WHAT IS DYSLEXIA?
Dyslexia is a neurologically-based, often familial, disorder which interferes with the acquisition and processing of language. Varying in degrees of severity, it is manifested by difficulties in receptive and expressive language, including phonological processing, in reading, writing, spelling, handwriting, and sometimes in arithmetic. Dyslexia is not the result of lack of motivation, sensory impairment, inadequate instructional or environmental opportunities, or other limiting conditions, but may occur together with these conditions. Although dyslexia is lifelong, individuals with dyslexia frequently respond successfully to timely and appropriate intervention.
~ Definition from the International Dyslexia Association To learn more about dyslexia go to: www.BrightSolutions.US We are not born knowing how to read. Reading is a learned process. When we read, our brain is doing several steps all at once. Reading has to connect letters with sounds in the right order, create words, incorporate them into sentences and paragraphs and finally grasp a meaning behind it all. People with dyslexia, because of a neurological difference, are not using the most efficient part of their brain when they read. The dyslexic brain takes longer to make connections and uses more steps needed to read, write and spell. When you have trouble with the most basic steps of phonemic processing, it makes all the other proceeding steps that much harder to complete.
So when a child cannot retain their spelling words from one week to the next, or has trouble spelling when having to write sentences, not even the high frequency words like because, friend, and does, you might want to consider, it could be dyslexia. When a child can’t seem to remember that a sentence has to start with a capital and end with punctuation, it could be dyslexia. If a child reads slowly or has extreme difficulty sounding out words they don't recognize, despite being taught phonics, it could be dyslexia. No diagnosis is necessary to participate in this program.
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