DYSLEXIA

Dyslexia and Its Treatments

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Symptoms of Dyslexia1

Levels of Dyslexia2

The case of a foreign language student2

Remedial Steps for successful study skills3

Study skills development for the general student population4

Conclusion5

References6

Dyslexia and Its Treatments

Introduction

Dyslexia has various definitions. It is a disorder that affects a person's ability to process language, and can even extend to disorder with putting the thoughts in a written form. Dyslexia involves four major types of hitches. These are discussed hereunder.

A difficulty with reading, writing and spellings,

A difficulty with numbers and their calculation,

Faulty auditory or visual perceptions, and

An effect on parts of speech.

It is a very common disease. In the UK alone, 5.8% of the population suffers from Dyslexia (Zakopoulou 2002, p. 1). The paper discusses the detection of dyslexia as well as the level of difficulty faced by students as they progress through their academic life. It also sheds light on the treatment options available and the effectiveness of each of the options by an example of a child who is not dyslexic.

Symptoms of Dyslexia

There are many symptoms of dyslexia. A very common way of identifying a child with dyslexia is to see how much the child is achieving against the effort he is putting in. For instance, the child may fail to remember longer instruction despite making efforts. Similarly, a dyslexic child reads word incorrectly and has difficulty with pronunciation. The child may also have difficulty remembering names and rules of grammar. Reversal of the letter is another indication that can help not only a medical practitioner but also the parent or guardian of the child, in identifying whether or not the child is suffering from dyslexia. For instance, the child may read the letter b as d and will be unable to differentiate between the two.

Levels of Dyslexia

There are three levels of Dyslexia.

At the biological level, the dyslexia may occur due to hereditary factors.

A person with cognitive level dyslexia has problems with information processing and sequencing ideas. For this person, lengthy instructions mean an inability to comprehend what has been asked of the person (Hulme 1997, p. 125).

For people suffering from dyslexia at the behavioral level, the difficulties may include a difficulty with reading and learning to read, difficulty with handwriting and speech impairment (Hulme 1997, p. 125). Their mathematical skills are also subordinate to the skills of an ordinary person. Moreover, they have difficulty in rhyming words. Lipsy is also a form of behavioral dyslexia.

The case of a foreign language student

A student of foreign language may face reading and writing difficulties, similar to the difficulties faced by a dyslexic child in comprehending his own native language such as English. In this case, the student in question cannot be termed dyslexic. For this student, the easiest way to overcome reading and writing difficulties is to listen to English tapes and watch English movies. Watching news channels such as BBS and CNN will give the student a chance to learn the correct pronunciation ...