What is dyslexia?
According to this online dictionary:-
dys·lex·i·a (dĭs-lěk’sē-ə)
n. A learning disorder marked by impairment of the ability to recognize and comprehend written words.
The term probably comes from the medical term alexia which is an acquired inability to read due to disease and the other word dysfunctional, not operating properly. Phew, even the term dyslexia is itself difficult to pronounce or read by an average Joe. To have it describe a learning disability suffered by a dyslexic person, wow, that’s double whammy!
How many people in the world are suffering from some form of dyslexia? The exact figure of those affected will properly be never know, but it is believed that around 10% do suffer from dyslexia in some form. So this is an alarming statistic of 1 in every 10 persons.
Many of us assume that everyone sees things the same way. People with perceptual problems (even with perfect vision) actually perceive print like this:
On the right side, you can select the different effects which a person with dyslexia condition will perceive: (with reference from this site)
Here are some of the most common symptoms exhibited by dyslexic people:
Main Characteristics
- Dyslexic people have problems with many of the following (the extent and the number of problems vary with each individual)
- Difficulty learning to reading and also problems reading fluently.
- Problems spelling
- Copying text from one place to another (eg. copying from the whiteboard/blackboard)
- Difficulty automatically determining left from right and have difficulty recognising the difference between symmetrical things eg. ‘d’ & ‘b’
- Retaining things in the memory for short lengths of time ie. a verbal instruction, a list of numbers, sequence of letters, a shopping list etc.
- Inability to organize thoughts resulting for instance in difficulty remembering to do things at a specific time or place. Lack of organization may make it difficult to do things such as write an essay which has a good structure.
- Poor concentration and need to compensate by trying to learn the art of concentration. This can show itself in many ways from the obvious inability to concentrate during lessons/lectures to more subtle problems such as being unable to concentrate long enough to do the simplest forms of mental arithmetic.
- Sadly many dyslexic people have such a rough time that their self esteem can become badly battered.
- Many have difficulty understanding poetic language.
- Coordination problems can make it hard and sometimes painful or tiring to write and/or play sports etc..
- Some dyslexic people like myself also suffer from Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome which affects their vision (hence reading is more difficult).
Some useful resources for further reading:
Adult Dyslexia Screening Online. The first ever online Dyslexia Screening Test For Adults (16 ) which is officially endorsed By The British Dyslexia Institute.
Learn To Read Through Play. Games designed by A Dyslexia Specialist Teacher which can help to dramatically improve childrens in reading without any pain or stress.
Designing For Dyslexics. A series of three articles examining the specific learning difficulty known as dyslexia and how web design can impact the ability of those afflicted to access information on web pages.
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Interesting post. Now parents are more aware if their kids are showing signs of dyslexia. On another aspect, my take is that child development during the early stages is extremely important and no parent should ever forget that.