Overcoming the Frustration of Dyslexia

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN BRITAIN

“WHAT is your telephone number?” asks Julie. The caller replies. But the figures Julie jots down bear little relation to the number given.

‘My teacher tore up the picture I painted,’ laments Vanessa, adding, ‘I could never remember what she was saying.’

David, in his 70’s, struggles to read simple words that he mastered more than six decades earlier.

Julie, Vanessa, and David have a learning difficulty—a frustrating one. It is dyslexia. What causes this condition? How can dyslexics overcome the frustration it provokes?

What Is Dyslexia?

One dictionary defines dyslexia as “a disturbance of the ability to read.” Though often viewed as a reading disorder, dyslexia can involve much more.a

The English word’s roots come from the Greek dys, meaning “difficulty with,” and lexis, “word.” Dyslexia includes difficulties with words or language. It even involves problems with placing things in their right order, like the days of the week and the letters in a word. Dyslexia, according to Dr. H. T. Chasty of Britain’s Dyslexia Institute, “is an organising disability which impairs short term memory, perception and hand skills.” Little wonder that those who have dyslexia find it frustrating!

Take the case of David. How did this formerly avid and fluent reader come to need his wife’s help to learn to read all over again? A stroke damaged an area of David’s brain linked to the use of language, and this made his progress in reading agonizingly slow. Yet, longer words gave him less of a problem than shorter ones. Despite his acquired dyslexia, David’s conversational ability and his sharp intellect never suffered. So complex is the human brain that researchers have yet to comprehend all that is involved in processing the sounds and visual signals it receives.

Julie and Vanessa, on the other hand, had developmental dyslexia, which became apparent as they grew. Researchers generally accept that children who by the age of seven or eight exhibit normal intelligence but display uncharacteristic difficulty in learning to read, write, and spell may be dyslexic. Often, dyslexic youngsters write a mirror image of the letter they are trying to copy. Imagine the frustration Julie and Vanessa felt when schoolteachers mistakenly labeled them stupid, slow, and lazy!

In Britain, 1 person in 10 suffers from dyslexia. Failure on the part of others to recognize the problems they face simply adds to their frustration.—See box on page 14.

What Causes Dyslexia?

Poor eyesight frequently causes learning difficulties. Correct the vision defect, and the dyslexia disappears. A small proportion of those who have difficulty learning to read find that they can focus better on the words when they place a thin sheet of colored plastic over the text. Others find this to be of no help.

Some, noting that the condition runs in families, offer a genetic explanation. Indeed, New Scientist magazine recently reported research “exploiting the known association between the genes involved in autoimmune diseases such as migraine and asthma, and those responsible for dyslexia.” Because dyslexics and their relatives are more likely to suffer from autoimmune diseases, scientists believe the genes for dyslexia occur in the region of the genome that houses these disease genes. But, as behavioral scientist Robert Plomin notes, researchers “have only identified a chromosomal region, not a gene for reading disability.”

The part of the brain that controls posture, balance, and coordination is called the cerebellum. Some scientists claim that it also plays a part in our thinking and language processing. Interestingly, researchers at Sheffield University in England have developed a dyslexia test that involves balance and coordination. They reason that faults in the cerebellum prompt healthy areas of the brain to compensate. Children generally find little difficulty in maintaining their balance when asked to stand still, one foot in front of the other with arms outstretched. But blindfold them, and the dyslexic children wobble far more, since they rely heavily on sight to help them balance.

Still other researchers point out that the brains of dyslexic children show anatomic differences. Normally, the rear portion of the left side of the brain is slightly larger than the corresponding portion of the right side, whereas in the brain of a dyslexic, the left and right halves appear equally developed. Then others claim to have found a distortion of the arrangement of nerve cells in parts of the brain that deal with language.

But regardless of the physical cause of their dyslexia, how can those who have the problem best be helped?

Help From Parents

Some who are parents of a dyslexic child feel guilty and blame themselves for their offspring’s plight. If you feel this way, dispel the gloom by recognizing that none of us are perfect and we are all different. Start by recognizing that just as a color-blind child needs help to live with his defect, so does your dyslexic child. You as a parent have a definite role to play in the education of your child.

Although dyslexia cannot presently be prevented or cured, it can be alleviated. How? Professor T. R. Miles, author of Understanding Dyslexia, advises parents to discover first of all exactly what the dyslexic child finds difficult. Then they will be able to make a realistic appraisal of their child’s limitations and what can be expected. “The child should be asked to do as well as he is able,” advises Reading and the Dyslexic Child, “but not better than that.” By being sympathetic and encouraging, and in particular by arranging for suitable teaching, parents can minimize the effects of dyslexia and, at the same time, lessen the strain the dyslexic child feels.

Help From Teachers

Remember, dyslexia is a learning difficulty. So teachers need to spend time with the dyslexic children in their classes and make an effort to help them. Limit the children’s frustration by being realistic in what you expect of them. After all, a dyslexic child may well grow into an adult who still finds reading out loud a problem.

Do not become a defeatist. Instead, commend the children for any progress they make—and certainly for all their effort. Then, too, avoid indiscriminate praise. Professor Miles recommends that when teachers note some progress, they say to a dyslexic pupil: “Yes, I agree you have made some mistakes. But I still say you have done well; it is an improvement on last week and, in view of your disability, it is a satisfactory result.” But when there is no improvement, he advises saying: “Yes, such-and-such still seem to be causing you difficulty; let us see if we can explore some different way of helping you.”

Beware of making disparaging remarks about the dyslexic child’s reading. Strive to make books and reading enjoyable for him. How? Both parents and teachers can suggest that the child hold a marker, perhaps a small ruler, under the line he is reading, as a very slow reader often allows his attention to slip. If the problem surfaces in reading the letters of the word in the wrong order, kindly ask, “Which is the first letter?”

Imagine how discouraging it is for the dyslexic child to be frequently told by his math teacher that his answers are wrong. How much better to give him slightly easier problems so that the frustration failure brings is replaced by the satisfaction of solving them correctly.

“The key for dyslexics is,” according to one specialist teacher “learning through all the senses.” Combine sight, hearing, and touch to help the child read and spell words correctly. “The pupil needs to look carefully, to listen carefully, to pay attention to his hand movements as he writes, and to pay attention to his mouth movements as he speaks,” Professor Miles explains. By doing this, the dyslexic child will equate the written form of a letter with both its sound and the hand movements he makes to write it. To help the child distinguish between letters that confuse him, teach him to begin writing each of the letters at a different point on the letter. “Ideally,” recommends Reading and the Dyslexic Child, “each [dyslexic] child ought to have an hour a day of tutoring on a one-teacher-to-one-pupil basis.” Sadly, circumstances rarely permit this. Nevertheless, dyslexics can help themselves.

Self-Help

If you are dyslexic, aim to do the bulk of your reading when you are at your freshest. Researchers have noted that dyslexic students achieve good results if they continue reading for about an hour and a half but that thereafter their work deteriorates. “Regular but limited amounts of study each day are likely to be more beneficial than occasional days of intense effort,” notes Dyslexia at College. True, it is going to take you longer to read and spell well. But persevere.

Make use of a portable typewriter or, better still, a word processor with a program that helps you check the spelling of what you enter. Couple this with learning how to organize and manipulate information.—See box on page 13.

Enjoy books by listening to those recorded on audiocassettes. Indeed, this magazine and its companion, The Watchtower, now appear regularly on cassette in many languages, as does the whole Bible.

If after reading the box you believe you are dyslexic, do not hide the problem. Accept it, and take account of it. For example, you may be preparing for a job interview. Like many people, you may find that the pressure of the situation makes it difficult to express yourself clearly and concisely. Why not try some practice interviews beforehand?

The difficulties dyslexia causes are not easily remedied. But the brain, being the marvelous organ it is, compensates for the problem. Permanent unhappiness is therefore unlikely. Julie, Vanessa, and David have all worked hard at overcoming their frustration. You can do the same. Recognize that your specific difficulty need not stop you from learning. Persevere in trying to read, write, and spell properly. Doing so will help you to overcome the frustration of dyslexia.

[Footnote]

[Box on page 13]

Tips for Self-Organization

Make use of the following:

• a personal notice board

• a planner calendar

• an in-tray

• a personal file

• a diary

• an address book

[Box on page 14]

How to Recognize Dyslexia in Children

If you answer yes to three or four of the questions below for each age group, it is possible that the children concerned are dyslexic to some extent.

Children ages 8 or less:

Were they late in learning to speak?

Do they still have particular difficulty with reading or spelling? Does this surprise you?

Do you have the impression that in matters not connected with reading and spelling, they are alert and bright?

Do they write letters and figures the wrong way around?

When doing calculations, have they needed the help of blocks, fingers, or marks on paper for longer than others of their age? Do they have unusual difficulty remembering multiplication tables?

Do they have difficulty in telling left from right?

Are they unusually clumsy? (Not all dyslexic children are clumsy.)

Children ages 8 to 12:

Do they make unusual spelling errors? Do they sometimes omit letters from words or put them in the wrong order?

Do they make apparently careless mistakes in reading?

Does reading comprehension seem slower than expected for children of their age?

Do they have difficulty copying from the blackboard at school?

When reading aloud, do they leave out words or a line altogether, or do they read the same line twice? Do they dislike reading aloud?

Do they still find multiplication tables difficult to remember?

Do they have a poor sense of direction, confusing left and right?

Do they lack self-confidence and have low self-respect?

[Credit Line]

—Awareness Information, published by the British Dyslexia Association, and Dyslexia, produced by Broadcasting Support Services, Channel 4 Television, London, England.

[Picture on page 12]

To help focus attention, hold a marker under the line to be read