By NCLD Editorial Staff
Published: March 05 2009
|
|
What you should know about Dyslexia
- Dyslexia is a language processing disorder that causes difficulty with reading, writing and spelling.
- Dyslexia is NOT a sign of poor intelligence or laziness. It is also not the result of impaired vision.
- Dyslexia can affect different people differently - some can have difficulty with reading and spelling, while others might find using words correctly and writing or telling left from right challenging.
- According to the National Institute of Child and Human Development, as many as 15% of Americans have significant difficulties learning to read.
- Like all learning disabilities, dyslexia is a lifelong challenge.
- Using alternate learning methods, people with dyslexia can learn how to achieve success.
Signs of dyslexia at different ages:
Young Children
|
School Age Children
|
Teenagers & Adults
|
- Difficulty recognizing letters, matching letters to sounds and blending sounds into speech
- Confusion when pronouncing words, i.e. "mawn lower" instead of "lawn mower"
- Slow to learn and use new vocabulary words correctly
- Trouble learning the alphabet, numbers, days of the week or similar common word sequences
- Difficulty with rhyming
|
- Difficulty mastering the rules of spelling
- Trouble remembering facts and numbers
- Poor handwriting, awkward pencil grip
- Slow to learn and understand new skills - relies heavily on memorization
- Frequent reading and spelling errors such as reversing letters (d,b) or moving letters around (left, felt)
- Difficulty following a sequence of directions
- Trouble with word problems in math
|
- Reading below expected level
- Difficulty understanding non-literal language, i.e. idioms, jokes, proverbs
- Avoiding reading aloud
- Difficulty organizing and managing time
- Trouble summarizing a story
- Difficulty learning a foreign language
- Poor memory skills
|
|
|
|
