Dyslexia

1. Dyslexia What is it all about???

2. Where is the problem? • The deficit lies in the language system, NOT in the visual system -- NOT an overall language problem… IS a localized weakness within a specific component of the language system: the phonologic module • Dyslexia represents a specific disability with reading… • NOT with thinking skills

3. Phonological ???? • Phonologic – derived from Greek, phone , meaning sound. The phonologic module - language ‘factory’, part of brain where SOUNDS of language are put together, to form words; and where words are broken down into their elemental sounds. cat

4. What’s a phoneme???? The smallest sound in a word…. Fundamental element of the language system, essential building block of all spoken words…

5. How many phonemes are there???? • 44 phonemes in the English language! Produce tens of thousands of words! c---------a-----------t = 3 phonemes * Before words can be identified, understood , stored, or retrieved, must be broken down into phonemes (by the brain). Necessary for speaking and reading

6. What about the dyslexic child? • The phonemes are less developed… • Difficulty retrieving phoneme that is similar in sound: says • ‘lotion’ for ‘ocean’ • Knows what he wants to say, cannot retrieve it

7. Dyslexic child might put phonemes in wrong order: “emeny” for “enemy” • Dyslexic children and adults have difficulty developing awareness that spoken and written words are made up of these phonemes or ‘building blocks’.

8. The Phonologic Model… • Tells exact steps that must be taken for student to know that letters seen on a page represent sounds he /she hears when the same word is spoken. • The process for learning this is orderly, sequential and logical.

9. Also ... the process is critical and must occur before reading can take place.

10. Steps to reading… • 1. student becomes aware that words he hears are not whole sounds, but made up of parts • 2. becomes aware that these segments represent sounds (c—a—t has 3 sounds)

11. 3. links letters he sees to sounds he hears • 4. realization - that letters are related to sounds; and printed word and the spoken word are related.

12. 5. understanding that spoken and written words can be pulled apart based on the same sounds; and, in print, the letters represent these sounds.

13. Now…. • Now, student is ready to read…has made the linkage. • Mastered the alphabetic principle!