by Janelle Alberts
From Woodrow Wilson to Cleveland Clinic’s President and CEO Toby Cosgrove, there are numerous examples of people who have succeeded despite this language-based learning difference.
“I see (dyslexia) as a gift that allows me to approach business challenges differently than others that can truly become a benefit in shaping the outcome,” Cosgrove says.
Those words might offer needed encouragement for parents who are exhausted by the guesswork that accompanies a recent dyslexia diagnosis.
Here we dig a little further on how parents can help their child keep learning.
What Is It?
Dyslexia refers to a neurological condition that makes it hard to get meaning from certain graphic symbols like letters and numbers. Words are reversed and letter sequences are scrambled.
As a result, reading is very difficult.
The impact that dyslexia has is different for each person and depends on the severity of the condition and the effectiveness of instruction or remediation, according to The International Dyslexia Association, an organization that concerns itself with the complex issues of dyslexia.
The core difficulty is with word recognition and reading fluency, spelling and writing. Some dyslexics manage to learn early reading and spelling tasks, especially with excellent instruction, but later experience their most debilitating problems when more complex language skills are required, such as grammar, understanding textbook material and writing essays. Language problems are often difficult to recognize, but they can lead to major problems in school, in the workplace and in relating to other people. The effects of dyslexia reach well beyond the classroom.
“Often children love to be read to, and they are likely able to retell the story,” Chagrin Falls School Intervention Specialist Andrea Vicchio says. “However, they don’t attend to the printed word in any way.”
“Lack of letter recognition is really big,” she added. “Also, they may not be able to rhyme very well. By the end of first grade, they may still not recognize sight words or forget from one day to another.”
Finding Answers
An important first step is diagnosis. Beachwood pediatrician and author Dr. Arthur Lavin warns parents to approach this process methodically.
“Kids are very clever at hiding dyslexia,” he says. “Some may present as inattentive, disorganized and withdrawn, and that can cloud a dyslexic diagnosis.”
“It is estimated that between 10 and 20 percent of all students have dyslexia to one degree or another,” says Douglas Hamilton, director of admissions at Lawrence School in Sagamore Hills and Broadview Heights. “Kindergarten and first grade are the ‘window opportunities’ for these screenings.”
Guidance on the Next Steps
When having your child evaluated, it’s important to consult your teachers and pediatrician on your concerns.
They might recommend tests, which would be conducted by a school, a neuropsychologist or testing administrators who would look for steps in the reading process that are disrupted — from ability to sort out phonetic processing to vocabulary recognition.
If your child is diagnosed, talk with your school about a multi-sensory reading program with instructional strategies and structured reading. Your child’s diagnosis will fall on a continuum, so it is important to remember that one size does not fit all kids.
“Providing the appropriate learning environment for a dyslexic child is essential to not only support reading development, but also overall academic growth,” Hamilton says. “That environment should be a place where a student is honored for who he or she is, has reasonable expectations, has an understanding that all students learn differently, fosters individual strengths, supports individual differences, and has a classroom that offers a multi-sensory experience. So when assessing a learning environment, you need to look at the whole picture, not just a snapshot that incorporates 30-60 minutes of intervention.”
Intervention requires both commitment and flexibility. “Parents have to be advocates for their children,” Vicchio adds.
Lawrence School offers a Free Reading Screening for grades K-3. For more info or to sign up for a screening, go to lawrenceschool.org/screenings or call 440-526-0003.
