The word ‘dyslexia’ means ‘difficulty with words or language‘, and is frequently used to refer to a child — or adult — who seems much brighter than what his reading and written work suggest.
Its causes are not fully understood.
As a dyslexic person’s difficulty is not visible – compared, say, to a person in a wheelchair – it often goes unrecognized by other people. However, an independent report from a dyslexia specialist can make a big difference to the people’s attitudes, and frequently results in extra understanding and help.
There is a lot of research into dyslexia at the moment, but its causes are not fully understood. It is thought to be inherited as it usually runs in families. A good comparison in understanding dyslexia is to think of it as being like color blindness, which affects people of all abilities’. There are roughly equal numbers of dyslexic men and women.
Given appropriate help, in most cases a dyslexic adult can succeed at college or at work at a level roughly equal to their non-dyslexic people. Moreover, dyslexic adults often have talents in other areas – such as creativity, physical co-ordination and empathy with other people – which can boost your self-esteem!
Being dyslexic is not a ‘disease’ that someone should or can be cured of. It is a type of mind, like any other, with its own particular strengths and weaknesses. We all have different talents – things we are good at and things we find hard. As a dyslexic adult you will find spelling and sequencing hard, but also have other areas at which you excel. The important thing is to keep up your confidence!
Signs Of Dyslexia
Dyslexia Symptoms
Directional Confusion
Directional confusion may take a number of forms, for example being uncertain of which is left and right, and is the reason for the reversing of letters, whole words or numbers, or for so-called mirror writing.
Sequencing Difficulties
Many dyslexics have trouble with sequencing, i.e. perceiving something in sequence and also remembering the sequence. Naturally this will affect their ability to read and spell correctly.
Difficulties with the Little Words
A frequent comment made by parents of children struggling with their reading is, ‘He is so careless, he gets the big difficult words, but keeps making silly mistakes on all the little ones.
Bizarre Reading and Spelling
Bizarre reading or spelling is a severe form of dyslexia and is characterized by guessing wildly at words regardless of whether they make sense or not.
Late Talking or Immature Speech
Research has revealed a dramatic link between the abnormal development of spoken language and learning disabilities such as dyslexia.
Difficulties with Handwriting
Some dyslexics suffer from poor handwriting skills. The word dysgraphia is often used to describe a difficulty in this area, and is characterized by the following symptoms.
Difficulties with Math
The language of mathematics is often poorly understood by the dyslexic up until the age of twelve – and even beyond. Around 60 percent of dyslexics have difficulty with basic mathematics.
More Dyslexia Signs
Other dyslexia signs include making up a story based on the book’s illustrations which bears no relation to the text, reading very slowly and hesitantly.
“Dislexia” by Totesquatre – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
