What is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia creates unforeseen challenges with learning to read.
It robs an individual’s ability to read, spell, and write, but it does not diminish one’s imagination and creativity.
Dyslexia is not a lack of intelligence or desire to learn. With the right teaching methods, individuals with dyslexia can learn successfully.
To read, our brain must connect sounds to letters, string and blend multiple sounds and letters together to create words, and do it fast enough to make sentences our mind can comprehend. People with dyslexia have trouble at the start: matching sounds to letters.
“Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”
1 in 5 children have dyslexia.
Dyslexia is Common
As many as 1 in 5 people are dyslexic, from mild to profound in severity.
Dyslexia, however, is widely misunderstood.
Dyslexia is not a lack of intelligence or desire to learn. With the right remediation, dyslexics can be successful learners. Kids with dyslexia can be quick thinkers, tremendously creative and have strong reasoning abilities.
Dyslexia can affect a person’s self-image. Students often end up feeling “dumb” and less capable than they actually are. Stressed due to academic challenges, a student may become discouraged about school. Parents can also feel anxiety about homework time and what’s happening to their child.
Early identification and remediation is key to helping dyslexics achieve in school and life. Remediation comes from a coach specially-trained in using a multi-sensory, structured Orton-Gillingham approach.
Dyslexia runs in families; dyslexic parents are very likely to have children who are dyslexic.
Dyslexia can’t be “cured,” yet we know vastly more than ever before, and it’s possible for people with dyslexia to become highly successful students and adults. Beyond teaching to read, spell and write, Haley’s Hope helps students and adults uncover abilities once kept hidden by dyslexia.
Formal testing is the only way
to identify dyslexia.
Everyone is Different
The impact is different for each person. Some dyslexics learn early reading and spelling tasks, especially with excellent instruction, but later experience debilitating problems when more complex language skills are required: using grammar, understanding textbook material and writing essays.
Some people with dyslexia have problems with the spoken language, even after they’ve been around adults with good language models at home and had good instruction in school. They sometimes struggle to express themselves clearly or comprehend what others mean. Such problems can be difficult to recognize and lead to problems in school, at work and in relationships.
Use our inventory in Recognizing the Signs to see some of the indicators.
Not all students with literacy difficulties have dyslexia. Formal testing is the only way to identify the presence of dyslexia.
If a student isn’t progressing with supplemental reading instruction, it may be time to test for dyslexia. You are encouraged to consider evaluation at Haley’s Hope if benchmarks are not being met. No referral is needed, call our office to schedule an appointment.
It’s never too late to gain skills to read, write and spell more proficiently. Using the methods taught at Haley’s Hope, we’ve helped young children to adults navigate the world with dyslexia.
Dyslexic children can learn,
they just learn differently.
Challenges
The challenges of dyslexia involve difficulty acquiring and using written language: reading, writing, spelling and math operations. These are some of the difficulties associated with dyslexia:
Learning letters and their sounds
Spelling
Learning to read sight words
Organizing written and spoken language
Memorizing number facts
Reading quickly enough to comprehend
Persisting with and comprehending longer reading assignments
Correctly doing math operations
A vast range of possibilities are open
to people with dyslexia.
