Dyslexia is not a trick from learning but a real dysfunction that requires help. Some people think dyslexia is a newfangled trick from cramming. This approach can hurt a child for life. If a dyslexic student does not receive help at school and does not find support from his parents, his defect will worsen. What are the most common causes and symptoms of dyslexia?

Formerlydyslexicwas called able laziness. So smart, and he's having a hard time studying. Reading, duka. He makes horrendous mistakes when he writes. Like some dumb or sloppy. But it's not dull or sloppy. He tries, knows the rules of spelling, works more than others. And it does nothing. The results of these efforts are meager. It keeps getting torn off. When he hears from the teacher: "You could if you only wanted", he feels trapped. He cannot live up to the demands, he suffers from a lack of acceptance. If he does not receive help at school and has no support from his parents, his defect will worsen. Worse. Intellectual development will be inhibited. Such a student will stop learning, become discouraged - because why bother, if more than two will not jump out anyway. Eventually he'll believe he's useless. This is how complexes are born, they close the chances. Someone chased at school loses self-esteem. Someone extremely gifted cannot finish their studies.

Causes of dyslexia

Why is reading and writing so difficult for a dyslexic person? Because he is confused with shapes and sounds - similar letters and sounds similar to sounds. It does not remember what the words were written, so it cannot correct the mistakes. He spells the same word differently.

- The old frame seems to suffice for the student to say: write "which" with "ó" dashed a hundred times. Meanwhile, a dyslexic will write with a mistake in 101, and good in 102 - says Małgorzata Dorosz, a psychologist in junior high school, mother of dyslexia.

A dyslexic has a problem with coordinating movements and finding directions. In his adult life, he cannot sign the same signature twice, so he has trouble at the bank. Can't you imagine it? If you are right-handed, try writing a letter with your left hand. This is just a part of the dyslexic difficulty!

They were first described at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1968 in the United States, at the World Conference of Neurologists, the following definition was formulated:dyslexiais a disorder that manifests itself in the inability to learn to read and writedespite good intelligence and good environmental conditions. "

In Poland it started to be talked about in the 70s. If it manifests itself in children, it is called developmental dyslexia. It is associated with dysorthography - difficulties in mastering the correct spelling, including making spelling mistakes, dysgraphy - the so-called ugly handwriting and dyscalculia - difficulties with counting.

Dyslexiahas 10-15 percent Polish students; increased by 3-4 percent. Boys are four times more likely to be dyslexic than girls.

On average, there are 3-4 dyslexic children in each class, but in some regions of Poland they do not exist at all because they have not been diagnosed - due to ignorance of teachers and parents, lack of easy access to the clinic. On the other hand, in large cities, especially in Warsaw and Krakow, the average is quite high. This aroused the suspicion at the school board that some students were "making dyslexic papers" in order to have it easier during tests and tests.

Important

There is no valid theory on this. It is known thatdyslexiais more common in children of parents with dyslexia. Swedish scientists have identified the DYXC1 gene on chromosome 15. Its damage increases the likelihood of dyslexia. It is certainly not the only gene responsible for this defect, but others are yet to be discovered. Neurologists also talk about acquired causes. Well,dyslexiamay be the result of microtrauma to the brain and central nervous system during pregnancy, childbirth or just after it.

Dyslexia symptoms

The symptoms of dyslexiaare quite clear-cut. The most noticeable parents are errors in notebooks, confusing letters, and ugly writing that leaves the lines. But many of the early signals indicate a risk of dyslexia. -Symptoms of dyslexiaare revealed already in infancy - emphasizes Wojciech Brejnak. - Some parents are glad that the child is physically fit, because it did not crawl, but started to walk immediately. Meanwhile, it could be asymptom of dyslexia , because the child did not exercise alternating movements this way. Similarly, when a child (usually a boy) begins to talk late and clumsily build sentences, parents wrongly console themselves that this happens to boys. There are also othersymptoms of dyslexia :

  • directional problems (confusing right, where left),
  • undetermined domination of one side of the body (the child is ambidextrous or right-handed, but looks through the hole with his left eye and puts his left ear up),
  • disturbance in attention, memory (unable to remember days of the week, seasons, learn a poem),
  • malfunctionmotor skills, including manual ones, especially in boys: trouble fastening buttons, lacing shoes, washing hands, eating with cutlery, maintaining balance, learning to ride a bike, playing football or class,
  • "monkey's grip", pressing the pencil too hard or too weak,
  • hyperactivity, impulsivity, emotional imbalance,
  • difficulties in building blocks, arranging puzzles,
  • habitual twisting of words and speech impediments (child lisps, does not pronounce "r", stutters),
  • at school writing letters from right to left or in mirror image, changing prefixes and prepositions, rearranging sounds, twisting words.
Important

Rights of a child with dyslexia

Depending on the opinion of the authorized clinic, a dyslexic person has the right to:

  1. extend the exam time by half,
  2. reading assignments aloud by the teacher,
  3. writing in a separate room,
  4. change the printout font in the question sheet,
  5. capital letters,
  6. marking answers directly on the sheets, without rewriting the questions.

The opinion of the psychological and pedagogical counseling center must be up-to-date and submitted to the school no later than by the end of September of the school year in which the exam takes place.

Basis: Regulation of the Minister of National Education of March 21, 2001, amended on April 4, 2002 (Journal of Laws No. 29/2001, p. 323, as amended). According to it, the teacher is obliged to adapt the requirements to the student's defect (that is, it does not mean to reduce), take into account the opinion of the counseling center and respect its orders. Opinions are not honored during university exams, because there are no regulations that would regulate it.

Dyslexia diagnosis - the sooner the better

Don't believe your child when they say "too early to be diagnosed" or "will grow out of it". Withdyslexiadoes not grow out, it can only be corrected. - Successful overcoming of dyslexia depends on its early detection and competent therapy - claims Wojciech Brejnak, chairman of the Polish Dyslexia Society. To make sure this is the case, the educator and psychologist must first rule out other causes of school difficulties: hearing and vision impairments, mental retardation, and delays due to neglect at home or inadequate teaching.

A small child, in the first stage of learning, has the right to make some mistakes. How are dyslexics diagnosed? Magdalena Stankiewicz, a school pedagogue, usually learns about them from a teacher in grades 1-3 or from a Polish teacher in older grades. - They report that the child has writing and reading difficulties. I get permission from my parents for a psychological examinationand I refer the child to a psychological and pedagogical counseling center. The psychologist does tests and gives an opinion that is returned to us with the consent of the parents. The opinion describes the child's problems and recommends how to work with him. We have dyslexics in school 90 out of 226 students.

There are teachers in Poland who, despite the certificate from the counseling center, cannot resist biting remarks and making two grades: high fives for content and bangs for mistakes. No sense. But the reduced tariff also makes no sense if the child does not regularly exercise both at school and at home.

If dyslexia is not diagnosed on time, problems begin in the 2nd grade, which will get bigger every year. Sometimes the degree of dyslexia is low, and then the child only makes spelling mistakes. There are also severe cases. - I have a student from the 3rd grade of junior high school - says psychologist Małgorzata Dorosz. - He did not understand the texts, so his mother, encouraged by the teacher, read aloud to him. The effort was wasted because you can't do anything for the baby. As a result, the boy does not read before the high school exam. He's skilled, he knows computers, takes various devices apart and puts them back together. I asked the management to grant him a teacher for the exam. Because he focuses on just putting letters into words and doesn't get the sense. The exam will be written in a separate room.

Read also: Asperger syndrome - symptoms, diagnosis and treatment methods for Asperger syndrome

Problem

Maciek was hyperactive in kindergarten. The tests showed dyslexia. We started going to therapeutic classes with a teacher and practicing at home. After each vacation it was clear that he was taking a break.

Maciek replaces "p" with "b", "g" with "d". Instead, he writes "po", although he knows there is no such ending. Scribble and has trouble with calculations (reasoning is good, but the result is bad). He does not hear double sounds, eg "everyday" is "everyday" for him. He confuses the seven with the number one, both sonically (seven - one) and graphically (7 - 1). Reading makes him tired. - I looked through his notebooks every day and with a pencil I marked the words with errors. Maciek had to find them in a spelling dictionary, underline them in red and copy them into a special notebook, marking the place in which he made a mistake in color. At the bottom of the page, he wrote in the spelling and grammar rules.

This method is not only about consolidating the correct spelling, but also about developing the habit of constantly referring to spelling rules when writing and checking the finished text.

Working with a dyslexic

Parents must ensure that the school respects the rights of a dyslexic, but most of all support him on a daily basis.And actively join the therapy.

- Some parents think that the school should improve everything - says Małgorzata Dorosz. - But it depends on them the most, because the child has to exercise every day. You have to keep an eye on it, check notebooks, praise them for the slightest success and develop strengths. It is of great importance. One of the famous journalists said that he was able to finish high school and college and become the editor-in-chief thanks to the painstaking work of his mother and the appropriate computer programs. Working with a dyslexic is under the supervision of specialists, but parents can use a lot of help. Many books with corrective exercises have been published. There are computer programs recommended by PTD: "Dyslektyk", "Królik Bystrzak". You can send the child to therapeutic colonies, and in special cases, after consultation with a neurologist and speech therapist, apply pharmacological therapy (nootropil medication improves memory processes).

If the child has a poor reading, he / she should listen to the cassette readings (there are recordings for the blind), but also read alone quietly and aloud. It is sometimes necessary to use a shutter - a window that moves from letter to letter. In the older grades, two cardboard boxes are enough; one so as not to jump to another line, and the other revealing subsequent words. A child scribbling like a hen with a claw should use a pencil and an eraser and a special attachment that forces the correct arrangement of three fingers. And from the second grade, learn to write on the computer.

Where to go for help

Polish Dyslexia Society, Main Board, Gdańsk, ul. Polish Mothers 3a http://www.ptd.edu.pl/kontakt.html

Addresses of regional offices on the website www.dysleksja.waw.pl

Exercises and gymnastics for children with dyslexia and more

You have to work on spelling all your life.

1. All puzzles and puzzles develop the ability for visual analysis and synthesis. Cut the picture into four parts and give the child to assemble, gradually make more and more parts.

2. Practice hand and eye coordination - let the child use a finger and then a marker to outline the contours of the pattern.

3. Play ball.

4. Develop the use of language: choosing rhymes, isolating sounds from words, breaking words into sounds. However, do not stop at your own ideas - to be effective, always consult a therapist.

Certain types of movement stimulate the formation of new connections between the hemispheres of the brain, improve coordination, reading fluency, concentration and memory, and activate thinking. They relieve stress, regulate breathing, have a good effect on emotional stability, and strengthen self-esteem. That is why speech therapists practice not onlythe speech apparatus, but during classes they activate the child's entire body (e.g. using Dennison's method). It makes alternating movements: it touches the raised left knee with its right elbow, and vice versa. Or he traces eights in the air with his thumb. It is good to precede this exercise with a relaxing massage and the use of relaxation techniques. Additionally, a he althy diet is recommended (no animal fats, canned food, vinegar, excess sweets).

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