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Struggling with dyslexia: October is Dyslexia Awareness Month and Nan Strickland of St. Stephens is on a mission to raise awareness about the disorder. Strickland's son Matthew, who will soon turn 11, was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was in the first grade. Since then Strickland has worked to get him the help he needs to learn on the same level as the other children in his class. "People who aren't dyslexic or don't have children who are don't know what it's like," she said. "The thought process of a dyslexic person is totally different than that of a nondyslexic person." Defining dyslexia The term "dyslexia" was coined by Rudolf Berlin of Stuttgart, Germany in 1887, to describe reading difficulties that students had with words and letters. The American Heritage Dictionary defines dyslexia as "a learning disability marked by impairment in the ability to read." More recently, dyslexia has been defined as "the inability to learn to process written language despite adequate intelligence, sensory ability and exposure." In simple terms, dyslexic children, despite having adequate intelligence, have trouble understanding that a single word may be made up of different sounds. Breaking words down into their different components is where the problems begin with learning to read. A common misconception There is a common misconception that dyslexic people see letters and words backwards. According to Sally Shaywitz, a professor of pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine, people with dyslexia do not have problems copying letters and words. They may make some reversals in writing, but no more than other children. Perceptual skills of what the child does with a word on a page is the problem--making the transition from print to language. The warning signs Although the statistics are staggering, public schools do not test children for dyslexia. In Alabama, it is not recognized as a "specific learning disability," therefore students diagnosed with the disorder are not eligible for special needs services. The following warning signs may help diagnose dyslexia. If a child displays three or more of these, his or her parents are encouraged to learn more about the disorder. Preschool level *Delayed speech *Mixing up the sounds and syllables in long words *Chronic ear infections *Severe reactions to childhood illnesses *Constant confusion of left versus right *Late establishing a dominant hand *Difficulty learning to tie shoes *Trouble memorizing their address, phone number or the alphabet *Cannot create words that rhyme *A close relative with dyslexia Elementary school level *Dysgraphia (slow, nonautomatic handwriting that is difficult to read) *Letter or number reversals continuing past the end of first grade *Extreme difficulty learning cursive writing *Slow, choppy, inaccurate reading: -Guesses based on shape or context -Skips or misreads prepositions (at, to, of) -Ignores suffixes -Can't sound out unknown words *Terrible spelling *Often can't remember sight words (they, were, does) or homonyms (their, they're and there) *Difficulty telling time with a clock with hands *Trouble with math -Memorizing multiplication tables -Memorizing a sequence of steps -Directionality *When speaking, difficulty finding the correct word -Lots of "whatyamacallits" and "thingies" -Common sayings come out slightly twisted *Extremely messy bedroom, backpack and desk *Dreads going to school -Complains of stomach aches or headaches -May have nightmares about school High school level All of the above symptoms plus: *Limited vocabulary *Extremely poor written expression -Large discrepancy between verbal skills and written compositions *Unable to master a foreign language *Difficulty reading printed music *Poor grades in many classes *May drop out of school In adults Education history similar to above, plus: *Slow reader *May have to read a page two or three times to understand it *Terrible speller *Difficulty putting thoughts onto paper -Dreads writing memos or letters *Still has difficulty with right versus left *Often gets lost, even in a familiar city *Sometimes confuses b and d, especially when tired or sick
In the coming weeks, The South Alabamian will present additional articles concerning dyslexia and what is being done to address this largely undiagnosed problem in Alabama.
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