{"id":2052,"date":"2022-04-27T08:02:28","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T08:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/therapeuticliteracycenter.com\/?p=2052"},"modified":"2022-04-27T08:02:28","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T08:02:28","slug":"what-is-dyslexia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/therapeuticlearning.com\/2022\/04\/what-is-dyslexia\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Dyslexia?"},"content":{"rendered":"

So What Is Dyslexia Anyway? \u00a0– Two \u201cClassic\u201d Symptoms Explored<\/span><\/h1>\n

We often wonder: Is my child dyslexic? or, Am I? and, What is Dyslexia exactly? However, in our experience, and in that of most people working in the field, not everyone who has difficulty with language or reading has \u201cdyslexia.\u201d<\/p>\n

When you hear the word \u201ccheese,\u201d what comes to mind?
\nSome people picture a slice of yellow American cheese in its own individual wrapper. Others see a \u201cwedge\u201d of white cheese just cut from a \u201cwheel.\u201d Still others picture Swiss or blue cheese.
\nWhat about products with cheese \u2013 cheeseburgers, cheese danish, cheese pizza, cheese puffs. How about cheese concepts \u2013 \u201cHow Cheesy\u201d or smile and say \u2018Cheese!\u2019\u201d
\nThey all contain cheese, but what exactly is cheese?<\/p>\n

The same can be said of \u201cdyslexia.\u201d
\nEveryone has different ideas about what dyslexia means. The word \u201cdyslexia\u201d is actually a medical term meaning \u201cdifficulty with words.\u201d That\u2019s a pretty broad concept.
\nLet\u2019s narrow this down just a bit.<\/p>\n

There is current brain research indicating that people with dyslexia probably have physiological differences in the brain structure and how it processes, or thinks about, information.
\nAt the Learning Center, we look at dyslexia from an educational standpoint. In other words, what can we do to overcome any limitations dyslexia might place on students\u2019 ability to learn. We have worked with students with reading disabilities for over 13 years, and in that time we have come to recognize a couple of major symptoms that we would call \u201cclassic dyslexic symptoms.\u201d These are: A significant phonemic awareness deficit, and a strong visual spatial thinking style.<\/p>\n

What Is Phonemic Awareness and How Does It Affect Reading?<\/span>
\nPhonemic awareness is a person\u2019s ability to think about the number, order, and identity of individual sounds within words. It is the underlying thinking process that allows a person to make sense out of phonics, the sound system of our language.<\/p>\n

The basic reading process is made up of three parts: Auditory (phonics), Visual (sight word recognition), and Language (the ability to use context clues and learn and apply new vocabulary).
\nIn order to be an automatic, comfortable reader, all three of these processes need to be working efficiently together. If they are not, reading can be a frustrating struggle.
\nCurrent research and our clinical experience strongly indicate that weaknesses in the auditory part of the basic reading process, or inability to easily understand and use the phonetic code of the language, is a key factor in reading and spelling disorders.<\/p>\n

A phonemic awareness deficit almost always keeps a person from being an efficient reader and speller. It usually causes individuals to be \u201cdisabled readers\u201d in spite of the best efforts of parents and teachers.<\/p>\n

For the second grader, it can mean being diagnosed as \u201cdevelopmentally delayed.\u201d For the bright and creative seventh grader, it can mean spending countless frustrating hours doing homework and still failing. For the adult professional, it can mean making a \u201ccareer\u201d out of hiding the inability to read and write on the job.
\nIndividuals with a phonemic awareness deficit find it terribly difficult to use phonics for reading and spelling. It has been said that these people simply cannot ever learn phonics. However, ongoing research in the field of auditory processing has shown us that this is not true. These individuals can be trained to develop their phonemic awareness and become effective readers.People with phonemic awareness deficit may experience the following:<\/p>\n