Understanding dyslexia in children

This article deals with the topic of children who suffer from the dyslexia. Dyslexia is connected to the problems in reading, and children diagnosed with dyslexia experience difficulties in reading. It appears that reading for them is complex and demands a lot of effort. Statistics say that about 20% of people who live in the USA are diagnosed with dyslexia. This condition can influence children's grades in school and if not diagnosed, it may cause them to withdraw in themselves because of the failure. This story has a bright side, since dyslexia isn’t so serious condition and it can be treated if diagnosed in an early stage.

Reading and Dyslexia

In most cases, when dealing with children learning to read, they first learn in which way the sounds make words, and then they start linking these sounds to the letters of alphabet. The next process that develops in their brain is processing of the sound into words and finally, the recognition of the word. The process of learning to read is very similar to some motor activities, for example riding a bike. A child has to repeat it many times in order to overcome it. Practice is the key in learning the both: riding a bicycle and reading. Children who suffer from dyslexia appear to have issues with phonemic awareness and phonics. Due to some mild problem in the processing of information in the brain regions that are in charge for the language, dyslexia appears, which is the main reason why a child even at the beginning of the whole reading process feels that it can't pace up with friends. Because of that, it becomes frustrated and withdrawn.

Diagnosing Dyslexia

A period when dyslexia is diagnosed is most often during elementary school. In some cases, dyslexia symptoms may appear later in child’s teens and they include trouble in spelling, difficulty in advanced reading, and difficulty in learning second foreign language. The fact is that dyslexia is a condition that runs in the family, and if your close relative has it, you are more at risk of developing it also. A specialized person who can diagnose dyslexia is a specialist or a psychologist. It is important to confine your child to a specialized person who is trained at proper way.

The negative effects of dyslexia can affect a child in a most serious way. Because it has difficulty with reading, he/she may be labeled by the surrounding as a stupid child. If dyslexia isn’t diagnosed, a child may start to feel that he/she has failed everyone and due to that, the amount of self-esteem may be reduced.

Dyslexia treatment

Good news is that dyslexia can be treated, but a lot of time, persistence and effort are needed. In order to be treated from dyslexia, a child has to work with a specialized teacher who will guide him/her thoroughly through all the levels of reading comprehension. Parents must provide a child with support and that child may find school a struggle.