Introduction
Dyslexia is a common condition affecting thousands of children across the world. Almost every teacher in the US has a student who could fit the description of dyslexia. Many teachers keep on wondering why some students show weakens on a simple task like reading a simple test that every other student read and write with ease. The teacher needs to have adequate information to understand the condition of the child and the potential cause of student's difficulties to come up with instructional aids materials. Dyslexia is derived from "dsy" which means not or difficult and "lexia" which means word or language. According to(Dyslexiaida.org," 2017), approximately 80% of children with designated as learning disables, have learning problems. Cases of children with dyslexia are rampant in the United States, creating a need to understand the signs and symptoms of dyslexia, causes of dyslexia and relation to brain function. Various interventions have been suggested to improve reading and writing skills of children with dyslexia and help them in social and emotional connection.
Literacy learners with dyslexia have language challenges such as spelling, pronunciation, and writing. Although the condition affects the entire life of an individual, changes occur at different stages. Students who experience dyslexia show difficulties in excelling academically and in the instructional environment. Learners with dyslexia show two challenges which makes it easy for teachers and therapist recognize the condition. First, is the inability to read many words in a text like other average students. When reading a sentence, the learners stumble and guess many words hence are not fluent in word recognition. Second, they show some difficulties in decoding where they reveal problems when attempting to identify words they are not familiar. Signs and symptoms of dyslexia are recognized when the child begins to speak and read some terms and proceed until the child acquires various instructions and accommodations required to excel in school. At this time, the instructor manages to recognize learning disabilities of children-based on general problems revealed. Most problems experienced by dyslexia include learning letters and sounds, learning to speak fluent, organizing written and spoken language, memorizing, faster reading and comprehension of long sentences and assignment and spelling. Teachers of elementary-aged children recognize the condition through difficulty with remembering the simple sequence, pronunciation difficulties, difficulty in understanding words which have similar sound and challenge in identifying rhyming words. Also, the difficulties with the retrieval of words, remembering names, places and directions are common among people with this condition.
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People who have dyslexia reveal the difficulty in writing. According to Graham & Hebert (2010), difficulty in writing occurs because reading and writing rely on related processes. Dyslexia arises from challenges related to processing phonological information which is essential for decoding words while writing requires encoding phonological information during writing. Reading and writing skills are two processes that rely on each other. People need to read some materials before engaging in writing as a way of diagnosing text problems. Effective writing requires transcription skills like spelling and handwriting and executive function skills, which enable an individual to generate needed text. The most common writing problems associated with dyslexia include a high percentage of misspelt words, poor work organization, difficulty to read even own handwriting, lack of fully developed ideas and inadequate diverse vocabularies (Dyslexiaida.org, 2017). Dyslexia students get the challenge of organizing ideas and writing simple statements. In terms of handwriting, these people unconventionally form letters by sometimes starting with lower case, ending with upper case, omitting or extending space between words, poor memorizing of essential words which leads to the strain of memory. According to Sumner et al. (2016), dyslexia experience constrains of memory which leads to difficulties in transcription and executive function skills of writing. Therefore, dyslexia is highly connected to reading and writing difficulties due to inability to encode and decode phonology.
Causes of Dyslexia
The exact causes of dyslexia are not known. According to Hebert et al. (2018), dyslexia has genetic and heredity component, and it runs in the family; when a parent or sibling has the condition, the probability of developing dyslexia or bearing a child with the condition is high. Studies show differences in the way the brain of dyslexia develops and function. The difference arises in brain areas which perform reading skills, making it easy to recognize written and spoken words. The major problem of this condition is a hardship with identifying separate speech sounds and letters which is a crucial aspect of reading. Dyslexia does not occur from a lack of intelligence or an absence of learning desire. When adequate and appropriate resources are provided, these people learn successfully and might present better results than colleagues. Although dyslexia show struggles in literacy, most of them are very bright and highly talented in arts, music and drama, computer science, math sports and other areas that do not require a lot of reading and writing.
The structure of the human brain is divided into right and left hemisphere in which most areas are accountable for processing language, speech and reading. Every section of the brain consists of four lobes which perform most of reading and memory functions. The frontal lobe controls speech, reasoning, planning and also play the role of regulating emotions. The Broca area situated in the frontal lobe is responsible for organizing, producing, manipulating language and speech and enhancing reading proficiency. The parietal lobe is responsible for controlling sensory perception and linking language to memory for easy reading. The primary visual cortex is located in the occipital lobe and is essential for the identification of letters. Temporal lobe performs the role of verbal memory making it easy to understand language. Left parietotemporal system performs the task of word analysis which involve conscious and decoding of words. Through this system, individuals manage to map letters and written words to correspond to sounds. The left occipitotemporal area is an essential area for enhancing skilled and fluent reading. Individuals whose systems are not well-developed reveal the literacy problem.
The structure difference in the brain leads to dyslexia and other learning disabilities. The grey matter found in the human brain plays the role of processing information. White matter plays the role of transferring information around the brain. According to Liu & Booth (2019), people diagnosed with dyslexia have less grey matter located in the left parietotemporal area, which contributes to the problem of processing sound structure. Also, in the same area, dyslexia has less white matter compared to average readers which explain the problem pf poor reading skills and communication. Study shows a difference in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) between dyslexia and readers without dyslexia. Therefore, the brain of dyslexia shows the different distribution of metabolic activation than the brain of people without the condition, which brings the difference in accomplishing similar literacy task.
Effects of Dyslexia on Social and Emotional Connection
The impact of dyslexia differs with individuals, and it depends on the severity of the condition and efficiency of instruction. The primary difficulty experienced with this condition is word recognition and fluency in reading, spelling and writing, which affect their self-image. When excellent instructions are present early enough, people with dyslexia manage to read and spell words just like other learners. However, as learning get complex, these learners find it hard to read and write a complex grammar, understand textbook and write different types of essays (“Dyslexiaida.org,” 2017). Also, people with dyslexia reveal hardship with spoken language even after exposure to good language at home and school. People with dyslexia find it hard to express themselves and comprehend communication from others in schools, workplace and different social environment. Due to these challenges, the self-image of most people, especially children, is affected since they feel "dumb" and less capable (Hebert et al., 2018). The high stress associated with academic problem and socialization discourages students from continuing in school or participating in social activities. Students with dyslexia start developing low self-image and feeling inferior at the age of ten. Therefore, before reaching the age, these children need to b given adequate instructional resources, counselling and therapy to boost the positive image and cope with the challenge.
Due to trauma and low esteem associated with dyslexia, people with this condition reveal social and emotional aspects. Most children diagnosed with dyslexia become socially and emotionally affected if the reading instructions are not introduced early enough to match their various needs. There is a high connection between dyslexia, stress and emotional and social difficulties and impact on education performance (“Dyslexiaida.org,” 2017). Research conducted by Dr Schultz shows that stress and anxiety rise when one is in a situation that they have little or no control. Although stress and anxiety are experienced by people of all ages experiencing this condition, young children and adolescents are more affected. Most of these young children lack full awareness of the nature of learning disability hence blame themselves for the challenges faced. The self-esteem of adolescents at school and the workplace is affected by continuous self-doubt and self-recrimination.
According to Schultz (2013), dyslexia’s’ experience years of frustrations and limited success despite working with specialists. The progress of these learners is usually slow and sometimes frustrating, which increases emotions and excessive pressure during training (Schultz, 2013). Many of these children compare themselves with other siblings, colleagues and classmates; an act that leads to embarrassment and defensive acts. Most people with dyslexia are aware of their challenges when speaking in the public hence tend to avoid a stressful situation like public places. According to Hodge (2000), most of these children feel different from their peers and mentally abused since they are unable to follow simple instructions; a challenge that leads to low-esteem and trauma. There is thus a need or the teacher and school to provide a conducive environment where these children will feel confidence.
Depression is another struggle experienced by in dyslexia in literacy learners. Young Dyslexia learners reveal various symptoms of depression more than older adults with the same condition. Most of these children do not like to share the feeling; instead, they pretend to be active and sometimes engage in criminal behaviours to cover up their depression and painful feeling. Depresses children tend to have a negative thought about themselves and also begin to view the world negatively (“Dyslexiaida.org,” 2017). Most of these children do not enjoy positive life experiences and do not participate in fun activities. Also, most of these children view the future negatively since most of their experiences is based on pain and suffering. Children with dyslexia thus require guidance and counselling from an early age to get adequate support and encouragement to see the positive side of life. Teachers should concentrate on boosting these children's feelings through promoting activities that they are best.
Interventions to Improve Reading and Writing Skills of Dyslexia Literacy Learners
Structured Literacy approach
The impact of dyslexia differs among individuals hence the need to come up with various interventions to assist these children. Although dyslexia is not treatable, the condition can be managed by implementing various interventions to assist learners. Schools and need to implement various accommodations and modifications to assist dyslexic learners improve their academic performance. Teachers find it challenging to teach dyslexia learners since they require extra resources and time to boost their performance. Various intervention strategies are adopted to address writing challenges of transcription and executive faced by dyslexia. The interventions take the form of either remediation of skills or compensation of deficits in specific skills. The challenge of poor transcription skills is resolved by adopting strategies that support the development of spelling. Phonic instruction program is designed to achieve positive spelling and writing for literacy learners with dyslexia (Lim & Oei, 2015). Phonic intervention assist literacy learners with dyslexia to recognize and pronounce grapheme-phoneme correspondences and phonograms, use sound-spelling, practice pronunciation and spelling of high-frequency words and practice encoding using phonograms. Research conducted by Hebert et al. (2018) shows that phonics instruction effectively improves reading and writing achievements of literacy learners with dyslexia. Phonics instructions are essential for improving reading and spelling ability of dyslexia learners. Learners manage to solidify the relationship between letters and sounds, making it easy to identify every sound. Also, the intervention reinforces the translation and spelling of new words. During literacy class, the instructor can help dyslexia students to reinforce spelling pattern through dictation activities. During the class lessons, the teacher sets up some minutes for dictation activities whereby students identify words in sound-spelling or phonogram units. Every student is involved in spelling certain words.
Another intervention applied by teachers to help dyslexia's during literacy learning is the analysis of morphine in words to solve the challenging phonological. Instructors adapt the unit of morpheme, which helps students improve their words reading. When children manage to recognize prefixes and suffix, it becomes easy for them to pronounce words. According to Kearns (2015), the English language comprises of more morphemes than sound-spelling hence the emphasis for instructors to analyze them when teaching students with a learning disability. Morphemes teachings programs for people with dyslexia emphasizes on spelling, meanings and pronunciation. When teachers involve dyslexics’ students with word spelling programs, they improve their ability to spell and remember written forms of words (Berninger et al., 2013). The strategy makes it easy for children to remember words and spell them correctly. Teachers also adapt the strategy of spell-check to assist dyslexia literacy learners to improve their writing and reading skills. Spell-checks help students to approximate the words and identify the exact spelling when an instructor provides options.
Literacy learners require good handwriting which results in positive reading outcomes. Dyslexia reveals the challenge of poor handwriting, which they require the instructor to guide and direct them to improve. Santangelo and Graham (2016) show that teaching handwriting to learners can improve legibility and fluency of dyslexia's, leading to improved quality and length of writing. Depending on the level of learner's impact, instructors can apply individualized handwriting instruction and technology to assist dyslexia to improve their handwriting and overall reading ability. Learners with dyslexia are taught sound-symbols in the form of visual to auditory and auditory to visual. Lastly, students are taught syntax like grammar, variations in sentences, and the mechanics of language to understand the functions of words.
Schools and instructors require various modifications and accommodations materials to help learners with dyslexia receive adequate information similar to other average students. Today, professionals, therapists, volunteers, and students implement numerous accommodations for students with dyslexia. The accommodation strategies adapted include clarifying and simplifying written directions, presenting small assignments to students to avoid overload and highlighting essential information (Shultz, 2013). Instructors can use a placeholder in consumable material in the classroom. Students with dyslexia and other learning disability require additional practice activities to enhance their mastery of specific skills. The teachers repeat direction and also encourage students to follow and repeat direction to their colleagues when the teacher is unavailable. The instructor is also recommended to provide a copy of notes to students with a learning disability (“Dyslexiaida.org,” 2017). During lessons, the teacher is expected to combine verbal and visual information and use a whiteboard to write new vocabularies to make it easy for a student with special needs to understand.
Instructors are advised to develop a reading guide either page-by-page or chapter-by-chapter to help the student understand main ideas. Besides, during literary lessons, teachers allow students to use audio recording devices where they tape and record the lectures and replay at their own time for clarity. Assistive technology is a commonly used accommodation technology used to improve the reading and writing outcome of students with dyslexia (Hebert et al., 2018). Students are guided to improve their handwriting using models and technologies like keyboarding. Other accommodations that enhance student's performance include change of response mode, use of graphic organizers, pacing dyslexia students close to the teacher and displaying samples of works. All these strategies are effective in assisting dyslexia literacy learners in managing their struggles.
Conclusion
In summary, dyslexia in literacy learners suffers from various reading and writing difficulties, as shown by their challenges in reading and writing simple words and sentences. Although dyslexia has some genetic components in it, the primary cause of this condition is believed to be motor or brain difference from brain lobes which perform the role of processing language, speech and reading. Due to the many challenges faced by dyslexia's, most of them, especially adolescents, develop stress, depression and anxiety as they try to compare themselves with siblings and classmates. Some of the young children drop out of school for lagging in performance and looking upon the teachers to provide more instructive equipment and accommodations. The challenges faced leads to emotional and social withdrawal, and if not given adequate counselling and guidance on time, they might adopt bad behaviours as coping strategies. Today, various structured Literacy approach and accommodations have been provided in schools and classroom environment to assist students with dyslexia. Educators are encouraged to use combinations of interventions to address specific needs of reading and writing skills with dyslexia. Teachers, parents and professionals need to engage students with dyslexia early enough when they begin to read and write to ensure they cope and do not lag in performance. The use of instructional strategies is effective in improving the learning outcome of dyslexia literacy learners.
References
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Dyslexia in the Classroom; What every teacher needs to know. Dyslexiaida.org. (2017). Retrieved April 11 2020, from https://dyslexiaida.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/DITC-Handbook.pdf.
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Santangelo, T., & Graham S. (2016). A comprehensive meta-analysis of handwriting instruction. Educational Psychology Review, 28, 225–265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9335-1
Shultz, J. (2013). The dyslexia-stress-anxiety connection, 1-4. Retrieved October 1, 2013, from IDA website, www.DyslexiaIDA.org.
Sumner, E., Connelly, V., & Barnett, A. L. (2016). The influence of spelling ability on vocabulary choices when writing for children with dyslexia. Journal of learning disabilities, 49(3), 293-304.
