Dyslexia is not a weakness or disease, and the label “learning disability” does not fit either. Today, we talk about learning differences instead. Dyslexia is a different way of perceiving the world, and with the right educational support, dyslexic people can reach their full potential.
Dyslexia and dyscalculia are genetic predispositions that run in families. Genetic processes during the development of the brain shape how the sensory perceptions are formed. This is why a dyslexic person takes in letters and numbers differently from the very beginning. Research points to chromosomes 15 and 6, and an estimated 15 to 20 percent of people are affected.
Sources: Albert M. Galaburda et al., Harvard Medical School, From genes to behavior in developmental dyslexia, Nature Neuroscience 9 (10), 2006, pages 1213 to 1217. International Dyslexia Association, Dyslexia Basics.
These different sensory perceptions are not only a hurdle. They can be a huge advantage, which is why dyslexia is often described as a gift. Because dyslexic people process information in their own way, many of them are highly talented in the arts, in music, in science, in athletics, and in any field that rewards thinking in pictures, spotting patterns, and finding solutions that others miss.
What their perception is not built for are the abstract basic academic skills of reading, spelling, writing, and/or calculating. That is where targeted training comes in, so that the talent is not held back by the symbols.
A person with dyslexia, of good or average intelligence, perceives the world around them in a distinctly different way. When they encounter letters or numbers, their attention fades, because their different sensory perceptions make them experience these symbols differently than people who are not dyslexic. This results in difficulties in learning to read, spell, write, and/or calculate.Dr. Astrid Kopp-Duller, 1995
We talk about primary dyslexia or primary dyscalculia only when all three of the following are observed together:
Situational inattentiveness when reading, spelling, writing, and/or calculating, which sets in as soon as the child meets letters or numbers.
Different sensory perceptions that are not yet formed the way learning to read, spell, write, and/or calculate requires, so the child takes in letters and numbers differently.
Perception errors in reading, spelling, writing, and/or calculating that follow from those different perceptions and from the inattentiveness they cause.
We talk about a Reading and Spelling Difference (RSD), or an Arithmetic Difference (AD), when frequent errors in reading, spelling, writing, and/or calculating can be observed without those different sensory perceptions. A Reading and Spelling Difference (RSD) and an Arithmetic Difference (AD) are acquired. They follow from circumstances in a child's life, for example a long illness, a family crisis, frequent absence from school, or a change of school or language.
With dyslexic and dyscalculic children, training must address all three areas of the AFS-Method together: attention, the sensory perceptions needed for reading, spelling, writing, and/or calculating, and the error symptoms themselves. Working on the errors alone does not carry, however much the child practices.
With a child who has a Reading and Spelling Difference (RSD) or an Arithmetic Difference (AD), targeted practice in reading, spelling, writing, and/or calculating is often enough, because the sensory perceptions themselves are not affected.
Here too, just as with a dyslexic or dyscalculic child, the possibility of secondary problems should not be overlooked. They can arise in two directions.
A child who keeps failing at reading, spelling, writing, and/or calculating, despite real effort, does not stay untouched by it. Constant failure can lead to secondary psychological problems: anxiety before school, a loss of self-confidence, the refusal to even try, or the belief of being less capable than classmates. These problems are not part of the dyslexia itself. They grow out of the experience of failing, and the earlier the help arrives, the less likely they become.
In the other direction, physical and personal circumstances can intensify the difficulties that come from the different sensory perceptions: an undetected vision or hearing problem, persistent lack of sleep, a family crisis such as a divorce, or teaching methods that do not fit the child. A primary dyslexia then becomes a secondary dyslexia. Educational training remains the core of the help, but a psychologist or physician should be involved as well.
Should a seemingly intelligent child unexpectedly develop problems in school learning how to read, spell, write, and/or calculate, one should not delay but instead provide individual, specific and targeted help.
The child's difficulties with reading, spelling, writing, and/or calculating will be noticed first and foremost in school or at home. It is important that observations by the teacher, as well as the parents, are taken seriously. Describing the situation as a weakness, impediment, illness or disability should be avoided.
Children cannot resolve this on their own. They depend on the people around them for understanding and for support. Not all children have difficulties in all areas; some have only in one area. What they need is not more time or more practice of the same kind, but a different way of being taught to read, spell, write, and/or calculate, one that works with their sensory perceptions.
Most dyslexic and dyscalculic children can be helped with the targeted assistance of a Certified Dyslexia Trainer on the educational and didactic level. The starting point is an educational test such as the AFS-Test, because every child brings an individual profile and needs an individual answer.
Classroom teachers can support a dyslexic child in many ways, but they cannot be expected to solve the problem alone. In almost every case, help outside school is needed as well. A Certified Dyslexia Trainer does more than test the child and build a training plan: they offer weekly training sessions based on the child's own error profile and show parents what they can do at home to help their child.
If the difficulties are not recognized in time, secondary problems can develop, such as anxiety, avoidance of school, or a loss of self-confidence. Those may well call for psychological support. A primary dyslexia on its own does not, because dyslexia is not a weakness, a disease, or an impediment. It always has to be addressed on the educational level first.
Dyslexic children show situational inattentiveness, caused by their different sensory perceptions, and often anxiety as well. These are associated symptoms of the dyslexia rather than clinical symptoms.
There are also children whose attention difficulties and restlessness are clinical in nature, as with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Associated symptoms and clinical symptoms can look very much alike, which is why the distinction matters.
If the child can concentrate intensively on activities that have nothing to do with reading, spelling, writing, and/or calculating, and the anxiety appeared only around the start of school, then associated symptoms are the likely explanation.
The American Dyslexia Association is dedicated to providing free information and teaching aids to help dyslexic and dyscalculic people reach their full potential.