dyslexia

Quick Overview

• symptoms: different degrees pronounced, u. a. Twisting, confusing or omitting letters, slow reading, uppercase and lowercase difficulties. Also mental problems due to the reading-spelling disorder are possible.
• Causes: probably genetically conditioned
• Frequency: An estimated three to five percent of primary school children are dyslexic boys about three times more likely than girls. Dyslexia is found in all social classes.
• Diagnosis: at (pediatrician’s) doctor about specific questions, hearing / sight and reading / writing tests
• Treatment: targeted support measures, school discharge (pressure) and understanding
• Forecast: early therapy can reduce deficits

Dyslexia: symptoms

Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei had something in common: their genius is not meant – all three had dyslexia, also Read spelling disorder (LRS) or special reading spelling weakness called. Dyslexia therefore does not exclude a (high) talent in other areas. So are dyslexics the remaining school achievements usually in the normal range, Studies indicate that only the brain areas responsible for reading and / or writing are restricted in those affected.

The symptoms of dyslexia can be very different. Most sufferers have both one Dyslexics as well as one Spelling disorder, But there are also dyslexics who have only one of the two disorders.

Symptoms of a reading disorder: The affected people often need a lot of time to start reading, usually read very slowly and give words wrong again. Often, they omit, twist or replace word parts. They may interchange letters or words so that they do not properly understand what they have just read.

Symptoms of a spelling error: The victims often write words as they have heard them. They therefore quite often confuse letters (such as b with p, c with k or p with q). Sometimes they also omit letters altogether (eg truth without “h”) or insert them in the wrong order. Often, they also make word breaks incorrect and have uppercase and lowercase problems.

Other signs: Dyslexia is a burden for affected schoolchildren. Since they have to laboriously work on unfamiliar words, they are often under time pressure in class work. Also, that they usually make many mistakes, is psychologically stressful. Accordingly, (young) dyslexics often have little self-confidence and fear of school. This can develop into tests for veritable panic attacks and / or physical symptoms such as abdominal pain. Even depression is possible.

Along with a reading and / or spelling disorder sometimes also a reduced ability to calculate (dyscalculia) occurs.

Not to be confused with reading and spelling weakness!

Dyslexia is something other than a “normal” reading and writing weakness. The latter can occur intermittently, such as when a child is exposed to unfavorable psychosocial factors such as a change of residence or divorce of the parents. Genetic factors do not matter here. The child can – with the help of child psychology support – in most cases solve his reading and writing problems again.

Thus, a reading-spelling weakness is called dyslexia only if it is genetic. Sometimes the term “special reading-spelling weakness” is used.

Special case: dyslexia

Dyslexia is a reading disorder that often occurs as part of a dyslexia. It can vary in severity and be favored by genetic factors. More often than one congenital dyslexia is however the acquired dyslexia: Here, the brain or reading brain region was damaged by an accident or stroke.

Typically, the reading speed of dyslexia slows dramatically. Often sufferers do not understand the read, slip in the line or twist letters.

A doctor can detect dyslexia using a variety of exams and a special test. With a lot of understanding, a special promotion and an adapted performance evaluation in the school you can effectively help affected children.

Read more about this topic in the article Dyslexia.

Dyslexia: treatment

A dyslexia should treated as early as possible become. There are two reasons for this: Firstly, promotion measures are more promising if they are applied early. On the other hand, depending on the severity of the disorder, the likelihood that those affected drop out of school or have difficulty obtaining a qualified vocational training is less likely to occur early in treatment.

The important thing is: The affected child should be from parents and teachers a lot of understanding and patience Experienced. Achieving pressure at home and at school can make dyslexia worse. The same applies to offenses by classmates. Such adverse reactions of the learning disorder environment may also increase the risk that the dyslexic person becomes mentally ill. The child must be removed from this vicious cycle as quickly as possible.

In addition, a dyslexia can be targeted by Therapy measures influence positively. Mostly this requires extracurricular support. The children train with special reading and writing exercises. Come here rhythmic reading aids or computer programs for use.

Often the children need psychotherapeutic support beyond the promotion. This is especially true when concomitant mental illness (such as depression) occurs. Depression can prevent the child’s literacy skills from improving.

Through a Change compensation (Colloquially Dyslexia adoption, LRS adoption) the educational achievements of a child with dyslexia in the sense of a “grade protection” are assessed differently. Thus, disadvantages for the child, which result from the learning disability, are compensated and the child is relieved of school pressure something. This can also lead to stigmatization. Often, however, the affected child (and family) is happy to have a diagnosis and builds up confidence and self-esteem thanks to the “Grade Protection”.

The disadvantage compensation is determined in each federal state by the respective Ministry of Culture. If a doctor diagnoses the learning disorder by means of dyslexia tests, an application for such a compensation can be made.

Dyslexia: causes and risk factors

The causes of dyslexia are not clear yet. But it is now assumed that genetic factors play a big role in the formation of the learning disorder. Dyslexia often affects several members of a family.

In fact, several genes have been identified that have an impact on literacy. They are responsible for the development of those areas of the brain that perceive the spoken language and transform it into the written language.

Apparently, in newborns with dyslexia, acoustic signals are perceived and processed differently. Furthermore, researchers observed that the brain areas responsible for speech processing are less synchronous in dyslexia and poorly networked. Those affected often have a harder time concentrating on reading.

In addition, the following factors may favor or accompany dyslexia:

Language development delays: Most children start with two-word sentences at the age of 18 to 24 months and can speak up to 50 different words. However, about 20 percent of children have delayed speech development. About half of these children suffer from dyslexia, research has shown.

Psychosocial factors: Although dyslexics can be found in all social classes. However, an unfavorable social environment is regarded as a risk factor for the emergence of special reading and writing difficulties. If the education level of the parents is high, they support the child both emotionally and practically in learning and homework. This apparently counteracts reading and spelling problems.

Impaired visual perception: Apparently, the control of eye movements in dyslexics is affected, which is why they can read, for example, only slowly. Children who read too slowly can sometimes no longer remember the content of the sentence beginning at the end of the sentence. Sometimes the so-called eye-shots of the eyes are imprecise. Those affected then slip easier in the line or skip words.

Weakened phonological awareness: The phonological awareness ensures that the words are decrypted and understood while reading. It is weakened in people with dyslexia.

Dyslexia: examinations and diagnosis

If you suspect dyslexia in your child, you should go to the pediatrician as soon as possible. The sooner the learning disorder is diagnosed and treated, the better the prognosis. The doctor will first talk to you in detail to obtain important information for the diagnosis. Possible questions are:

• How has your child developed so far?
• When did your child start to talk?
• How does your child cope with the homework?
• Does your child enjoy going to school?
• Is a family member already suffering from dyslexia?

Then follow various tests. Above all, they serve to exclude other possible causes for reading and / or spelling problems. For this purpose, various parameters are examined, such as:

Hearing and vision: Hearing or hearing loss can lead to symptoms similar to dyslexia. But she has to be treated completely differently. Therefore, it is very important to exclude such diseases.

Condition of the brain structure: The measurement of brain waves (electroencephalography, EEG), for example, can provide evidence of damage to the brain structure.

Reading and spelling ability: Both are checked by having the child read aloud or writing a small text.

Mental condition and ability to concentrate: Whether and how much the problems of reading and / or writing affect the psyche of small patients, the doctor can determine by means of special tests. These include, for example, the “Depression Test for Children” (DTK, a questionnaire) and the “Test Battery for Attention Deficits” (TAP).

Intelligence Test: This can be used to determine whether the performance of the child which is inferior to their peers is due to a lower intelligence (and not to a learning disability). It also determines how big the difference between intelligence and spelling performance is.

Dyslexia: history and prognosis

Dyslexia can not be prevented. However, it can be treated well by various therapeutic measures. Above all, if it is detected and treated early on, the deficits can often be significantly reduced in comparison to non-dyslexics. The reading disorder often improves faster than the spelling error.

Since dyslexia can seriously affect the affected children, there is always a risk of mental problems. The children, for example, develop fear of failure, fear of school, become listless and withdraw. Depressive moods and psychosomatic complaints such as abdominal pain or sleep disorders are other possible consequences. If the dyslexia However, it is often possible to prevent such complications.

Additional information:

Books:

• Dyslexia – LRS: models, diagnosis, therapy and promotion (Christian Klicpera, Alfred Schabmann, Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera, Barabara Schmidt, UTB HmbH, 2017)
• Counselor Dyslexia: Early detection. Act right. Targeted treatment. (Dr. med Gerd Schulte-Körne, Nikol, 2014)

Guideline:

• Guideline “Diagnosis and treatment of children and adolescents with reading and / or spelling disorder” of the German Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy (2015)

Support Groups:

• Federal Association Dyslexia and Dyscalculia e.V.