“Dyslexia
is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate
and fluent word reading and spelling” Definition of Dyslexia, Rose 2009
Dyslexia
is derived from the Latin word “Dys” meaning difficult and the Greek word
“Lexia” meaning words. Dyslexia literally means difficulty with words.
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty in
reading and understanding what is written.
It
is not related to intelligence as most people with dyslexia have average or
above average IQ. It is also not related to any impairments in hearing or
vision.
It
is related to how language is processed in the brain, and how it is stored and
retrieved from memory.
Reading
requires decoding of symbols (letters) into sounds that make up words that have
meanings. Students with dyslexia find the area of letter-sound association
challenging.
● Talks
later than most children.
● Difficulty
remembering and reciting nursery rhymes.
● Mixing
up the pronunciation of similar words. For example: kitchen and chicken.
● Difficulty
pronouncing multisyllabic words like butterfly.
● Difficulty
identifying the alphabet and remembering the sequence of the alphabet.
● Limited
vocabulary while explaining something and uses words like “thing” or “stuff”
instead.
● Confused
between left and right.
● Difficulty
recalling and expressing a story in the correct sequence.
● Difficulty
remembering and following multiple-step instructions.
When
these early signs of dyslexia are noticed, the child should be identified as a
student at risk of dyslexia and should be sent for a dyslexia test in Mumbai.
The doctor rules out issues with intelligence, hearing, and vision before
giving a dyslexia test.
● Difficulty in reading and word recognition.
● Reads slowly, omits words, or skips lines while
reading.
● Difficulty sounding out words.
● Finds it difficult to decipher new and unfamiliar
words and often resorts to guesswork.
● Often makes spelling mistakes. (Omits letters from
words or adds letters to words or changes the order of the letters in words-
“lihgt” instead of “light”)
● Substitutes words because they don't remember the spelling
(home instead of house)
● Gets confused between b, d, p, and q.
● Letter reversals are seen in writing (b and d)
● Letter inversals (m and w, u and n)
● Struggles to summarise a story and remember key
details and events.
● Avoids tasks that involve intensive reading and
writing.
● Reads loudly when peers have developed the skill of
silent reading.
The symptoms of dyslexia in children are
mostly identified in Elementary school as they are not able to meet the
increasing academic expectations and it becomes a cause for concern for parents
and teachers.
An early
intervention is important in overcoming the challenges. Adequate support and accommodations
are provided in the best learning disability school in Mumbai TABIS (The Aditya
Birla Integrated School).
The support from school teachers and
administration is crucial for the growth and development of the students.
Support for dyslexic students in Mumbai is provided by TABIS.
Teachers
in the school should be aware of dyslexia and other learning disabilities and
they should be sensitive to the challenges faced by the students. There should
be trained special educators who can identify and adapt to the student’s needs
and abilities. A smaller student-to-teacher ratio will ensure that the child
can get more time and guidance for academic tasks. Teachers should encourage
and motivate the students and celebrate even their little achievements.
The
child's strengths and needs are identified to make an IEP to adapt to his
needs. Assessments are done to determine the student’s current level across
academic areas and goals are made for his progress. Specific learning goals are
set for the students after discussing them with the teachers, special educators, parents, and other
therapists. The curriculum adaptations and modifications to be made are
discussed.
● Shorter
and simpler passages for reading.
● More
time is allowed for completing tasks.
● Teacher-guided
reading and support from peer buddies.
● Images
and pictures to aid comprehension.
● Giving
the spelling of keywords for writing an essay.
● Graphic
organizers to help in making connections.
● Allow
more time for tests and include options for answering questions.
● Allow
audiotapes for reading material or using text-to-speech technology.
Multisensory learning involves using more senses to learn
a concept. The senses that are usually involved in multisensory learning are
VAKT (Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthetic, Tactile). It means learning by seeing,
hearing, doing, and touching.
Differentiated instruction implies that learning should
be adapted to the needs, strengths, interests, and challenges of the students
which means making the content simpler, and presenting the information
differently, for example, providing more visual aids for visual learners, audio
tapes for auditory learners, group work or one to one support depending on the
need of the student
Explicit phonics or letter-sound association
instruction is crucial for students with dyslexia to learn independent reading
skills. Reading involves connecting the phoneme (smallest sound) and grapheme
(written symbol). Teaching letter sounds, short vowel sounds, long vowel
sounds, blends, digraphs, vowel teams, and other spelling rules will ensure
that their reading as well as writing improves.
A Multidisciplinary team of special educators,
teachers, occupational therapists, speech therapists, applied behavior
therapists, and counselors should work together to face the challenges faced by
the student.
Students with dyslexia face a lot of stress and
anxiety due to academics, parental expectations, and competition with
peers. Mental
health support and counseling should be provided to the
students to face these challenges.
Students with dyslexia require a lot of support from
their parents. Parents are usually worried about their children and children
can often sense that. Parents need to show patience and empathy to ensure that
their children are healthy and happy.
Parents should practice what is being done at school
with their children. They should have discussions with the teachers about
different strategies that work for their children. They should encourage and
motivate their children to learn. They should be patient in their challenges
and celebrate and acknowledge even their little victories.
