Dyslexia

1. Dyslexia By: Kyra Stenslie 2009

2. Definition: • Developmental dyslexia is a disorder manifested by difficulty learning to read despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and adequate socio-cultural opportunity. The World Federation of Neurology. Wikipedia, 2009.

3. History: • Dyslexia was identified in 1881 by Oswald Berkhan, and the term “dyslexia” was later named by German ophthalmologist Rudolf Berlin in 1887. He used the term to refer to the case of a young boy who had a severe impairment in learning to read and write in spite of showing typical intellectual and physical abilities in all other respects. • 1900-1950: Similar cases were noted where children appeared to have normal brain functioning but had trouble learning to read, lacking visual memory for words and letters. • Neurologist Samuel Orton, who worked with stroke victims, met a boy who exhibited similar symptoms and could not read. Orton defined this as a syndrome called “strephosymbolia” which means “twisted signs,” explaining the difficulty with associating visual forms of words to their spoken forms. • 1950-2000: Research in reading was conducted, discovering that some were able to read with equal speed in both directions, explaining the ability to “mirror read.” • Developmental dyslexia is defined as two subtypes - surface and phonological. Surface Dyslexia is characterized by subjects who can read known words but who have trouble reading words that are irregular. Phonological Dyslexia is characterized by subjects who can read aloud both regular and irregular words but have difficulties with non-words and with connecting sounds to symbols, or with sounding out words. • 2000-present: Researchers are searching for a link between the neurological and genetic findings, and the reading disorder. A current theory is that dyslexia is a matter of reduced phonological awareness (the ability to connect units of spoken and written languages). The World Federation of Neurology. Wikipedia, 2009.

4. Prevalence: • Dyslexia is estimated to range from 5-17 % of school-aged children, with as many as 40% of the entire population reading below grade level. • Dyslexia is the most common and most studied of the learning disabilities, affecting 80% of all individuals identified as learning disabled. National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, 2005.

5. Symptoms or Characteristics of Children with Dyslexia: • Symptoms of dyslexia can vary slightly from person to person. Age may also influence symptoms. Pre-school age children • Learn new words slowly • Have difficulty rhyming words • Late in establishing a dominant hand Early elementary school-age children • Difficulty learning the alphabet • Difficulty with associating sounds with the letters that represent them (sound-symbol correspondence) • Difficulty identifying or generating rhyming words, or counting syllables in words • Difficulty segmenting words into individual sounds, or blending sounds to make words • Difficulty learning to decode words • Difficulty distinguishing between similar sounds in words; mixing up sounds in multi-syllable words

6. (symptoms continued) Older elementary school children • Poor spelling • Slow or inaccurate reading • Difficulty associating individual words with their correct meanings • Difficulty with the concept of time • Difficulty with organization skills • Difficulty comprehending rapid instructions, following more than one command at a time or remembering the sequence of things • Reversals of letters (b for d) and a reversal of words (saw for was) are typical among children who have dyslexia. • Children with dyslexia may fail to see (and occasionally to hear) similarities and differences in letters and words, may not recognize the spacing that organizes letters into separate words, and may be unable to sound out the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word. The World Federation of Neurology. Wikipedia, 2009.

7. Causes: The exact causes of dyslexia are unknown. However some studies state that it may be influenced by inheritance and/or hearing problems at an early age. • Inherited factors: Dyslexia is often found in families. Research has been done on the brains of dyslexic people, and brain scans have shown that cells lie beneath the surface of the brain in dyslexic individuals, whereas the cells lie on the surface of the brain in non-dyslexic people. These cell clusters are often found at the left and front of the brain, which are areas important for reading and writing. Brains of dyslexic children have shown differences in right and left brain activity. Non-dyslexic children use the left side of the brain for language work, whereas dyslexic children have to use both the right and left sides. • Hearing problems: Small children with frequent ear or throat infections may be more prone to dyslexia, as the developing brain may not link the sounds it hears when the ears are congested. This lack of hearing may also delay a child’s phonemic awareness. www.dyslexia-parent.com

8. Literature and Article Reviews: • Article 1: “Cerebellar Function, Dyslexia and Articulation Speed” • Article 2: “Low-Level Defective Processing of Non- Verbal Sounds in Dyslexic Children” • Article 3: “Motor Learning and Chunking in Dyslexia” • Article 4: “Intensifying Instruction”

9. Cerebellar Function, Dyslexia and Articulation Speed • Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess children’s performance in cerebellar and cognitive tasks and to investigate whether there is a differentiation in articulation speed in children with dyslexia. • How research was conducted: Three sets of tests (including five cerebellar tests, five cognitive tests, and an articulation speed test) were administered to three age- and sex-matched groups of dyslexics, children with ADHD and normal readers aged 8–12 years in Greece. • Findings: The dyslexic individuals participated in the sets of tests showed impairment in one cerebellar test compared with the control group, and impairment in two cognitive tests compared with both the control and the ADHD group. The dyslexic children also performed lower than the control group during the articulation speed test. This study provides clues to support the hypothesis that cerebellar deficit exists, and the possible relationship between reading impairment and speed of articulation. Kasselimis, D.S., Margarity, M., & Vlachos, F. (2008). Cerebellar Function, Dyslexia and Articulation Speed. Child Neuropsychology, 14: 303–313.

10. Low-Level Defective Processing of Non- Verbal Sounds in Dyslexic Children • Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compare processing of non-verbal auditory stimuli by dyslexic and non-dyslexic children using electrophysiological methods. • How research was conducted: The study included 39 children (17 with dyslexia plus 22 controls) and they were assessed using frontal, central, parietal, and temporal electrodes. • Findings: Dyslexic children differed significantly from controls in processing of sounds. Results revealed impairment in processing non-verbal sounds in the individuals with dyslexia. The authors of the study claim the results also suggest that dyslexia is a general auditory deficit instead of a speech-specific deficit. Ucle´s, P., Mendez, M., & Garay J. (2008). Low-Level Defective Processing of Non- Verbal Sounds in Dyslexic Children. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Dyslexia 15: 72–85

11. Motor Learning and Chunking in Dyslexia • Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate whether participants with dyslexia had problems executing keying sequences and switching between chunks in those sequences. (Chunking is a process of segmenting words or information that result in a reduced number of units called chunks. ) • How research was conducted: The study consisted of participants with dyslexia and participants in the control group. Participants were 40 college students, including 19 participants with dyslexia (12 men, 7 women) and 21 participants without dyslexia (11 men, 10 women). All participants were right-handed and between 18 and 28 years old. They executed two 6-key sequences each, with one sequence consisting of two successive instances of one 3-key segment, and the other not involving such a repetition. • Findings: The study found a significant difference between the groups . The participants with dyslexia scored significantly worse on the tests of picture naming, letter naming, reading, spelling, phonemic awareness, and writing, whereas there were no significant differences between the groups on the verbal working memory test. De Kleine, E. & Verwey, W.B. (2009). Motor Learning and Chunking in Dyslexia. Journal of Motor Behavior. Vol. 41, No. 4, 331–337.

12. Intensifying Instruction: Does additional instructional time make a difference for the most at-risk first graders? • Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine if implementing intensive interventions early in school (in the case of this study - first grade), would accelerate student learning. • How research was conducted: At risk first grade students were selected for the study, to assess their skills in phonological awareness and alphabetic understanding, and to examine the effects of instructional time. Students were given various sub-tests and interventions. • Findings: The study found that students in the more intense intervention outperformed students in the less intense intervention on all outcome measures except passage comprehension. Harn, B., Lianan-Thompson, S., & Roberts, G. (2008). Intensifying Instruction. Journal of Learning Disabilities. Vol.41 Num.2, 115-125.

13. Recommendations: • Children with dyslexia need more time to articulate single words or word strings than normal readers. (Kasselimis, D.S., Margarity, M., & Vlachos, F. 2008.) Teachers should take into consideration strategies for incorporating phonics and word study into reading instruction. • Identifying students in need of special instruction should be done in early elementary, in order to provide the fastest intervention and support. (Harn, B., Lianan-Thompson, S., & Roberts, G. 2008.) • Students with the most intensive needs may benefit from small group instruction, so that their needs may be targeted more specifically. (Harn, B., Lianan-Thompson, S., & Roberts, G. 2008.) • Students may show improvement when provided comprehensive reading interventions in small groups, using explicit instructional delivery principles, and provided to them in addition to the instructional time devoted to reading in the general classroom. (Harn, B., Lianan-Thompson, S., & Roberts, G. 2008.)

14. Inclusion: Generally, individuals with dyslexia are still active in the general education classroom. Therefore the following pros and cons are regarding full-inclusion, and whether students with dyslexia should be in the general education classroom all the time, or pulled-out occasionally for special services. I also believe that these circumstances depend on the needs of each specific student. Pros of Inclusion: • Full-inclusion and participation in the general education classroom helps the student with dyslexia maintain good self-esteem and avoid any possible negativity associated with having a learning disability or being in special education. • The general education classroom provides multiple opportunities to read in different contexts, and apply to real-life settings (i.e. reading is incorporated into other subject areas and contexts that may not be as prevalent in the special education setting). • Students with dyslexia benefit from social interaction with peers in the general education classroom.

15. (inclusion continued) Cons of Inclusion: • Being pulled out of the general education classroom for reading or one-on-one instruction may benefit students with dyslexia. They have more closely monitored help and may try strategies that would otherwise not be used with the general education students. • Dyslexic students with fear of reading in front of peers will feel more comfortable in a smaller group setting with students close to their ability level. • Teachers in the general education classroom often do not have time needed to devote to helping dyslexic students with reading, writing, and spelling in both teaching and planning lessons. Dyslexic students would often have to read at the average level of the class rather than something more appropriate to their level.

16. Applications to the classroom: • Make sure to teach phonics so that the reader understands how letters are linked to sounds, or phonemes, to make words. • Expose children to written sight words as frequently as possible. This may help familiarize them with print. • Make learning to read as enjoyable as possible. • Incorporate words into everyday life. • Spend time practicing trouble words with the use of a whiteboard or sidewalk chalk, so that children can easily erase, wash off, or change the letters while learning, and don’t feel as though the paper keeps them from correcting mistakes. • Practice reading in a comfortable and unintimidating environment (such as aloud to a pet or stuffed animal). That way they can practice reading aloud and moving their lips to form the words, but without the pressures of being critiqued. • Incorporate play and game time into learning. (For example, play a sight word game by hiding letters around the room, finding them, and practicing reading them.) • Read aloud to a child, and choose a commonly used word that is “their word” for the book. They can sit back and listen to the story, but participate through repetition by reading their assigned word. • Use hand motions when teaching. The children can learn to associate letters spelled in the correct way (for example with confusing letters such as “b” and “d.”) • Teach students about famous people that have dyslexia, and how they have overcome this to be successful. www.dyslexia-parent.com

17. References / Works Cited: Altieri, J. (2008). Fictional characters with dyslexia: What are we seeing in books? Teaching Exceptional Children. 41 (1), 48-54. Crisp, V., Johnson, M. & Novakoviæ, N. (2007). Dyslexia and examinations: Questioning the Questions. Literacy Today., 17. De Kleine, E. & Verwey, W.B. (2009). Motor Learning and Chunking in Dyslexia. Journal of Motor Behavior. 41 (4), 331–337. Dyslexia Treatment: Your Hints and Tips.Retrieved from <http://www.dyslexia-parent.com/mag24.html> Elliott, J., & Gibbs, S. (2008). Does dyslexia exist? Journal of Philosophy of Education. 42 (3-4), 475-491. Harn, B., Lianan-Thompson, S., & Roberts, G. (2008). Intensifying Instruction. Journal of Learning Disabilities. 41 (2), 115-125. Harrison, A.; Edwards, M., & Parker, K. (2008). Identifying student feigning dyslexia: Preliminary findings and strategies for detection. Dyslexia. 14: 228–246. Kasselimis, D.S., Margarity, M., & Vlachos, F. (2008). Cerebellar Function, Dyslexia and Articulation Speed. Child Neuropsychology, 14: 303–313. National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. (2005). Retrieved from <http://www.ncsall.net> The Solution to Dyslexia. (2002). Reading from Scratch. Retrieved from <http://www.dyslexia.org/index.shtml> The World Federation of Neurology.Wikipedia. (2009). Ucle´s, P., Mendez, M., & Garay J. (2008). Low-Level Defective Processing of Non- Verbal Sounds in Dyslexic Children. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Dyslexia 15: 72–85.