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| c.1975 - Diane, Mark and Lisa at Nana and Pa's, Lock Rd, Robinvale |
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a type of specific learning difficulty (SLD) in which the person has difficulties with language and words. The term dyslexia, although still used by some, is generally felt to be too narrow and SLD is often used to describe these learning difficulties. This is because the learning difficulties are usually broader than just reading difficulties; most children with SLD also have difficulty with spelling.
For example, Leonardo da Vinci and Thomas Edison - both highly intelligent and creative people - had dyslexia.
Some of the symptoms of dyslexia or SLD in a preschooler could include:
- Delayed speech.
- Problems with pronunciation.
- Problems with rhyming words and learning rhymes.
- Difficulty with learning shapes, colours and how to write their own name.
- Difficulty with retelling a story in the right order of events.
Some of the symptoms in a primary school age child could include:
- Problems with reading a single word.
- Regularly confuses certain letters when writing, such as ‘d’ and ‘b’ or ‘m’ and ‘w’.
- Regularly writes words backwards, such as writing ‘pit’ when the word ‘tip’ was intended.
- Problems with grammar, such as learning prefixes or suffixes.
- Tries to avoid reading aloud in class.
- Doesn’t like reading books.
- Reads below their expected level.
Some of the symptoms in a high school student could include:
- Poor reading.
- Bad spelling, including different misspellings of the same word in one writing assignment.
- Difficulties with writing summaries.
- Problems with learning a foreign language.
- Symptoms in adults
- Some of the symptoms in an adult could include:
- Reading and spelling problems.
- Doesn’t like reading books.
- Avoids tasks that involve writing, or else gets someone else to do the writing for them.
- Better than average memory.
- Often, a greater than average spatial ability - the person may be talented in art, design, mathematics or engineering.
Written words represent spoken words. In order to read and write, a child has to link the sound of a letter with its written symbol. This is known as phonological coding. The ability to grasp the ‘sound structure’ of words in this way is crucial to reading and writing. Learning to read and write is a slow process, because written letters have no direct and obvious correlation with their sounds. For example, you can’t guess how to pronounce the symbol ‘b’ just by looking at it - you have to rely on your memory. It is thought that dyslexia could be a problem with phonological coding. One of the early symptoms may be the child’s inability to learn or understand rhyming words.
A range of theories
The exact causes of dyslexia remain unknown, but theories include:
- Problems with phonological awareness (distinguishing the meaning of contrasting speech sounds).
- A person with poor phonological awareness has trouble with their short-term memory for spoken words, which means they tend to forget instructions or word lists.
- Problems with the visual, auditory, linguistic or neurological processes that are involved with recognising the written word.
- Reading difficulties tend to run in families, which suggests a genetic link.
Dyslexia or SLD can be hard to diagnose unless the problem is severe. Seek professional advice from a specialist educational psychologist if you think you or your child may have dyslexia. The evaluation may include testing a range of factors including:
- Cognitive (thinking) skills
- Memory
- Vocabulary
- Literacy skills
- Intellectual ability
- Information processing
- Psycholinguistic processing.
Contributing factors
- Health - for example, the person may have health issues that have interfered with their language development and writing ability, such as deafness or visual problems.
- Language - for example, a child from a non-English speaking background usually takes longer to master speech, reading and writing in both languages.
- Education - the person may have missed out on educational opportunities; for example, a chronic illness may have kept them out of school for long periods of time.
- Behavioural or developmental disorders - for example, the person may have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which can cause learning problems.
There is no cure for dyslexia, but the person can benefit from specialised support, which could include:
- One-to-one tutoring from a specialist educator.
- A phonics-based reading program that teaches the link between spoken and written sounds.
- A multi-sensory approach to learning, which means using as many different senses as possible such as seeing, listening, doing and speaking.
- Arrangements with the child’s school - for example, for them to take oral instead of written tests.
- Learning via audiotape or videotape.
- Your doctor
- Specialist educational psychologist
- Your child’s school
- A speech pathologist.
- Dyslexia is characterised by difficulties with reading for no apparent reason.
- One of the early symptoms may be the child’s inability to understand rhyming words.
- Dyslexia or SLD can be hard to diagnose unless the problem is severe, so seek professional advice from a specialist educational psychologist.
Fact sheet currently being reviewed.
Last reviewed: August 2011
Content on this website is provided for education and information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not imply endorsement and is not intended to replace advice from your doctor or other registered health professional. Content has been prepared for Victorian residents and wider Australian audiences, and was accurate at the time of publication. Readers should note that, over time, currency and completeness of the information may change. All users are urged to always seek advice from a registered health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions.
