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DYSLEXIC DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF DYSLEXIA??
There are many signs and symptoms that a dyslexic person suffers from which can aid in the self-diagnosis of Dyslexia.
THE "GIFT" OF DYSLEXIA...
Some common characteristics of Dyslexic individuals are that they...
* think in terms of pictures
* are very intuitive
* think in multi-dimensions
* are very creative
* are highly curious
There are also four basic abilities that are present in all Dyslexics (Davis, 1997)...
1. Ability to intentionally access the brain's perception-distortion function.
2. Ability to consciously view mental images as three dimensional and rotate them around in their mind.
3. Ability to experience self-created mental images as real (experience their imagination as though it were reality).
4. Tendency (or preference?)to think non-verbally by using pictures for concepts and ideas (have little or no internal monologue).
DYSLEXIA AS A LEARNING DISABILITY...
There are many symptoms that can result from Dyslexia with the most common being difficulty in dealing with letters, symbols or numbers. However, they also have visual processing problems (incorrect oral reading) as well as auditory processing problems. Some Dyslexics experience difficulties in following directions, telling time and getting lost. Not to mention that most have memory and coordination problems as well as poor depth perceptions and determining left from right.
Here are some common Dyslexic symptoms by the National Institutes of Health:
* difficulty learning and remembering printed words
* letter and number reversals (b and d, p and q, 6 and 9)
* changed sequencing of letters in words (was for saw, tar for rat, quite for quiet) or numbers (12 for 21)
* omit or insert words while reading
* confuse vowel sounds or substituting one consonant for another
* persistent spelling errors
* difficulty writing and poor handwriting
* delayed speech
* difficulty finding the right word to fit the desired meaning when talking
* problems with direction (up and down, left and right)
* problems understanding time (before or after, yesterday and tomorrow)
* clumsy and awkward when trying to use hands
All Dyslexics also experience dyspraxia (motor difficulties) at one point in time or another due to their disorientations. Examples of the types of motor difficulties that they experience would include static and dynamic balance, ball skills, manual dexterity, gross and fine motor control and production of simultaneous movement. Symptoms of disorientation would include...
1. VISION:
* reversal of shapes and sequences of letters and/or numbers
* incorrect/inconsistent spelling
* skips words/lines when reading or writing
* letters and numbers appear to move, disappear, grow or shrink
* ignores or omits punctuation marks or capital letters
* alters, substitutes or omits words and letters when reading or writing
2. HEARING
* difficulty making some speech sounds
* mispronounces "ch", "th" and "sh"
* perceives "false" sounds
* appears to be not listening to what is being said
* perceives sounds differently (quieter, louder, farther away or nearer than actually are)
3. BALANCE/MOVEMENT:
* may get dizzy or nausea when reading
* poor sense of direction
* trouble sitting still
* difficulty with handwriting
* problems with balance and coordination
4. TIME:
* overactive (hyperactivity) or underactive (hypoactivity)
* difficulty learning math concepts
* problems telling time and being on time
* excessive daydreaming
* loses train of thought easily
* trouble putting things in order (sequencing problems)
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DIAGNOSING DYSLEXIA...Although there is no ONE test that can be used to diagnose Dyslexia, there are several that are used to confirm the presence of Dyslexia signs and symptoms. The key is to detect the condition as early as possible so that therapy has a greater chance of being effective on the individual.
It is recommended that the child have their eyes examined and have the Denver Developmental Screening Test done at 6 months, 3 years and at school entrance. The Denver Developmental Screening Test compares the child's motor and language abilities to what is expected at that given age to determine if there is a developmental delay in the child. This is recommended because there is a strong correlation between developmental motor delays and learning disabilities.
It is important to note that every child develops at different speeds and that just because a child may reverse letters and numbers does NOT necessarily mean they are dyslexic. Letter and number reversals are actually very common up until the 3rd grade (especially for the letters b,d,p,q and numbers 6,9). This is because as young children we are taught that an object remains the same object regardless of which direction it is facing (called OBJECT CONSISTENCY). However, this is obviously NOT the case with numbers and letters, where direction DOES make a difference and distinguishes one letter/number from another.
So...how do we know if someone is Dyslexic??
SELF-TESTS...
1. LEVINSON'S SELF TEST (1994)
* READING
* poor memory for letters, words, numbers
* tendency to skip over or scramble letter, words, numbers
* poor, slow, fatiguing reading ability prone to compensatory head tilting, near-far focusing and finger pointing
* reversal of letters (b and d, p and q), words (was and saw) and numbers (6 and 9, 12 and 21)
* blurring, doubling and/or movement of words when reading
* headaches, vertigo or nausea due to reading
* WRITING
* difficulty writing
* poor handwriting (messy, poorly angulated, poor spacing, uneven sizes of letters/numbers)
* letter sequencing errors
* SPELLING, MATH, MEMORY & GRAMMAR
* poor memory for spelling, grammar, math, names, dates and lists
* poor memory for sequencing (alphabet, days of week and months of the year)
* difficulty following directions
* SPEECH
* slurs, stutters and/or poor articulation of words while speaking
* poor word recall
* speech time lags between auditory-input and motor-output
* renders speech perception and enunciation more slowly than desired
* tendency to scramble words, have slips of the tongue or misperceptions of the ear
* DIRECTION
* difficulty with right and left, up and down, north and south, east and west
* TIME
* delay in learning to tell time
* commonly late
* compulsive scheduling
* procrastination (difficulty starting things on time)
* CONCENTRATION AND ACTIVITY
* poor concentration
* easily distracted
* hyperactive (overactive)
* disturbances in behavior, temper or impulse
* BALANCE & COORDINATION
* diffulties with motor activities
* poor balance and coordination (problems walking, running, skipping, hopping, tying shoelaces and buttoning buttons)
* very accident prone
* PHOBIAS AND RELATED MENTAL DISORDERS
* fears of dark, heights, getting lost, going to school
* fear or avoidance of various balance, coordination, sports and motion-related activities
* mood disturbances
* obsessions and compulsions
2. "Are you Dyslexic?" Self Test (http://www.dyslexiacenter.com/characteristics.htm)
DO YOU...
* think people see you as lazy or careless?
* often see pictures from different places at the same time?
* have a tendency to daydream?
* often become disoriented?
* have trouble reading, writing or spelling?
* have trouble with math?
* have trouble expressing yourself?
* think it is hard to pay attention?
* find you are often restless and have trouble sitting still?
* find it hard to maintain eye contact?
* find you're sometimes unable to remember what you've just read?
* often transpose letters and numbers?
* sometimes forget where you are or where you are going?
* often bump into others while walking down the street?
* think people see you as clumsy?
* get headaches when reading?
3. 44 CHARACTERISTICS OF A POTENTIAL DYSLEXIC
* go to website: http://www.dyslexiacenter.com/symptoms.htm
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS... (here are a few)
1. QRI (QUALITATIVE READING TEST)
* assesses that child's reading ability
* given by teacher
2. RUNNING RECORD
* assesses the child's reading patterns (detects certain consistent patterns such as: stuttering, repetition, substitution, reversals, mispronunciation, omissions and self-corrections
* given by teacher
3. PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL EVALUATIONS
* determines presence of a learning disability (such as Dyslexia) based upon the discrepancy between intelligence and achievement
4. DYSLEXIA TEST 7-16
* measures a child's achievement (compared to age level) in areas such as reading, spelling and drawing
* for an example: http://members.aol.com/dyslextest/test.html
5. DEM
* oculomotor testing (of saccadic function) with a cognitive component
* given by an optometrist
6. NSUCO
* oculomotor testing (of saccatic and smooth pursuit function) with NO cognitive component
* given by an optometrist
7. DDT (DYSLEXIC DETERMINATION TEST)
* documents predominant information processing modes used by child
* identifies reading problem from reading recognition task
* determines reading grade level
* determines TYPE of Dyslexia present
* given by an optometrist
8. BODER TEST OF READING-SPELLING PATTERNS
* identifies reading problem from reading recognition task
* determines reading grade level
* determines TYPE of Dyslexia present
* given by an optometrist
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THERAPY OPTIONS...
There are many ideas as to what is the best therapy for Dyslexic individuals, however, it is important to understand that there is NO CURE for Dyslexia. So, why do therapy? The goal of the Dyslexic Therapy is to remove road blocks that interfere with an individual's ability to learn. This, in turn, relieves most of the symptoms they normally suffer from and makes the learning process easier as well as enjoyable for the individual.
PARENT AND CHILD THERAPY...
1. Reading and vocabulary activities
2. Reading aloud
3. Vocabulary box
4. Daily reading activities
5. Writing and comprehension activities
6. Bedtime stories
7. Journals
8. Alphabet activities
TEACHER AND CHILD THERAPY...
1. WORD ANALYSIS
* Knowing a word's pronunciation, spelling and meaning
* Assists the child in developing automatic use of these skills
2. LETTER RECOGNITION
* Identification and recognition of letters of the alphabet
* Assists the child in learning how to read, write and communicate using language
3. PHONOMIC AWARENESS
* Ability to use letter sounds to read and spell words
* Child must be able to direct and focus attention on each separate sound in a given word so that in time they will be able to read fluently
* Helpful hints for teachers.... provide the child with pictures, pronounce the words slowly for the child (deliberately articulating each sound of the word) and ask the child to pronounce the word outloud (slowly)
4. LETTER PATTERN RECOGNITION
* Letter patterns are syllables in multi-syllabic words
* Taught to the child to increase rapid word analysis
* Rhyming (group letters by their sound) is one strategy used to learn letter patterns
5. CONTEXT CUES
* Indicators in a story that reveal what the words mean
* Used to aid in the identification and comprehension of words when reading
6. UNFAMILIAR WORDS
* Use text clues, pictures and other words in the sentence to figure out what word means
* Look at familiar letter patterns and try to sound word out
* Break word into parts based on sound while pronouncing one part at a time
* Look for familiar smaller words within larger words
* Skip the word and read the rest of text while trying to figure out what skipped word means
* Determine the importance of each word is to the meaning of the text
7. METACOGNITION
* Self regulation of some form of thinking and learning
* Knowledge that each person is in charge of and responsible for their own learning
* Increases the child's awareness of his/her reading process
* Allows child to see which strategies work best for them and why, while gaining a better understanding of the reading material
THREE STEPS TO EASIER READING:
1. SPELL-READING
* Trains the child in left to right eye movements when reading (via training the child's brain and eyes to scan left to right)
* Enables the child to recognize letter groups as words
* NOT a phonetic process
* Based on letter and word recognition
* Eliminates two of the Dyslexic's reading habits: trying to go to fast and "working too hard" by concentrating heavily on the reading material
* 10 minute sessions (with 10 minute breaks in between) of having the child name the letters of the words and then say the word after parent/teacher does
2. SWEEP-SWEEP-SPELL
* Continues training in left-right eye movements and word recognition
* Instruct child to "sweep" through/over the word with their eyes and have them tell you what the word is
* Child is to slide a piece of paper to reveal one WORD of the text at a time
* When child's skills improve in proper eye movements and recognizing words, then use the paper to use one LINE of text at a time
3. PICTURE AT PUNCTUATION
* Since the only purpose of reading is to understand what is being read, comprehension of text is imperative
* It is assumed that in most written languages each complete thought is followed by punctuation marks (periods, exclamation marks, question marks, commas, quotation marks, dashes, colons, parenthesis) therefore a mental picture of the text can be created at that point
* Instruct the child that when they see a punctuation mark they are too create a mental picture of what they just read
READING STRATEGIES FOR DYSLEXIC INDIVIDUALS... (from Learning Diasabilities Research and Resource Site)
1. Read summary or review questions first. This helps establish the "big picture".
2. Look at pictures if they are available. This uses visual processing skills to get the general meaning of the test.
3. Skim through each paragraph looking for the "topic sentence" to get the basic idea of the entire paragraph.
4. When taking a test that requires reading, look at the questions first. Then, one will know what information to really look for in the reading material.
5. Read aloud. This helps one stay focused while reinforcing the auditory information.
OPTOMETRIST AND CHILD THERAPY... (Lane, 1988)
1. BODY IMAGERY
* Develops laterality (internalization of the two sides of one's body) skills
* Develops bilateral motor coordination
* To develop and pattern visual association with tactile and kinesthetic information processing
* Trains visual imagery
* Teaches difference between subjective and objective direction and eliminates midline confusions
2. RHYTHM
* Many of the problems of auditory span, temporal order, in-series information and the like, may be related to weaknesses in ability to establish and/or maintain rhythm patterns
3. MOTOR
* Develops laterality/directionality, balance and eye tracking skills
* Develops eye-hand coordination, depth perception and ocular motility
* Develops accuracy in eye aiming skills
* Increases peripheral awareness and span of recognition
* Develops gross motor skills
4. DIRECTIONALITY
* Develops laterality and bilateral motor coordination
* Develops directionality (external awareness of left and right in regards to other objects) skills
* Trains sequence memory skills
* Teaches importance of proper letter orientation
5. DISTINCTIVE FEATURES
* Improves letter recognition and directionality
6. LETTER POSITION
* Teaches importance of proper letter position for word recognition
7. COMMON REVERSALS AND MEMORY STRATEGY
* Trains directionality
* Eliminates reversal of common letters, numbers and number groups
8. ORTHOGRAPHY EXERCISES
* Teaches common patterns of letter usage (frequently used letters, certain locations of letters)
* Trains letter position and ocular scanning skills
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