What is Dyslexia?

What is dyslexia and what does it have to do with speech-language? Dyslexia is a specific language processing problem. It can best be evaluated and treated by teaching reading, writing, and spelling using multi-sensory structured language techniques.

The International Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as:
"Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin."

• Dyslexia results in a brain difference. People are born with dyslexia. Brain research shows that people with dyslexia only use one area of their brain to read (Broca's area) while people without dyslexia use three different regions.

"It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities."

• "Accuracy" is how accurately a person reads, ex: reading "steep", for "step".
• "Fluency" is how accurate and how fast a student may read. Some students may read either very accurately but take a much longer time to read a word/phrase/sentence (slow reader) while others may read fast but read words wrong.
• Poor spelling is just one red-flag for dyslexia.
• "Decoding abilities" refers to the ability to sound out words that are both familiar and unfamiliar.

"These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language,"

• "Phonology" can be described as an aspect of language that deals with rules for the structure and sequencing of speech sounds. Every language has a wide variety of speech sounds (phonemes). For example in English, the ng sound, as in ring, will never appear at the beginning of a word. Phonology rules also determine which sounds may be combined. For example, the combination of dn will not appear in sequence in the same syllable. 

"that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities,"

• While it is not impossible to have dyslexia and a co-morbid condition such as autism or other developmental disorder, it is far less likely. Most people with dyslexia have average to above average intelligence.

"and the provision of effective classroom instruction."

• Those with dyslexia have had at least equal opportunity to read as other peers in their classroom. If a child who cannot read has never had a chance to learn, it would not be considered dyslexia.

"Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension…"

• When people with dyslexia have trouble reading words in a story, their ability to understand the entire story or details of the story might be affected because of the energy it takes them to work on each word.

"and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge."

• When people struggle to read it is not typically an enjoyable activity for them. We learn the majority of our everyday vocabulary through our reading experiences. Those with dyslexia are at a higher risk for decreased vocabulary skills.

For more information about Dyslexia, please click here for my presentation, The Mystery of Dyslexia.