Dyslexia

Did you know that one of the most misunderstood learning challenges is dyslexia?  There are so many misconceptions!

Myths of Dyslexia Myth 1: Dyslexia is a sort of mental retardation. The facts: Dyslexia is a difficulty in learning to read, write and spell, despite traditional teaching, average intelligence, and an adequate opportunity to learn. It is an impairment in the brain's ability to translate information received from the eyes or ears into understandable language. It does not result from vision or hearing problems. It is not due to mental retardation, brain damage, or a lack of intelligence.

Myth 2: There is no 'cure' for dyslexia.

The facts: Dyslexia is not a disease. Given the appropriate specialist teaching, dyslexics can successfully learn to read (and even to spell).

Myth 3: Dyslexia is rare in Singapore.

The facts: The incidence of dyslexia in Singapore is within the international range of 3% to 10% of the population. There are about 20,000 primary and secondary school students who are dyslexic. An average of 1 to 2 students could be dyslexic in a class of 40. Dyslexia can range from mild to moderate to severe.

Myth 4: My child can’t be dyslexic. No one else in the family has it.

The facts: Beware. In some families, one, or both parents, are obviously dyslexic and all, or most, of their children, have the difficulties. In other families, dyslexia is not apparent in either parent and the other children are unaffected.

Myth 5: Dyslexics are gifted/”stupid”.

The facts: Repeated studies have shown that there is very little relationship between dyslexia and intelligence in young children. Dyslexia occurs across a whole spectrum of intelligence and is as likely to be found in the gifted and talented population as it is to be present in the low-ability, and most of them fall in the middle. However, if dyslexics don't learn to read, their IQs tend to fall behind as they get older.

Myth 6: Reversing letters is a good indication of dyslexia. The facts: In fact, backwards writing and reversals of letters and words are common among young children learning to write whether or not they are dyslexic. Only about 10% of dyslexics reverse letters. In general, letter-reversals become an area of concern if it persists beyond 8 years old.

Myth 7: Dyslexia can't read.

The facts: People with mild to moderate dyslexia have usually learnt to read well enough to 'get by' and to avoid being noticed. Despite this, their reading usually remains slower than normal and a spelling skills check will often reveal their true difficulties.

Myth 8: He can’t have dyslexia because he can read.

The facts: All children with dyslexia can read—up to a point. But the problem they have with processing speech sounds, prevent them from hearing all the individual sounds in a word. So they generally don’t read by sounding out. With poor ability to detect and manipulate speech sounds, dyslexics tend to have inadequate knowledge and application of how sounds are linked with their written form. This weak letter-sounds link affects their ability to read to some extent. Instead, they often use alternative strategies such as memorising familiar stories, recognizing words by their shapes or guessing based on the first letter or two. But their memories can hold only a limited number of words. So these strategies will fail them by third or fourth grade. Without the right type of help, they cannot progress any further—no matter how smart they are and how hard they try.

Myth 9: He can read okay. He just can’t spell. That’s not dyslexia, is it?

The facts: A child with severe dyslexia will struggle with reading from the very first day. But intelligent children with mild-to-moderate dyslexia can get away during the first few years in school. They can read. You just don’t know HOW they are reading. But their unusual reading strategies will force them into a brick wall by primary three or four. Their difficulties with spelling, however, are obvious very early. If they spend hours each night working on a spelling list, they may be able to pass the test. But they tend to have difficulties spelling the same words when they’re writing sentences or compositions. Poor spelling is highly related to poor reading, and poor spelling shows up first. But it may take until primary three or four for the reading struggles to become equally obvious. Reading and spelling are closely related skills.

Myth 10: Reading difficulties disappear with age.

The facts: Not if it's dyslexia. Dyslexia is a lifelong condition. Dyslexic children become dyslexic adults. If they are identified and given the right kind of help early, dyslexics can learn to compensate for their learning difficulty and read accurately. Even so, they may continue to read slowly and not automatically.

Myth 11: Repeating a school grade can remove dyslexia.

The facts: Dyslexics learn in a different way. Specialist teaching is necessary to learn to overcome dyslexia and cope in mainstream school.

Myth 12: The way to help a dyslexic child to read is to force him or her to read at least 20 mins a day.

The facts:It is necessary to make reading easy and fun so the dyslexic child learns. Multi-sensory techniques help the child read and write better.

Myth 13: Dyslexia only affects children who speak English.

The facts: In fact, dyslexia has been shown to affect native Dutch, Israeli and Portuguese speakers as well as speakers of other languages. Dyslexia primarily affects the processing of speech sounds, otherwise known as phonological awareness. Dyslexia is also known to affect languages that are orthographically-based like Chinese.

Myth 14: Dyslexia cannot be identified until a child is 8 to 11 years old.

The facts: Research suggests children at risk of developing reading, spelling and writing difficulties can be identified at 5 to 6 years of age. In fact, there are validated instruments which allow us to do so. It is also important to identify them early so that appropriate help can be given before they start failing in school.

Myth 15: There is no way to truly diagnose dyslexia.

The facts: There are highly sophisticated and well-recognized techniques to diagnose dyslexia. A qualified educational psychologist will be able to diagnose dyslexia through a series of assessments with the child.

Myth 16: Dyslexics will not succeed in life.

The facts: A great majority of dyslexics have succeeded in life in their own respect. Some famous and accomplished dyslexics include Albert Einstein, MM Lee Kuan Yew, Richard Branson and Tom Cruise to name a few.

information taken from:  http://www.das.org.sg/dyslexia-myths.html

Incorporate Humor

It's Friday!!!  Research shows that positive energy is highest on FRIDAYS!!!  What comes with good moods and positive energy?  HUMOR!  I'd like to share an article of mine that was printed in a professional magazine for Speech Language Pathologists!

Humor is important for social relationships, academic success and health, studies have shown. Children who have a good sense of humor are more likely to make strong friendships and be well liked by their peers, according to developmental researchers. When they become adults, humor makes it easier to get along with colleagues and manage frustration.

Humor can be divided into three linguistic categories: phonological, morphological and syntactical. Examples of phonological humor include minimal pairs and lexical items. Minimal pairs are based on the difference of one phoneme. Lexical items are based on the ambiguity of a word, as in "The soup factory canned all its workers."  Examples of morphological humor include morphological analysis and pseudomorphology. Morphological analysis is when a morpheme is extracted from a word and treated as an independent word, such as "Where do frogs sit? On a toadstool." Pseudomorphology is when an independent word is confused with a phonological sequence from a different, larger word. For example, "What is the key to a great dinner? A turkey."   Syntactical items may involve phrase structure, when a sequence of words has more than one meaning. For example, "The college student got his first credit card, and he got a real charge out of it."

Incorporating humor into speech and language therapy is important. Sometimes it has to be taught, and sometimes it just has to be developed. Therapy goals can easily be incorporated into certain activities, such as reading funny stories, singing songs with a twist, creating funny routines, doing unconventional artwork, and sharing funny stories.

 Dr. Seuss books are a great source of funny stories. The play on words, rhyming and pictures are all silly. Older children can create a Dr. Seuss-like book.  To sing songs with a twist, you can sing in different voices, at different speeds, and with different words. Children often find it funny when you put their name in a song.  Using rhyme to label activities helps to create funny routines. For example, you can use sidewalk chalk and call the routine "Chalk Talk." Games help to make drill and practice more interesting. For example, you can hide pictures or flashcards and play "hot/cold" to find them. When the child is "cold," pair the word "cold" with "freezing" or "put on your mittens and hat." You can pair the word "hot" with "you're on fire" or "call the fire department."

Use common art supplies in different ways to create unconventional artwork. Use cotton swabs for painting, or dip markers in water to make them look like water colors.  Finally, you can share funny stories by telling children about silly things you saw or heard and encouraging them to do the same.

Chilly Weekend

Now that the chilly weather has arrived, there will be more coughing, sneezing and colds.  With that comes ear infections for many children.  Did you know that ear infections interfere with the development of speech and language skills?

Ear Infections and Speech and Language Development

Ear infections can cause fluid in the middle ear (otitis media). Ear infections are one of the most common illnesses in children between birth and three years of age. Fluid in the middle ear prevents the ear from conducting sound properly. It can interfere with normal hearing. Even a mild, temporary hearing loss can delay the development of speech and language skills. Therefore, early recognition and treatment of otitis media is important. 

The symptoms of serious ear infections and otitis media usually appear during or after a cold or respiratory infection, often during the winter months. Since fluid can collect in the middle ear without causing pain, children with otitis media may not complain about it. Parents may notice symptoms before the child does! If your child has recently had an ear infection, be alert for one or more of the above symptoms!

When a child gets ear infections several times during a year, it is called recurrent otitis media. A preschool child with recurrent otitis media frequently experiences a temporary loss of hearing. The loss may continue for up to six weeks after the ear infection has healed. Such a hearing loss is described as "mild and fluctuating". This is a major cause of speech and language delay including auditory processing disorders.

Communication development is at its peak from twelve months through four years of age. Fluctuating hearing loss during that time interferes with learning speech and language. Children who can not hear clearly may "tune out" everyday sounds - even your voice! If your child has fluid in the middle ear, similar words may sound the same. It is not surprising that final consonants, past tense, and plural word endings are often left off by children with recurrent otitis media. Since they don't hear these sounds when others talk, they don't learn how to say them properly.

Children with recurrent otitis media over several months or years may develop:

Permanent hearing loss if left untreated

Speech, language, and/or auditory processing disorder(s)

Problems focussing their attention

Problems with school work

Poor self esteem or Social problems