Symptoms of dyslexia
Ms. Neha Cadabam - senior psychologist, Director of Cadabams & Mindtalk Hospital (India) - said that dyslexia is related to challenges in reading, writing and spelling, often due to difficulties in phonological processing, evident in challenges in reading fluency and verbal communication.
Symptoms of dyslexia can vary from person to person, but often include the following:
Difficulty in reading: Inability to accurately identify letters or phonemes when reading; Difficulty blending sounds and recognizing words; Reading slowly and easily confusing words or letters.
Difficulty in writing: Frequent spelling mistakes; Difficulty in arranging words and sentences grammatically.
Difficulty with organization and memory: Forgetting directions or not being able to remember learned concepts; May have difficulty learning dates, phone numbers, or other information to remember.
Difficulty concentrating and maintaining attention: People (especially children) may feel tired or impatient when having to read, write, or study for long periods of time.
The link between dyslexia and language disorders
Dyslexia typically involves difficulties with phoneme recognition and the analysis of sounds in words, which can affect the ability to pronounce words correctly and build vocabulary. Meanwhile, language disorders can affect both understanding language and using it in communicative situations.
Some children may have both problems. They may have both dyslexia (difficulty reading and recognizing words) and a language disorder (difficulty understanding and using grammar).
Both disorders can have a major impact on a child's ability to learn, especially in reading, writing and communicating, Ms. Neha Cadabam emphasized.
Therapy and intervention
For people with dyslexia and language disorders, Cadabam emphasizes the importance of speech-language therapy as a primary intervention.
“This therapy often includes phonics exercises, word-finding strategies, and verbal memory training,” says Cadabam, adding that multisensory approaches, such as the Orton-Gillingham method (a structured literacy approach), are particularly effective, Cadabam explains.
These methods support language learning through visual, auditory and tactile modalities which will help improve communication skills as well.
To create a supportive environment for people with dyslexia and language disorders, according to Dr. Cadabam, schools (educational organizations) should provide language discrimination guidance and apply technological tools, such as speech-to-text software, which can help.
For parents and family members, it is important to promote language development through conversation, reading, and language-based games.
