Dyslexia/Reading

Henry Montero, LMHC, CASAC-2, CTTS

Alquimedez Mental Health Counseling
1154 E. Tremont Ave Bronx, NY 10460-2452
Tel: 718-664-7679
www.alquimedez.com
Email: info@alquimedez.com
Twitter: @henmontero
Instagram: alquimedezmentalhealth

Dyslexia or reading disability is a learning deficiency in which children face difficulty in reading as they are unable to recognize speech sounds adequately. They have a distinctive inability to learn how to relate to letters and words or decoding. Dyslexia adversely affects the area of the human brain that is responsible for computing languages.

Having this particular learning disability does not mean that a child’s intelligence is compromised. On the contrary, children with dyslexia may have normal and, in some cases,, a higher level of intelligence. Still, as is the case with other learning difficulties, children with dyslexia must be given dedicated tutoring and enrolled in a specialized program for their education.

Signs
The most commonly accepted symptoms of dyslexia may begin to manifest at any stage in children. While some may show indications during preschool, others may not show signs until later. Irrespective of age though, the symptoms are always similar.

For example, dyslexic children have plenty of difficulties when it comes to reading. Although they have normal intelligence levels, they still exhibit an inability to read with ease. In terms of regular activities, children who have dyslexia may crawl, walk or even talk, but much later than usual.

Since we’re on the subject of talking, dyslexic children may also have delayed speech development. This means they might mispronounce simple words, be unable to rhyme words effectively and also have trouble computing words that sound different.

They are also slower than usual when it comes to learning new information. For instance, they struggle to learn the letters of the alphabet and are unable to pronounce these in some cases too. Furthermore, children may also fail to remember days, months, years and colors also.

Coordination or lack thereof is yet another concern that arises when we discuss children with dyslexia. Unfortunately, these kids may be considered clumsier than others in their classrooms and playgrounds. Even something as simple as catching a ball may prove a challenge. This is a result of poor hand-eye coordination.

Other issues are the inability to distinguish between left and right and spelling errors also. They can generally not adhere to patterns which appear normal to other children. In severe cases, even if they manage to learn a new word one day, they may forget it entirely the next.

Speech impediments are another common concern for dyslexic children. Terminology that contains more than a single syllable and phonological processing may prove particularly challenging for kids.

Moreover, dyslexic children cannot concentrate properly. They may struggle for minutes at a stretch after which they may feel mentally exhausted and still be unable to focus. This is predominantly why a high percentage of dyslexic kids also suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Finally, other symptoms of dyslexia include being unable to form a sequence of thoughts and having autoimmune conditions like asthma and eczema in addition to their dyslexia.