Dyslexia Case

Abstract

Dyslexia is a learning disability which affects a person's development of literacy and language related skills. It is caused by a deficiency in the brain creating the inability to translate images received from the eyes or ears into understandable language. Dyslexia affects one in every ten people. Studies suggest that several genes have been suggested as dyslexia candidates. Some of these candidate genes have been recently shown to be associated with literacy measures in general population. Testing procedures that are used to diagnosis dyslexia can be complex. No two people with dyslexia are exactly alike because dyslexia ranges from mild to moderate to severe to profound. Children with dyslexia have higher rate of negative thoughts, depression, gloomy moods and school-related anxiety. Parents and teachers must become educated to help children with dyslexia become success in dealing with the stress that goes with this learning disability. When properly treated people with dyslexia can lead normal lives.

Learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, can often take months or even years to detect. Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects 5% (Schulte-Korne) of all children and adolescents. Despite all the research that has been conducted over the last one hundred years there is still no clear definition or underlying cause for dyslexia. The one thing that is similar in all the research that has been conducted is that dyslexia is both a reading and spelling disorder. According to Smythe (2011), children with dyslexia have a hard time reading and spelling and they have great difficulty in putting word patterns together.

There is no sure way to diagnose dyslexia because some children struggle for years before they are diagnosed. Parents are usually advised by a teacher that the child would benefit from more reading practice at home and/or that there is a problem. As a result, the parents spend more time with the child on homework with little or no progress (Schulte-Korne, 2011). The parents and child both become very frustrated with the amount of time that is spent on homework on a daily basis and the fact that there is almost no improvement. The frustration and inability to correctly complete the homework assignments leads to depression for the child and frustration for the parents. Parents and students are usually completely frustrated by the time the child is diagnosed with dyslexia. However, the detection of dyslexia is a relief for both the parent and student.

Children with dyslexia are many times more socially immature than other students their age. The social immaturity causes the child to be less accepted among their peers and this leads to a low self confidence. Once low self confidence is a factor, the child generally struggles with it for life. Low self confidence also creates a problem once the child is diagnosed because at this point it is hard to convince the child they can learn around this disability. Children that have dyslexia often experience very low levels of self esteem. According to Glazzard (2010), a teacher can play a significant role in the development of a dyslexic child's self esteem. Unfair treatment of the child can have an negative effect on their self esteem. Teachers must be trained to detect as early as second grade if a child could have a potential learning disability such as dyslexia. Teachers must be trained to be sensitive when dealing with children with dyslexia, their interaction with the child must be one that fosters a positive learning environment in the classroom.

Emotional effects of dyslexia on a child arise when their reading instruction and their learning style does not match (Glazzard, 2010). The child becomes more frustrated over time as they realize that their other classmates are surpassing them in reading. Their frustration over this causes them to dislike reading thereby causing an unwillingness to learn or express the difficulty they are experiencing. Children think they all read at the same level, they start school basically on the same level and when they are continually behind, they lose their willingness to press on and keep trying. There are many emotional feelings that a dyslexic child may experience as a result of them being dyslexic. Depression, anger, and anxiety are all emotional issues that can be felt by a child with dyslexia.

A child that experiences depression is also usually followed with intense feelings of sorrow and pain. As a result, they experience behavior problems in school. They act out as a way to cover up their sorrow and pain. Young children especially do not know what depression feels like.

The frustration with school and the social situation can lead a dyslexic child to experience a high level of anger. Children with dyslexia will have a great deal of anger toward both the teacher and the school, as a result of their frustration. Parents often times experience anger from the child because they are unable to express their frustration and anger to the teacher or at school. The child is not able to verbalize to the teacher or other school personnel how different they feel and how aggravated they are trying to fit in and complete