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Dyslexia in Children: Know the Symptoms and Treatment

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By Jamell Andrews

Dyslexia is an impairment of the brain that causes difficulty with translating written images into language. It is one of the most misunderstood learning disabilities in the United States, and it is also the most common one. It is believed that dyslexia affects approximately 15% of the United States population, though everyone who is affected by this disorder is not properly diagnosed.

Contrary to popular belief, dyslexia generally occurs in children who have normal intelligence and vision. Some children with this neurological disorder have normal speech patterns as well, but the majority of them do have some problems interpreting written words and spoken language.

Dyslexia Symptoms

The symptoms of dyslexia are often hard to recognize, especially before a child is old enough to start attending school. Children with dyslexia can be helped at any age, but it is always best to diagnose them as early as possible. Some symptoms (or signs) that a very young child might have dyslexia include the following:

  • Problems rhyming
  • Late to start talking
  • Slow to add new words to his or her vocabulary
  • For school age children, the symptoms of dyslexia become much more obvious.
  • Difficulty following multiple commands at one time
  • Problems with spelling
  • Difficulty learning a foreign language
  • Reading far below the expected level
  • Seeing numbers or letters in reverse
  • Difficulty processing and comprehending what is being heard
  • Problems sounding out the pronunciation of words that are unfamiliar
  • Difficulty remembering the sequence, or order of things
  • Problems understanding rapid instructions

Dyslexia Treatment

Unfortunately, the brain disorder that causes dyslexia cannot be cured or corrected, so treatment must be in the form of a variety of remedial education programs. The particular programs that are administered should be determined by a qualified psychologist, who will conduct testing to determine a child’s level of impairment.

Teachers who specialize in some aspect of special education often teach the classes that dyslexic children need to take. The different techniques that are utilized in the classroom include touch, vision, and hearing approaches in an effort to improve a child’s reading skills and abilities. Reading specialists may focus on five specific areas that are important in order for children to learn effective reading skills.

  • Reading comprehension
  • Oral reading ability
  • Phonemic awareness (basic speech sounds that are often difficult for dyslexic children to grasp)
  • Building a vocabulary
  • Phonic (speech) recognition

In some cases, parents may want to hire a tutor to help their child to develop reading and speech skills. Children who have severe dyslexia are likely to have ongoing problems with reading and may not ever be able to develop really good reading capabilities. When this is the case with a child, it is best for parents to have their child keep regular appointments with a therapist, and to provide ongoing educational support through the assistance of a tutor for help with the learning process.

One of the most important things that parents can do is provide a supportive and caring environment for a child with dyslexia. Making it easy and stress-free for children with dyslexia to learn makes them more comfortable and helps tremendously with the learning process.

About Jamell Andrews: Jamell has authored many articles in natural health and child rearing. She believes in healing naturally first, and the many uses of gripe water.

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marry

Tuesday 28th of June 2011

These kind of post are always inspiring and I prefer to read quality content so I happy to find many good point here in the post, writing is simply great, thank you for the post :)

Francisca Didway

Wednesday 25th of May 2011

keep up the fantastic piece of work, I read few blog posts on this internet site and I believe that your blog is rattling interesting and contains lots of excellent info .

Dr Sarah Thornton-Miller

Friday 29th of April 2011

Cognitive behavioural therapy can often be extremely helpful in help mild dyslexia by getting the brain to create new neural pathways and patterns of behaviour that last for the long term .Patience is required and it’s important to not expect a magic bullet solution but with time the benefits of CBT become apparent

Dr Sarah Thornton-Miller (MBBS) is a highly respected London based brain specialist with 25 years of research focus on the effects of the many naturally occurring nutrients found in popular brain supplements in helping control anxiety as well as successfully treating depression, helping the brain relearn how to focus or easing attention deficit

gordons

Wednesday 20th of April 2011

What are the symptoms? - The key symptom of Dyslexia is significant difficulty with speed and accuracy in reading. What makes diagnosis somewhat difficult is the fact that one can not simply place children in two groups: Dyslexics and nondyslexics. The ability to learn to read differs gradually between children, and dyslexic kids often try to hide their struggles. Warning signs may include a growing dislike of School, starting to dread Mondays, changes (for the worst) in overall behavior. Dyslexia tends to be hereditary. Delays in early speech development may also indicate future problems in reading.

Crystal & Co.

Monday 21st of March 2011

Love to see bloggers writing about dyslexia! It is such a difficult journey.