Acquired Obstacles in
dyslexia
These are the conditions that can be prevented by early
intervention. The onset is thought to be due to the
response of teachers and parents to the lack of adequate
performance by children with undiagnosed
dyslexia.
The children also make their own contribution when they
recognize that they are not living up to what is expected
of them. Parents also fall prey to these conditions,
along with their children, thus worsening the problem.
Poor Self-esteem :
This usually becomes apparent in the fourth or fifth
grade when reading becomes a tool for learning. These
students recognize that they are not functioning at
the level of their peers, causing them to feel inadequate
as students, and sometimes as individuals. Once students
have acquired poor self-esteem the focus should be
placed on improving their perception of themselves.
Any attempts to further improve their scholastic rating
will only worsen their self-esteem.
Frustration :
When children becomes frustrated, their attempts to
avoid reading increase. They are then looked upon
as being lazy, since they will not read. This plays
increased pressure, which causes more avoidance of
the subject, resulting in total chaos, and propagation
of anger with their frustration.
Anxiety :
Over anxious disorder of childhood, is a condition
that can be treated medically or by counseling. It
is suggested that counseling is the treatment of choice
due to its efficacy and low side effects.
Depression :
The etiology of Childhood Depression Disorder can
be either intrinsic or extrinsic. In this case, reference
is being made to the extrinsic source of depression.
Conditions Mimicking
of Dyslexia
1. ADHD with Hyperactivity
2. ADHD without Hyperactivity
3. Central Auditory Processing Deficit (CAPD)
4. Depression
5. Absence Seizure
6. Overanxious Disorder of Childhood
7. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
8. Oppositional Defiant Disorder
9. English as a Second Language
10. Conduct Disorder
11. Chronic Medical Problems
12. Poor Teaching Skills
13. Disruptive Home Setting
14. Schizophrenia
Treatment of dyslexia
Dyslexia and the other learning disabilities are appearing
more to be diagnosis of exclusion as many conditions
can mask or mimic dyslexia, and these should be identified
and treated adequately prior to the assessment of
the dyslexic. That is, there are many learning disorders
some acquired, others developmental in nature that
must be identified and treated before the diagnosis
of dyslexia can be confirmed.
Complicating this diagnostic process is the fact that
many conditions have the unique ability to both mimic
and obscure the diagnosis of dyslexia. These include
such learning disorders as ADHD, CDD, CAPD, Absence
Seizures and OCD. Nevertheless, it is essential to
identify the truly dyslexic and to start effective
remediation and accommodations as early as possible.
Too often, dyslexics are misdiagnosed or simply
regarded as stupid, retarded, or lazy. A child’s
or adolescent’s obvious reaction to such treatment
is often poor self-esteem, anxiety and depression.
These added pressures are not only difficult to overcome,
but they may mar the child’s personality for
life.
The focus of this section will be that of discussing
possible treatment methods of dyslexia, and some of
the associated symptoms of dyslexia. Today there are
many remedial and teaching methods available to treat
the dyslexic and other acquired and developmental
learning disorders. The diagnosis, remediation and
accommodation of the dyslexic has come a long way
in recent decades. Many case histories can be seen
as evidence that pupils once seen as hopelessly slow
learners or even retarded are now successful physicians,
architects, entertainers, and educators, many with
doctoral degrees. But the watchword now more than
ever is “awareness” of the special needs
of dyslexic children and of how much help they still
may need to succeed.
When considering or choosing treatment of any medical
condition, learning disability, or behaviour disorder,
it is suggested that proper evaluation be done before
diagnosis by parents, teachers, and especially by
qualified professionals who have considerable expertise
in that area where diagnosis and treatment are being
considered. This is often the first and most important
step of a treatment process. It is also important
to fully look at the condition being treated, such
as : the severity of the condition, any associated
symptoms of the condition, age of individual being
diagnosed and treated, and if treatment should be
given for the associated symptoms. With early diagnosis
and appropriate treatment, many people with dyslexia
go on to succeed both academically and professionally.
Counseling should be the first line therapy, and one
should not be reluctant to accept medical interventions,
they have been successfully used by primary care physicians,
psychiatrists and neurologists with interesting results.
The other treatment procedures are effectively aimed
at improving the working of the cerebellum, the part
of the brain that controls motor functions, such as
eye, leg and arm movements. More experts are now becoming
increasingly cautious in prescribing pharmaceuticals
to dyslexic learners because of increased side effects,
and the simple fact that the pharmaceuticals are really
not helping the child learn to read and write. But
studies with piracetam in dyslexics have revealed
interesting results with little or no observed side
effects or drug interactions.
Stages of Diagnosis
• Adequate history (information) of the child’s
problems.
• Detailed report from the teacher.
• Examination and testing of the child.
• Counselling of the child and parents about
the problem and prognosis.
• Evolving an appropriate management plan.
Examination of the child
includes :
A physical/neurological examination and tests, if
necessary, of hearing and vision.
Psychologist’s tests
These are of three basic types.
Tests to measure Intelligence (IQ)
Tests of academic achievements.
Tests of other special abilities.
Psychologists’s
assessment of Learning Disability
A wide range of tests are administered to the child
to find out the factors hindering progress at school.
General Intelligence Tests :
The most common IQ test for assessing intelligence
is Welcher Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC).
It is suited for children with reading and spelling
difficulties as involves reading and writing. A normal
child scores equally well or equally bad on all scales.
On the other hand, the Dyslexic child does well in
one set of tests and badly in another.
Reading Assessment :
Specific reading disabilities are recorded by analysing
the reading performance. These disabilities are generally:
reading word by word, omissions, reversals, insertions
and guessing at words.
Assessment of spellings :
The ability to spell is recognised as a complex and
multifaceted process. Besides general intelligence,
the following factors affect the ability to spell
words : The ability to spell words that are phonetic,
The ability to spell words that involve roots, prefixes,
suffixes and rules for combining, The ability to look
at a word and reproduce it later.
An efficient assessment procedure can clearly outline
the relevant skills a child has or not mastered, shows
patterns of errors and provide direction for systematic
remedial instructions.
Assessment of arithmetic
skills :
Many disabled learners have difficulty learning mathematics,
experiencing problems at all age levels there are
a number of (commercial) Maths assessment kits. However,
they yield little usable teaching information. On
the hand, informal assessment which consists of observation,
oral interviews and error analysis can provide us
with enough information regarding the nature of the
child’s disabilities.
Other Diagnosis
Other areas assessed include handwriting, comprehension
and attention. These tests are used for children above
six years of age. Children below six years of age
are assessed for pre-academic skills which includes
visual discrimination, fine motor skills, verbal fluency,
memory, attention and handedness. Brigance Diagnotic
Inventory of Basic Skills, Aston Index and Man-Suiter
Test are some of the popular tests used to assess
the readiness skills of a child. The assessment report
predominantly brings out the level at which the child
functions in each area of learning skills and the
nature of the disabilities that the child exhibits.
Based on this report, an indidualised remedial programme
is prepared for each child.
