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Dyslexia
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| Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 | | CWK Producer |
“You know, sometimes it does get frustrating. I’m like, why do I always have to have people help me read over [what I’ve written].”
– Tianna Bailey, a graduate student with dyslexia
By the time Tianna Bailey reached the first grade, she already had problems related to academics.
“Bad grades … and I remember being able to read but not understand or even remember what I read,” Tianna says.
But it was years later before Tianna was diagnosed with dyslexia. Even now, after years of school and special tutoring, reading still doesn’t come easy for her.
“I practice a lot with reading, just reading different things and understanding,” Tianna says.
Using MRI’s, researchers have been able to pinpoint the defects in the brain responsible for dyslexia.
Now, a new Carnegie Mellon study finds that with intense remediation, those defects will disappear.
“If you can get in there early enough, you can help the other areas of the brain be retrained, just as a natural course of learning to read, and avoid the dyslexia completely,” says Dr. Joan Teach, who heads a school for students with learning difficulties.
The idea is that while a child’s brain is still developing, new connections can be formed, bypassing the defective part. In other words, if we start early and with the right kind of teaching, we may be able to change – or rewire – a child’s brain.
“We know that there are changes that take place through different kinds of educational experiences,” says Dr. Martha Burdette, an expert in learning disabilities.
But the key is to catch the dyslexia early – by age 6. Your child may need special attention “if you notice other youngsters are picking up sound and letter relationships much quicker than your child is,” Dr. Teach says.
“If there is something intense that can catch children at an early age with this disability, I think that would be a great thing,” Tianna says.
Tips for Parents
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines dyslexia as a brain-based type of learning disability that specifically impairs a person’s ability to read. Dyslexia is manifested by difficulties in receptive and expressive language, writing, spelling, handwriting and sometimes math. At least one out of every five children in the United States is affected by dyslexia, according to the National Institutes of Health. In fact, it is the leading cause of reading failure.
How can you determine if your child suffers from dyslexia? The International Dyslexia Association cites the following signs that your child may be struggling with the disability:
- Lack of awareness of sounds in words, rhymes or sequence of sounds and syllables in words
- Difficulty decoding words (word identification)
- Difficulty encoding words (spelling)
- Poor sequencing of numbers or letters in words, when read or written (for example, sing-sign; soiled-solid;12-21)
- Difficulty expressing thought in written form
- Delayed spoken language
- Difficulty interpreting language that is heard
- Difficulty in expressing thought orally
- Problems with reading comprehension
- Confusion about directions in space or time
- Confusion about right or left-handedness
- Difficulty with handwriting
- Difficulty in mathematics, often related to sequencing of steps or the language of math
If you suspect that your child may be experiencing problems due to dyslexia, discuss his or her condition with a teacher and health-care professional. Your child may need to be assessed by educational specialists.
No cure for dyslexia exists. However, the recent Carnegie Mellon study is closest researchers have come to finding lasting results. Using MRIs, researchers examined the parietotemporal area of the brain, responsible for decoding language. They found that when students were given 100 hours of intensive remedial instruction, the brain will permanently rewire itself and overcome reading deficits.
Special instructional programs can help a dyslexic child compensate for his or her disorder. The Dyslexia Institute (DI) encourages early intervention, including a multisensory, structured, sequential approach to language acquisition for individuals with dyslexia.
The DI says one of the most important steps you can take as a parent is to build up confidence and self-esteem in your dyslexic child. Make sure he or she knows he or she is loved and that this love is not dependent on how well he or she performs in school. Consider these additional ways in which you can help your child cope:
- Praise your child for effort. Be encouraging and find activities at which he or she is good.
- Reassure your child that his or her difficulties are not his or her fault.
- Help your child to be organized.
- Encourage hobbies, interests and out-of-school activities.
- Maintain a sense of humor.
- Make sure that your child receives the specialist teaching that can make a difference to his or her ability to cope and flourish.
References
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Dyslexia Institute
- International Dyslexia Association
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
- National Institutes of Health
