Review
What is Dyslexia?
What age does it tend to be noticed?
Is it hereditary?
Answers
1. A general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence.
2. Age 5/Elementary School3. No
“If I wasn’t dyslexic, I probably wouldn’t have
won the Games. If I had been a better reader,
then that would have come easily [and] sports
would have come easily. And I never would
have realized that the way you get ahead in life
is hard work” (Caitlyn Jenner ESPN).
- Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete
What is the disability or issue?
Definition: A general term for disorders that involve difficulty
in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other
symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence.
*Means “difficulty with words” in Greek
Website:https://www.understood.org/en/tools/through-your-childs-
eyes#cs8AE75781B8274405BBFDCA7D711FF4B9
Facts and Statistics
1. Dyslexia is not the result of neurological damage, but the
product of neurological development
2. People tend to have a unique mindset that is often gifted
and productive but learns differently than other minds.
3. 74% of children with dyslexia who are not diagnosed by
the 2nd grade remain so into adulthood.
4. Dyslexia is the most common learning disability
More Facts and Statistics
5. Children don’t outgrow dyslexia, most just learn to
compensate.
6. Dyslexia commonly runs in families.
7. Dyslexics do best when directions are two steps or
fewer. They often get confused and frustrated with a long list
of “to dos” or directions.
8. Tends not to be a vision problem.
Symptoms
- Show as early as the age of 4, but is not officially
diagnosed until the age of 9.
- Writing: trouble writing, hard to read their handwriting.
- Reading: difficulty pronouncing unknown words, can’t
associate sounds with letters.
- Eyes: has trouble reading
Speech: difficulty putting thoughts into words
Math: trouble with algebra/more difficult math, and
reading time.
Memory: good long term memory, poor memory
with math problems, difficulty remembering
dates/names/telephone numbers/random lists.
Struggles learning a foreign language.
Personality: unorganized, early or late
development.
How and when are they recognized?
- Difficulty Spelling or recognizing the alphabet when
younger
- Limited vocabulary
- Struggle to pronounce words correctly
- Can not organize or manage time efficiently
- Fails to read at expected grade level
- Usually recognized in primary or secondary school
How a Dyslexic may Read
How is Dyslexia diagnosed?
- Evaluation is the most accurate word for the diagnosis
process of Dyslexia.
- The word evaluation encompasses identification,
screening, testing, diagnosis, and all the other information
gathering involved when the student, his or her family,
and a team of professionals work together to determine
why the student is having difficulty and what can be done
to help.
What causes Dyslexia?
It is unsure what exactly causes Dyslexia but some probable
ideas are:
– Genes and Heredity: dyslexia might run in the family
– Brain Activity: The part of the brain responsible for
language may not function exactly as a normal person
Causes of Dyslexia (continued)
– Brain Anatomy: The planum temporale which is responsible
for language may not be the correct size, so it cannot work as
it should.
-While it cannot be prevented, if a child works on the skills to
read and write more when young, the may not have as much
trouble reading and writing.
How was it addressed in the past?
-They believed it was a visual processing deficiencies in
1800’s
- In mid 1900’s finally was not classified as a medical problem
Famous People
■ Albert Einstein
■ Thomas Edison
■ Winston Churchill
■ Benjamin Franklin
■ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
■ John Lennon
■ Dyslexia affects 20% of the U.S. population
Daily Life What a reading
issue may look like
for a child our age
Daily Life
Students score higher if given more time, or given the test orally.
When given a list of things to do they should get the steps in small increments instead of all at once to prevent frustration.
Does not influence life expectancy.
Leads a normal life, possibly with special accommodations for reading.
Example of their daily life: http://dyslexia-awareness.com/a_daily_life.html
Equipment/Resources Available
- Oral Exams - Longer time on tests- Websites to practice
reading and writing.
Review
What is Dyslexia?
What age does it tend to be noticed?
Is it hereditary?
Answers
1. A general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence.
2. Age 5/Elementary School3. No
Quick Recap
Video on Dyslexia
- Neurodiversity: a concept where neurological differences
are to be recognized and respected as any other human
variation. The differences can include those labeled with
Dyslexia.
CitationsDavis, Ronald Dell. (1992) 37 Common Characteristics of Dyslexia. Retrieved December 15, 2017 from Davis Dyslexia Association
International. Dyslexia the Gift website: http://www.dyslexia.com/?p=254.
Dyslexia in The UK. “What Is Dyslexia?” Dyslexia.uk.com, 2017, www.dyslexia.uk.com/.
International Dyslexia Association. “Testing and Evaluation.” International Dyslexia Association | ...until Everyone Can Read!,
WordPress, 2017, dyslexiaida.org/testing-and-evaluation/.
Shaywitz, Sally. “Facts about Dyslexia.” Dyslexia Center of Utah, 30 Jan. 2014, www.dyslexiacenterofutah.org/dyslexia/facts/.
Team, The Understood. “Dyslexia: What You're Seeing.” Understood.org, 2017,
www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/dyslexia/dyslexia-what-youre-seeing.