Primary Dyslexia and Secondary Dyslexia Essay Example

Primary Dyslexia and Secondary Dyslexia Essay Example Primary Dyslexia and Secondary Dyslexia Paper Primary Dyslexia and Secondary Dyslexia Paper Dyslexia is currently one of the most well known learning disabilities found in school age children in the United States, and is the most common one faced in school districts. It affects approximately five percent of all elementary aged children (Mayo, 2007). This disorder can cause delays in the areas of reading, writing, spelling and in some cases even speech(MedicineNet, 2006). It occurs in varying levels from a mild problem creating an annoyance to severe impairment which can cause school failure and serious depression (MedicineNet, 2006). Dyslexia is often suspected when children of average to above average intelligence fail to obtain age appropriate levels of reading, writing and spelling. It is characterized by frequently misspelled words with upside down or transposed letters. In order to receive a diagnosis of dyslexia a vision problem and is ruled out. An additional factor to be considered is the educational opportunities available to the child. A child who had no opportunities to read would inevitably be delayed in the academic areas. A diagnosis of dyslexia can be devastating to both the child suffering from the disorder and the child’s family. Once it is diagnosed, the school district the child is in takes interest in the child’s well-being, but the thoughts and concerns faced by the parent additionally need to be addressed following a diagnosis. There are three identified types of dyslexia known as Traumatic Dyslexia, Primary Dyslexia, and Secondary Dyslexia (MedicineNet, 2006). The types of dyslexia are categorized by the suspected cause of the disorder, but the symptoms are the same. Trauma Dyslexia is caused by some kind of brain injury to the area of the brain that controls language skills. This type of dyslexia is rare (MedicineNet, 2006). It is not the typical form that is seen in schools. Primary Dyslexia is a hereditary disorder involving a dysfunction of the cerebral cortex in the brain (MedicineNet, 2006). This malfunction does not get better with age and there is no cure. People suffering from this type of dyslexia usually struggle with reading and writing throughout life and often do not read above a fourth grade level (MedicineNet, 2006). There are treatments that can be used to help the person with the diagnosis cope with the disorder however. The third type of dyslexia, secondary dyslexia, is thought to be caused by impaired prenatal hormonal development. This is not as common as primary dyslexia. It is more common in boys and does get somewhat better as the child reaches maturity (MedicineNet, 2006). Symptoms of Dyslexia are often not recognized until a child is school age, and even then the signs are often misinterpreted for other conditions. It is very easily misdiagnosed as Attention Deficit Disorder, as the observable symptoms, distractibility and acting out, are very similar to symptoms of ADHD. Besides the acting out, some of the most noticeable signs are the child’s apparent inability to read, write or spell at age level even though the child may be very intelligent in other areas. Children with dyslexia typically write letters backwards, upside down or in the wrong order. They may read the words without comprehending what they are reading. In addition to the reading and writing problems, some behavior concerns sometimes are also present such as an easily distracted child, a disorganized child, or one who seems to cause trouble in class (WebMD, 2006). These behaviors manifest due to frustration over not being able to understand what is expected. Self esteem issues often come about due to the frustration and the embarrassment of having to admit having reading problems. Due to the embarrassment of not being able to read at age level, many children will find ways to hide the disability, which leads to a large number of cases either not being diagnosed at all or being diagnosed late. Once the problem is discovered it can be treated somewhat successfully in most cases. Treatment for this disorder is quite different than that of most disorders, because it does not involve medication. There is no cure to get rid of dyslexia, once someone is diagnosed with it he will always have it. However, training is available to help most children diagnosed with dyslexia retrain their brains to function at the highest possible level. These learning strategies work best the earlier a diagnosis is made, however older children and adults can still be helped by the learning strategies. Some of the strategies involve a way of learning that differs from traditional learning styles. Although there is no cure for the disability and people with it struggle throughout life, it is treatable. People can develop skills to cope with the disability and the vast majority can be very productive. People with dyslexia often excel in areas of complex thinking and creativity. Many of them become designers, engineers and even doctors. Once people with the disorder can learn to cope with the frustration and find ways to compensate for the brain confusion, many can read and function successfully. Dyslexia greatly impacts not only the child diagnosed with it but also the child’s family on a larger scale society. The child deals with the daily frustration of trying to keep up with other students, when he sees every word differently than the other children. When the words do not look right and are difficult to figure out, the child soon looses interest in reading, and simply begins trying to find ways to hide the fact he does not understand how. He might begin to act out as a way to distract others from realizing that he is having difficulty reading. If the disability is not discovered and diagnosed soon, the child continues to fall behind his peers in his reading development and the embarrassment becomes worse. This can lead to additional frustration, acting out and failing grades. When the child’s peers discover the problem or learn about the failing grades, they begin to tease the child increasing the distress and frustration. When the child’s parents become aware that the child is having problems, the child has often been covering it for some time, but can no longer maintain good enough grades to hide the problem. Parents become impacted by the child’s struggle to maintain good grades and to keep up with peers in reading and writing. They often feel helpless because they do not know how to help the child. Parents want their children to be happy and do well, for this reason it is very difficult for them to see their child struggle. In order to avoid having to admit there is a problem or to answer questions, the child learns to avoid all situations that might place him in a negative situation. Sometimes the child becomes withdrawn from the parents and other people around. This withdrawal due to embarrassment and frustration can cause problems with not only family relationships, but with other social relationships as well. The child may stop associating with friends and spending more time alone. They might cut off contact with friends or romantic interests due to a fear of admitting they have difficulty reading. Society is affected not as much by one child with dyslexia, but with the large numbers of children affected by the disorder. School districts are required to educate the children in the district, and if a significant percentage of the population is not performing to age level, this goal is not being reached. Continual pressure is being placed on society to graduate smarter and better educated young people, therefore the pressure is increased when the there are large numbers of people who do not process information the same way average people do. This requires society to take a new look at the way it educates children and what needs to be done to help all children perform to the best of their ability. The good news is that people who have dyslexia can be helped and those who care about them can learn how to help them. Parents can help their children by offering support. One of the first things they need to do is get to know their children and work with professionals to find the best way to teach them (Shaywitz, 2003). For children who do not want special treatment, there are a number of books and workbooks that parents can get to work through with their children. Some of these encourage young people to talk to parents and doctors about the problems they experience (Shaywitz, 2008). It is very difficult for a child to admit problems, but when he has the courage to tell someone, the first step is to get the child tested. This can be very stressful for the child, but is needed in order to get a proper diagnosis. Once the diagnosis is made, a team of parents, teachers and other professionals can develop a plan to help the child reach his maximum potential and regain confidence. In order for this plan to be completely successful, the child needs to be included in order to allow him to provide input on what procedures are most helpful. Once the child has learned coping skills to help him become more confident and independent, hw will become less withdrawn and more academically capable. Sometimes the testing procedure and the treatment can be more detrimental to a child’s self-esteem. If a child is older when the problems are discovered, being placed in a special program and labeled as disabled causes an impressionable child more stress and trauma than he was already feeling. The treatment needs to focus on the best ways to meet the needs of the child instead of how to make the school districts success numbers look better. If the child is subjected to further embarrassment through the program, he might withdraw even more or be teased more. This could lead to lower development and in some cases dropping out of school or suicide. With laws being passed in the last several years, to make sure that all children are adequately educated, schools have been subjected to increased pressure to graduate children. For this reason there are greatly increased opportunities for children to have additional training and classes. Special and individualized programs have been designed to help children with disabilities be successful. These programs are very good and helpful for the children if the focus is kept on the children. There can sometimes be problems when the school rather than helping the child become more successful, the school lowers the standards simply to graduate children. Although, the children need some extra assistance and sometimes a series of smaller goals to reach the larger ones, they need to be able to reach some basic expectations in order to be considered a graduate. The drawback of graduating ill-educated students from high school, means that people are being into the adult world without the proper skills to function successfully in the world. Most people have heard of dyslexia, but many of them think of it as an inability to read without having a full grasp of what the disorder involves. They know it has something to do with turning letters around, but are not aware of the depression or behavior problems that can be caused by the frustration of wanting to succeed and not being able to. Children with dyslexia are not lazy or less intelligent. They are children who can be very successful and intelligent if the need for a different learning method is determined early enough to develop a plan of success that works for that specific child. The vast majority of people with dyslexia can meet the requirements for graduation and become successful adults, if they are able to learn the strategies to enable them to compensate for the ways their brains process information differently than the average person. Having a diagnosis of dyslexia does not make them any less valuable to society or less likely to contribute. They simply view words and letters differently than the average person and need to compensate for this by learning to use their brain processes to understand the words that other people can view easily. It can be done, and many people prove every day that it can be done successfully. The important thing is that the children diagnosed with the disability have much needed support in order to refrain from using the disability as an excuse to fail rather than a reason to succeed. Resources: Dyslexia. (2007) Mayo Clinic. Retrieved November 20, 2008 from: Dyslexia MayoClinic. com Dyslexia. (2006). MedicineNet. Retrieved November 20, 2008 from: Dyslexia Symptoms, Signs, Causes, Types, Diagnosis and Treatment on MedicineNet. com Dyslexia Symptoms. (2006) WebMD Retrieved November 20, 2008 from: Dyslexia-Symptoms Hultquist, Alan M. (2008) What is Dyslexia? : A Book Explaining Dyslexia for Kids and Adults to Use Together Jessica Kingsley Publishers/Philadelphia. Shaywitz, Sally Md. (2003) Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level Random House/New York.