Did you know that between 15-20% of people display some symptoms of dyslexia, according to the International Dyslexia Association? Yet dyslexia – a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading – often goes unnoticed or undiagnosed. In honor of Dyslexia Awareness Month, we’re sharing some of the most important things to know about this common condition.
Quick Facts
- Dyslexia can be defined as a “learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding).”
- It is caused by different “wiring” in the brain.
- People who are diagnosed with dyslexia often struggle to learn how to read using traditional methods. However, with the right instruction, nearly all people with dyslexia can learn how to read! (Learn more about the research-driven instruction method we use here at the Phoenix Academy below).
- Dyslexia has a genetic component; parents with dyslexia are likely to have children with dyslexia.
- People diagnosed with dyslexia are not any less intelligent than their peers – dyslexia is not linked to intelligence in any way.
- Individuals with dyslexia often display “strengths in areas such as problem-solving, verbal reasoning, creativity, and big picture thinking.”
- Individuals with dyslexia may experience anxiety, anger, poor self-image, depression or social problems.
- Many very successful individuals have been diagnosed with dyslexia, including Cher, Anderson Cooper, and Albert Einstein.
Symptoms
Dyslexia can be hard to diagnose before a child starts school, but early symptoms include the following:
- 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 color
- Difficulty learning nursery rhymes or playing rhyming games
The following symptoms are likely to appear once a child with dyslexia starts school:
- Reading well below the expected level for age
- Problems processing and understanding what is heard
- Difficulty finding the right word or forming answers to questions
- Taking an unusually long time completing tasks that involve reading or writing
- Avoiding activities that involve reading
For teens and adults, the symptoms can be similar to those displayed by school-aged children, including:
- 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 writingDifficulty summarizing a story
- Trouble learning a foreign language
- Difficulty doing math word problems
Our Approach
Children who are diagnosed with dyslexia benefit from instruction that is based upon a systemic and explicit understanding of language structure. That’s why, at the Phoenix Academy, we use the Spalding Method to teach our students to read. This method incorporates phoneme awareness education, and it is backed by extensive research.
Want to Know More?
Check out the International Dyslexia Association’s website (https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-test/) or Nebraska Dyslexia Association’s website (https://www.nebraskadyslexia.org/about-dyslexia) to learn more. For more information about how Phoenix Academy may be able to help your child, reach out to us at inquiries@phoenixacademyomaha.org.