Dyslexia

Dyslexia

Also called reading disability, which occurs due to problems identifying learning and speech sounds how they relate to words and letters (decoding). Dyslexia affects areas of the brain that process language.

Symptoms:

• 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
• Difficulty reading, including reading aloud
• Slow and labor-intensive reading and writing
• Problems spelling
• Avoiding activities that involve reading
• Mispronouncing names or words, or problems retrieving words
• Spending an unusually long time completing tasks that involve reading or writing
• Difficulty summarizing a story
• Trouble learning a foreign language
• Difficulty memorizing
• Difficulty doing math problems

Causes: Dyslexia tends to run in families. It appears to be linked to certain genes that affect how the brain processes reading and language, as well as risk factors in the environment.

Risk factors:

·         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:

·         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.

·         Social problems. Left untreated, dyslexia may lead to low self-esteem, behavior problems, anxiety, aggression, and withdrawal from friends, parents and teachers.

Diagnosis:

·         Your child's development, educational issues and medical history

·         Home life. The doctor may ask who lives at home and whether there are any problems at home.

·         Questionnaires. The doctor may have your child, family members or teachers answer written questions. Your child may be asked to take tests to identify reading and language abilities.

·         Vision, hearing and brain (neurological) tests. To determine whether another disorder may be adding or causing to your child's poor reading ability.

·         Psychological testing. The doctor may ask you and your child questions to better understand your child's mental health. This can help determine whether anxiety or depression, social problems may be limiting your child's abilities.

·         Testing reading and other academic skills. 

 Treatment: There's no known way to correct the underlying brain abnormality that causes dyslexia, dyslexia is a lifelong problem. But early detection and evaluation to determine appropriate treatment and specific needs can improve success.

Dyslexia, reading disability, learning, speech sounds