Brief overview
- Treatment: Targeted remediation, school relief (grade pressure), and comprehension.
- Symptoms: Among others, twisting, mixing up or omitting letters, slow reading, difficulties with upper and lower case letters. Possibly also psychological problems as a result of the dyslexia.
- Causes and risk factors: Probably genetic.
- Diagnosis: At the (pediatric) doctor via specific questions, hearing/vision and reading/writing tests.
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia (also: writing-reading disorder or reading-spelling disorder, LRS or specific dyslexia) is a specific learning disorder.
People with dyslexia have a reduced ability to read and write. However, this does not mean that people with dyslexia are less intelligent. Dyslexics just find it difficult to convert spoken language into written language and vice versa. Boys are affected more often than girls.
Special case: Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a reading disorder that often occurs in the context of dyslexia. It varies in severity among affected individuals and is favored by genetic factors.
More common than such congenital dyslexia, however, is acquired dyslexia: in this case, the region of the brain responsible for reading has been damaged by an accident or stroke.
A doctor diagnoses dyslexia by means of various examinations and a special test. With a lot of understanding, special support and adapted performance assessment at school, affected children can be helped effectively.
You can read more about this topic in the article Dyslexia.
How is dyslexia treated?
The most important thing is that parents and teachers show the affected child a lot of understanding and patience. Pressure to perform at home and at school may make dyslexia worse. The same applies to slights from classmates.
Such unfavorable reactions of the environment to the learning disorder also increase the risk that the dyslexic person will become mentally ill. The child should be removed from this vicious circle as quickly as possible.
Often, the children need psychotherapeutic support in addition to the support they receive. This is especially true if a mental illness (such as depression) also occurs. Depression may prevent the child’s reading and writing ability from improving.
While this may lead to stigmatization, often the affected child (and family) is happy to have a dyslexia diagnosis and builds self-confidence and self-esteem thanks to grade protection.
The disadvantage compensation is determined in each federal state by the respective Ministry of Education. If a doctor has diagnosed the learning disorder by means of dyslexia tests, it is possible to apply for such compensation.
What are the symptoms?
Dyslexia therefore does not exclude (high) talent in other areas. In dyslexics, for example, other academic performance is usually within the normal range. Studies suggest that only the areas of the brain responsible for reading and/or writing are impaired.
In contrast, children initially have problems reciting the alphabet, for example, they mix up letters when writing or twist parts of words or letters when reading aloud. In some children, attention is also disturbed or there are disturbances in social behavior.
Most of those affected have both a reading and a spelling disorder. However, there are also dyslexics who have only one of the two disorders.
Symptoms of a spelling disorder: Those affected often write words as they have heard them. They therefore quite often confuse similar-sounding letters (such as b with p, c with k or p with q). Sometimes they omit letters altogether (for example, truth without “h”) or insert them in the wrong order. They also often place hyphens incorrectly and have problems with upper and lower case.
Together with a reading and/or spelling disorder, sometimes a reduced ability to calculate (dyscalculia) also occurs.
Do not confuse with reading and spelling weakness!
Dyslexia is different from “normal” reading and spelling weakness. The latter may occur temporarily, for example when a child is exposed to unfavorable psychosocial factors such as a change of residence or a divorce of the parents.
A reading and spelling disability is therefore only referred to as dyslexia if it is genetically determined or hereditary.
What are the causes of dyslexia?
The causes of dyslexia are not yet clearly understood. However, it is now assumed that genetic factors play a major role in the development of the learning disorder. Dyslexia often affects several members of a family.
Apparently, newborns with dyslexia already perceive acoustic signals differently and process them differently. In addition, the areas of the brain responsible for language processing seem to work less synchronously and are less well connected in dyslexia. Affected individuals often find it difficult to concentrate when reading.
In addition, it is possible that the following factors promote or accompany dyslexia:
Psychosocial factors: Dyslexics are found in all social classes. However, an unfavorable social milieu is considered a risk factor for the development of the specific reading and spelling weakness. This is because if the parents’ level of education is high, they often support the child both emotionally and practically in learning and doing homework. This apparently counteracts reading and spelling problems.
Weakened phonological awareness: Phonological awareness ensures that words are decoded and understood when reading. It is weakened in people with dyslexia.
How can dyslexia be diagnosed?
If you suspect your child has dyslexia, it is important to see a pediatrician as early as possible. The doctor will first talk to you in detail to gather important information for the diagnosis of dyslexia. Possible questions to ask are:
- When did your child start talking?
- How does your child cope with homework?
- Does your child enjoy going to school?
- Does a family member already suffer from dyslexia?
This is followed by various tests to rule out other possible causes for the reading and/or spelling problems. To do this, the doctor examines various things such as:
Condition of the brain structure: Measurement of brain waves (electroencephalography, EEG), for example, provides indications of damage to the brain structure.
Reading and spelling ability: The doctor tests both by having the child read aloud or write a short text.
Intelligence test: This can be used to determine whether the child’s performance is poorer due to lower intelligence compared to peers (and not due to a learning disorder). It also determines how big the difference is between intelligence and spelling performance.
What is the prognosis for dyslexia?
Dyslexia cannot be prevented. However, it can be treated well through various therapeutic measures. The sooner a doctor diagnoses and treats the learning disorder, the better the prognosis. The reading disorder often improves more quickly than the spelling disorder.
Other possible consequences include depressive moods and psychosomatic complaints such as abdominal pain or sleep disorders. However, if the specific dyslexia is recognized and treated at an early stage, such complications can often be prevented.
