Dyslexia a feature which wasn’t recognized few decades ago but has caught attention of medical professionals and teachers world over recently. The word ‘dyslexia’ comes from ‘dys’ means ‘difficulty’ and ‘lexia’ means ‘words’. The combination of which implies ‘difficulty with words’. Dyslexia is a disorder that affects millions of people all over the world. It is one type of specific learning disability that affects a person’s ability to read.1
Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty which mainly affects the development of literacy and language related skills. It is likely to be present at birth and its effects are life-long. It is characterized by difficulties with phonological processing, rapid naming, working memory, processing speed, and the automatic development of skills that may not match up to an individual’s other cognitive abilities.1
A learning disability is a neurological disorder. In simple terms, a learning disability results from a difference in the way a person’s brain is ‘wired’. It has been identified that children with learning disabilities are otherwise equally smart or rather smarter than their peers in other aspects. However, they may have trouble in reading, writing, spelling, reasoning, recalling and/or organizing information. Importantly, learning disability is not a disease which can be treated it’s a condition which is a part of the person’s life but can be managed by right intervention. With the correct encouragement, support and intervention, children with learning disabilities can succeed in school and have flourishing careers later in life.1
Parents can help children with learning disabilities achieve such success by encouraging their strengths, knowing their weaknesses, understanding the educational system, working with professionals and learning about strategies by dealing with specific difficulties.1
Learning disability (LD) or Specific learning disability (SpLD) is a lifelong neuro-developmental disorder which manifests in childhood as persistent difficulties in learning to efficiently read (dyslexia).1
By the turn of the twenty-first century it was established that students were capable of learning task-appropriate strategies that facilitated academic success. Many studies confirmed earlier conclusions that learning disability may be the result of neurological dysfunction and that heredity is linked to the varying learning disabilities.1
Attitudes and understanding of learning disabilities have changed dramatically over the past few decades. Previously many educators believed there was no such thing as a learning disability, that the child was either lazy or just plain stupid.1
It is extremely important for parents and children to understand about learning disability as stumbling blocks such as lack of awareness, indifference and apathy can hamper success.1
‘Learning disability is a general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual, presumed to be due to central nervous dysfunction, and may occur across a life span. Problems in self-regulatory behaviors, social perception and social interaction may exist with learning disabilities but do not by themselves constitute a learning disability. Although learning disabilities may occur concomitantly with other handicapping conditions (for example, sensory impairment, mental retardation, serious emotional disturbance) or with extrinsic influences (such as cultural differences, insufficient or inappropriate instruction), they are not the result of those conditions or influences.’1
Etiology of Learning Disabilities
The causes of dyslexia are usually neurobiological and genetic. Research shows that individuals inherit the genetic links for dyslexia. If one of your immediate family members is dyslexic there are more chances that you could also be dyslexic.1
In addition, there can be no single cohesive theory that explains the etiology of dyslexia. Recent functional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) brain studies indicate that the disorder may be caused by specific deficits in the left front temporal region or atypical asymmetries in the left perisylvian regions.1
Possible contributing factors for learning disability: 1
- Genetics
- Injury to the fetus
- Medical problems the mother had during pregnancy
- Prenatal exposure to drugs, alcohol, nicotine, or other toxic substances
- Lead poisoning
- Premature birth, low birth weight, or birth trauma
- Head injury
- Poor nutrition, either the child’s or the mother’s when she was pregnant
Symptoms2
People can show symptoms of dyslexia at any age, but they tend to appear during childhood.2
Signs of dyslexia can be difficult to recognize before your child enters school, but some early clues may indicate a problem. Once your child reaches school age, your child’s teacher may be the first to notice a problem. Severity varies, but the condition often becomes apparent as a child starts learning to read.2
Before school2
Signs visible in a young child who may be at risk of dyslexia include:
- Late talking
- Learning new words slowly
- Problems forming words correctly, such as reversing sounds in words or confusing words that sound alike
- Problems remembering or naming letters, numbers and colors
- Difficulty learning nursery rhymes or playing rhyming games
School age2
Signs more evident once a child joins school and are more apparent, include following:
- Reading well below the expected level for age
- Problems processing and understanding what he or she hears
- Difficulty finding the right word or forming answers to questions
- Problems remembering the sequence of things
- Difficulty seeing (and occasionally hearing) similarities and differences in letters and words
- Inability to sound out the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word
- Difficulty in writing or learning spellings
- Spending an unusually long time completing tasks that involve reading or writing
- Avoiding activities that involve reading
Characteristics of students with dyslexia include: 1
- Normal intelligence ranges
- Normal articulation and communication but with reading, writing, and spelling levels below average
- Usually perform badly in written-language tests and perform better when verbal tests are carried out
- Usually poor academic achievement due to reading and writing problems
- Learn best through hands-on experience, demonstrations, experimentation, observation, presentations and visual aids
- Labeled as lazy, dumb, careless, immature or as having a behavioral problem. These students, whose disability only affects their reading, might also be labeled as ‘not behind enough’ to receive additional help
- May be easily frustrated and emotional about school reading or testing
- Might try to hide their reading weaknesses with ingenious compensatory ‘strategies’
- May have poor self-esteem
- Have problems with paying attention in a school setting
Usually show talents in other areas such as art, drama, music, sports, mechanics, story-telling or designing
To understand dyslexia better we first need to understand ‘Reading’. Reading is a two way process involving recognition of word (decoding the language) and understanding its meaning (the language comprehension).
Reading is a thinking process. Reading is predominantly considered the most important skill developed during school years. Difficulties in reading actually serve as a common denominator for the lack of success in many other curricular areas.1
Diagnosis2
If you notice that your child or any other child has above condition or shows signs of dyslexia its best to take a professional evaluation. An early diagnosis is more likely to lead to effective management.2
Confirmation of the dyslexia diagnosis may open the door to more support for the child or adolescent. They may become eligible for special education services, support programs, and services in colleges and universities
Risk factors2
Dyslexia risk factors include: 2
- A family history of dyslexia or other learning disabilities
- Premature birth or low birth weight
- Exposure during pregnancy to nicotine, drugs, alcohol or infection that may alter brain development in the fetus
- Individual differences in the parts of the brain that enable reading
Complications
Dyslexia can lead to a number of problems, including: 2
Trouble learning: Because reading is a skill basic to most other school subjects, a child with dyslexia is at a disadvantage in most classes and may have trouble keeping up with peers.2
Social problems: Left untreated, dyslexia may lead to low self-esteem, behavior problems, anxiety, aggression, and withdrawal from friends, parents and teachers.2
Problems as adults: The inability to read and comprehend can prevent a child from reaching his or her potential as the child grows up. This can have long-term educational, social and economic consequences.2
Scope of Homeopathy: There can be no single medicine which can said or suggested for Dyslexia but a totality based homeopathic remedy can sometimes be helpful. The scope still remains limited and can only help in improvement of overall focus of the child and usually seen in cases where medicines are started at an early age. An integrative approach where homeopathy, counselling, speech therapy and psychologists get the best results for such conditions.
References
- Learning Disabilities in a Nutshell. 17threv.ed. 2010. 237p.
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/