October is Dyslexia Awareness month, so the next two newsletters will increase your understanding of Dyslexia and suggest resources to help both at home and at school.
I found an excellent article, written by Liz Dunoon at www.dyslexiadaily.com, called “What is Dyslexia?” In this article, she references the work of Dr. Sally Shaywitz, who is a professor of Pediatric Neurology at Yale University. She Describes Dyslexia as: “more than just a reading difficulty, it is a way of thinking and of being. Dyslexic people tend to be top-down rather than bottom-up thinkers; that is, they learn from getting the big picture or overall idea or learning first, and then fill in the specific details. They learn best through meaning rather than through rote memorisation of isolated facts.”
Current research suggests Dyslexia is caused bu a disorder in the language system. Dr. Shaywitz explains how we don’t need a curriculum for a baby to learn speak; it is a natural process. However, reading must be taught. Children must learn how to connect the printed letters on a page with the sounds of the spoken language. For about 60-70% of children, this awareness develops by the age of about six years. The remaining 30-40% of children experience difficulty noticing these basic sounds, which are called phonemes. “For most people, these phonemes are clear and crisp, but for reasons yet unknown, in people with Dyslexia, the phonemes are fuzzy or less distinct.”
