What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that affects the ability to spell, write, read and speak. Kids who have it are often smart and hardworking but they have trouble connecting the letters they see to the sounds those letters make.

About 5-10% of Americans have some symptoms of dyslexia such as slow reading, mixing up words or trouble spelling. Adults can have this learning disorder as well. Some people are diagnosed early in life while others don’t realize they even have it until they are older.

Kids with dyslexia often have normal vision and are just as smart as their classmates. They may tend to struggle more in school because it takes them longer to read. Trouble processing words can also make it hard to write, speak clearly or spell. Call Northwest Reading Clinic, Ltd today to learn more about Dyslexia, its causes, and symptoms.

What Causes Dyslexia?

It’s linked to genes which is why the condition often runs in families. You’re more likely to have this if your parents, siblings or other family members have it.

The condition stems from the differences in part of the brain that process language. Imaging scans in people with dyslexia show that areas of the brain that should be active when a person reads don’t work properly.

When children learn to read, they first figure out what sound each letter makes. For example, “B” makes a “buh” sound. “M” makes an “em” sound. Then they learn how to put those sounds in order to form words.

For kids who have dyslexia, the brain has a hard time connecting letters to the sounds they make, and then blending those sounds in words. So to someone with this disorder, the word “cat” might read as “tac”. Because of these mix-ups, reading can be a slow and difficult process.

Dyslexia is different for everyone. Some people have a mild form that they eventually learn how to manage. Others have a little more trouble overcoming it. Even if children aren’t able to fully outgrow dyslexia, they can still go on to college and succeed in life.

Symptoms

Signs of dyslexia can be difficult to recognize before your child enters school, but some early clues may indicate a problem. Once your child reaches school age, your child's teacher may be the first to notice a problem. Severity varies, but the condition often becomes apparent as a child starts learning to read.

Before school

Signs that a young child may be at risk of dyslexia include:

· 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

School age

Once your child is in school, dyslexia signs and symptoms may become more apparent, including:

· Reading well below the expected level for age

· Problems processing and understanding what he or she hears

· Difficulty finding the right word or forming answers to questions

· Problems remembering the sequence of things

· Difficulty seeing (and occasionally hearing) similarities and differences in letters and words

· Inability to sound out the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word

· Difficulty spelling

· Spending an unusually long time completing tasks that involve reading or writing

· Avoiding activities that involve reading

Teens and adults

Dyslexia signs in teens and adults are similar to those in children. Some common dyslexia signs and symptoms in teens and adults include:

· 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

· Trouble understanding jokes or expressions that have a meaning not easily understood from the specific words (idioms), such as "piece of cake" meaning "easy"

· 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

Other Services Include: Learning Disabilities, ADD, Dyslexia, Executive Skill Functioning, Asperger's Syndrome, Math Instruction, Writing Instruction, Spelling Improvement, Study Skills/Test Taking, GED/ACT/SAT Preparation, Memory Training, Socialization Skills, Self-Concept Enhancement, Motivation and Gifted and Talented Enrichment, Home Schooling Consultations.