What is dyslexia?  How are experts trying to help dyslexics learn to read?
 

Dyslexia is a term that can be used to describe a wide variety of problems, but it means an inability to read.  This condition can be inherited.  Having dyslexia makes it difficult to read, write, and spell.  Dyslexia is often thought of as a neurological disorder causing learners to see reversed letters or mirror images.

What causes dyslexia?  By working together, researchers and experts came up with scientific proof that the short arm of chromosome #6 is responsible for dyslexia.  The chromosome #6 gene has been researched and  is considered to be the dominant force, which causes dyslexia to be inherited (Bright Solutions)

 Neurologically, a dyslexic person will show an internal difference in their brain.  It is believed that the right hemisphere of a dyslexic's brain is larger than a normal person's brain.  Researchers have agreed that people with dyslexia have usual abilities such as: musical, artistic, mechanical, 3-D visualization, and creative problem solving, etc (Bright Solutions).

Assumptions have been made that people with "dyslexia have a unique brain, which causes them to have unusual “wiring.”  "The unusual “wiring” are neurons that are found in unusual places in the dyslexic brain and these neurons are not in order as a normal brain."   A person who has dyslexia does not use the same part of their brain when reading as a normal person.  Therefore, theories have been made that people with dyslexia are not using the productive part of their brain when they read (Bright Solutions)

Some experts came up with the idea that phonemic awareness is related to reading.  Phonemes are the smallest units of spoken language.  Phonemic awareness includes the relationship between letters and sounds they represent in words, and how letters and sounds come together to help a child sound out unknown words.  Experts believe that phonemes should be taught before phonics because a dyslexic child will not understand the phonics instructions. The process of phonology starts by knowing which speech sounds are represented by which written letters.  The teaching of phonics includes written letters that are blended together to produce words, how the sounds of letters change depending on the letters that surround them, and how certain rules are applied (Crystal, Bright Solutions).

How can you tell if a child has a reading problem?  A child with dyslexia will show these signs and symptoms: letter and word reversals, confusion of words with similar appearance, repetition of words or guesses during oral reading, transposition of letters in words, and confusion of concepts such as over and under (Maxim).  All of these signs and symptoms will not apply at the same time in all children or to all children.  For example, there could be vision problem that causes a child to have reading problems.  Sometimes a dyslexic person does not have an educational problem.

How can teachers help?  In my second year of teaching, I encountered a reading problem with X.  I didn’t know what to do.   X was a happy child, he was well liked by his classmates and other teachers, he was a math whiz, he could play baseball very well, and he could draw, and put puzzles together quickly.  However, X could not read.  He was a first grade repeater because he could not master the first grade reading skills. I contacted X’s parents about the problems I encountered.  They were very upset with me because they thought I singled out their child.  Nevertheless, I asked his former teacher, other teachers, guidance counselors, and central office people to come and do a formal assessment on X.
The parents and the committees agreed to give X an IQ test.  The IQ test showed that X was in the superior range.  Further testing was done and the tests indicated that X was reading disabled or dyslexic.

According to the federal law PL94-142, X had the right to a good education in the least restrictive environment and to be placed in the regular classroom.  A team of teachers, X’s parents, and myself, agreed that X needed special services.  An IEP was developed for X.  The IEP stated that X would be promoted to second grade and participate in all the regular classroom activities except reading.  One-hour everyday, a reading specialist would tutor X during his reading time.  Within three months X was re-evaluated to determine if adjustments had to be made.  There were other reading goals and objectives added to his program.

Because I recognized a reading problem with X, specialists, psychologists, teachers, and his parents were able to respond to his needs and agree on the IEP that was developed for him.  As of May 23, 2001, I attended the graduation of X and X is in his first semester of college.
 
 
 
 

Sources:  The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language by David Crystal
                Bright solutions for Dyslexia, LLC
               The Very Young by George W. Maxim