading disorder that involves difficulty reading because of problems identifying speech sounds and their relationship to letters and words. It is also called a reading disability, dyslexia affects areas of the brain that process language.
People with dyslexia have normal intelligence and usually have regular vision. Most children with dyslexia can have success in school with tutoring or a specialized education program that targets dyslexia.
There is no cure for dyslexia, but early assessment and intervention result in the best outcome. Sometimes dyslexia may go undiagnosed for years and isn't identified until later in life, but it's never too late to seek help.
Dyslexia Facts
*1 in 5 people struggle spelling, writing or reading
*About 40% of people with Dyslexia also have ADD/ADHD
*Dyslexia is the most common learning disability
*People with Dyslexia use only their right side of the brain to process language
*People with Dyslexia are highly intelligent and very creative
*Dyslexics do not see things backwards
*Dyslexia isn’t a disease and has no cure, but the right tutoring can improve reading and writing skills for people with Dyslexia
Could It Be Dyslexia? People exhibiting at least 3 of these warning signs might have Dyslexia.
*Dyslexia in the family tree
*Speech delay
*Difficulty memorizing (ABC’s & sounds)
*Slow processing
*Numerous interventions that don’t work
*ADD/ADHD
*Poor penmanship or trouble copying
*Mixes up parts of multi-syllable words
*Struggles to decode words & read fluently
*Weakness in phonemic awareness
*Omits or inserts sounds when reading
*Not able to rhyme by age 4
*Rough time with word retrieval
*Struggles with sight words
*Slow, choppy, inaccurate reading
*Messy room or backpack
*Very smart, but has extreme difficulty reading, writing, & spelling
*Strengths in art, sports, people skills, 3D visualization, music, & global thinking
What Can I Do?
*Get help. With proper help, many people with dyslexia can learn to read, spell and write well.
*Early intervention is the key.
*Start at least 2 hours of tutoring each week using the Orton-Gillingham approach.
*Read Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz, M.D.
*Find a dyslexia tutoring specialist.
*Celebrate successes to build self esteem.
*Find out why your student is struggling.
*Get tested!