Imagine trying to read a book in a foreign language. You know that the symbols and marks on the page must mean something, but no matter how hard you try to sound them out, you can't put the pieces together into understandable words.
That's what it feels like to have dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulties in reading, writing and spelling. It is genetic in nature, affecting how one's brain processes written language and even how it stores information for short-term work. Quite often, the people it affects are intelligent, but they have trouble learning in a world that they cannot understand as efficiently as everyone else.
"People with dyslexia have told me over and over that they feel like they have to exert more mental effort than others do with written language," says Dr. Virginia Berninger, director of the University of Washington's Learning Disabilities Center.
Making matters worse, this language barrier prevents effective written communication. For example, a child with dyslexia may be able to tell wonderful stories, but when it comes to writing them down, he's at a loss: letters become inverted, spelling is all wrong and it becomes so frustrating he just gives up.
This inability to communicate in writing effectively can impact many areas of education, not just English class, leaving many parents and teachers perplexed at why a child can seem so bright in some subjects but not be able to spell a simple word.
"Most people think dyslexia is a reading disorder, but it is also a spelling and writing problem," says Berninger.
Health
Making Sense of Nonsense
It is estimated that 10 percent of the population is affected to some degree by dyslexia, which affects boys and girls equally. The first, most noticeable signs of dyslexia, according to Berninger, are a difficulty naming letters and attaching sounds to those letters.
The Dyslexia Institute also notes that delayed speaking as a baby, difficulty performing tasks in sequence and lack of concentration during reading lessons may also signal a learning disorder. These children may display a proficiency in other subjects, like math or art, making their deficiencies in language all the more pronounced.
"Usually, the parent just knows that something is wrong," says Berninger.
In the United States, most children with dyslexia are placed in special education classes where reading problems are addressed in small groups or one-on-one sessions. Special education classes that cater to the dyslexic mind help. In fact, the International Dyslexia Association reports that if children with dyslexia get special training by kindergarten or first grade, they have few problems learning to read at grade level.
However, this emphasizes the point that early intervention for children with dyslexia is crucial. One study estimates that almost 74 percent of children who cannot read at grade level by the third grade will continue to have reading problems throughout their lives.
Lessons for children with dyslexia should emphasize the ability to visualize letter sequences in words. This includes learning with letter blocks instead of writing. The Dyslexia Institute also recommends that teachers help students who are dyslexic by keeping board work organized, giving children plenty of time to copy notes or even handing out photocopied notes at the end of each lesson. This last suggestion especially helps those who have extra trouble with their working memory, says Berninger.
"In a classroom situation, these children understand what the teacher says, but by the time they go to write it down, they have forgotten it," she says.
However, according to Berninger, one of the biggest problems with current educational goals for dyslexia is that they ignore the importance of spelling to a child's future education. Often, she says, children with dyslexia are dismissed from special education classes once they have learned how to read, but spelling problems linger.
"Children who cannot spell cannot express their ideas in writing," she says. "And dyslexics know they have a problem with spelling. It's embarrassing."
Putting Words Together
In a recent study, Berninger looked at how spelling lessons that cater to the dyslexic mind may be able to change the way the dyslexic brain works.
Comparing the brain activity of 40 children between the ages of 9 and 12, Berninger noted that MRI images of the brains of children with dyslexia completing a spelling task differed greatly from the images from normal children doing the same task. She then gave the children with dyslexia a series of spelling lessons, which emphasized picturing words in their head and spelling words backwards to help them focus on letter sequences in written words.
At the end of the lessons, the children with dyslexia were again asked to complete the spelling task. This time, the MRI images more closely matched those of their normal peers, showing, according to Berninger, that proper education can help to reshape the brain of dyslexics.
"Our research is telling us good spellers are taught, not born, as is often assumed," says Berninger.
Berninger says that other common teaching methods for dyslexia also help to "normalize" brain function. She hopes that her work can help to enforce the idea that dyslexia is not a handicap. With early intervention and good training, all people with dyslexia can learn how to adapt.
"We always find that these kids improve," she says. "Just because you have dyslexia, it doesn't mean that you cannot learn."
