Learning Disorders ~
As we hand our children over to school personnel, we may find that our kiddos are having a bad time. Sometimes, it is up to parents to recognize when things are going wrong. To help educators identify student struggles, we e learn valuable lessons from those who have gone before us. There are many good books about Dyslexia. This is one of them by author Beth Ellen Nash (2017) Dyslexia Outside-the-Box: Equipping Dyslexic Kids to Not Just Survive but Thrive.
Nash, B.E. (2017) needs you to know that, “The dyslexic needs education, which addresses the unique learning needs of dyslexics themselves. The mission is to empower generations of dyslexics to see themselves as uniquely wired. They are not broken, they can be successful. They merely need different tools. They have so much to offer the world through their unique flip-side strengths. They need not just survive; they can thrive.”
Dyslexia is part of a group of language-based challenges that originate in the brain. This means that the brain struggles to process sounds, recognize words, spell words, and sound out words.
Common characteristics of dyslexia include difficulty with:
- Noticing, telling the difference between, and working with the sounds (phonological awareness) and syllables (phonemic awareness) in oral language
- Word decoding (sounding out the words)
- Fluency in reading, which includes accurate and/or automatic word recognition
- Spelling
- Vocabulary
- Comprehension
- Reversing letters (from instead or form)
- Reversing words (was instead of saw)
- Flipping letters left to right and top to bottom (b’s & d’s, p’s & q’s)
- Being slower at learning to read than one’s peers
< My Thoughts > “Fluency in reading…”
Fluency in reading can mean reading instructions, reading the face on an analog clock, reading the numbers on a phone. As a teacher, sometimes it was 6th or 7th grade before anyone noticed that students (especially girls) started having trouble with math. Upper level math starts by reading and following directions. By seeing ‘patterns’, understanding what to do first, second, third, etc. By remembering how you arrived at the correct answer last time. And, recognizing whether ‘your’ mathematical answer really makes sense.
The student may not have ‘dysgraphia’, but may have ‘dyscalculia’; and/or, may have both. Both are learning disorders affecting reading and appear in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5), under Specific Learning Disorders.
According to the Cleveland Clinic (2022), neither disorder (dyslexia nor dyscalculia) has to do with intelligence, but does have to do with brain function. Both ‘neurodevelopmental’ brain disorders may run in families. The first signs of the disorder may be emotional. For instance, when a young child is faced with a ‘new to them’ math concept, s/he suddenly no longer wants to go to school. Or, when the older student is asked to make (monetary decisions) change, recognize a mathematical or a scientific symbol, they may suddenly show anxiety, agitation, aggression; even physical illnesses may appear.
< My Thoughts > “…‘neurodevelopmental’ brain disorders…”
The DSM-5 allows that while these are brain development disorders, they are very different from the brain development disorders of those persons who are considered to be on the Autism Spectrum. But, special programs, interventions, and therapies, similar to those for ASD children, may be helpful. Testing and help can be found through the educational system; or, in nearby universities specializing in understanding these disorders.
References:
Nash, B.E. (2017) Dyslexia Outside-the-Box: Equipping Dyslexic Kids to Not Just Survive but Thrive.
Staff Writer (2022). Dyscalculia: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms & Treatment. Retrieved online from: https://my.clevelandclinic.org › 23949-dyscalculia.
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Regards,
Sara Luker
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