What Does A Dyslexic Person See When She Reads?

Severe dyslexia is caused by disorientation, which for dyslexic people means that they have an innacurate perception of the words. That is, they might see the letters of the words jumbled around in all sorts of different ways. There is no way that a dyslexic person who suffers from this sort of disorientation can ever remember a word, because the word seems different every time they look at it.

There is no single pattern of difficulty that affects all dyslexic people. A dyslexic person might have any of the following problems:

• She might see some letters as backwards or upside down;

• She might not be able to tell the difference between letters that look similar in shape such as o and e and c ;

• She might not be able to tell the difference between letters that have similar shape but different orientation, such as b and p and d and q ;

• The letters might look all jumbled up and out of order;

• The letters and words might look all bunched together;

• The letters of some words might appear completely backwards, such as the word bird looking like drib

• The letters and words might look o.k., but the dyslexic person might get a severe headache or feel sick to her stomach every time she tries to read;

• She might see the letters o.k., but not be able to sound out words -- that is, not be able to connect the letters to the sounds they make and understand them;

• She might be able to connect the letters and sound out words, but not recognize words she has seen before, no matter how many times she has seen them -- each time she would have to start fresh;

• She might be able to read the words o.k. but not be able to make sense of or remember what she reads, so that she finds herself coming back to read the same passage over and over again.

The dyslexic people might see the letters of the words jumbled around in all sorts of different ways.

Reference:

Davis Dyslexia Association International
URL: http://www.dyslexia.com
email: ddai@dyslexia.com

What is Dyslexia

Simple Definition

Dyslexia is an inherited condition that makes it extremely difficult to read, write, and spell in your native language despite at least average intelligence.


Revised definition from the International Dyslexia Association
Dyslexia is a neurologically-based, often familial, disorder which interferes with the acquisition and processing of language. Varying in degrees of severity, it is manifested by difficulties in receptive and expressive language, including phonological processing, in reading, writing, spelling, handwriting, and sometimes in arithmetic.


Research definition used by the National Institutes of Health

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin.

It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition, and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.

These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.
Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

Cause of Dyslexia

Dyslexia is an inherited condition. Researchers have determined that a gene on the short arm of chromosome #6 is responsible for dyslexia. That gene is dominant, making dyslexia highly heritable. It definitely runs in families.

Dyslexia results from a neurological difference; that is, a brain difference. People with dyslexia have a larger right-hemisphere in their brains than those of normal readers. That may be one reason people with dyslexia often have significant strengths in areas controlled by the right-side of the brain, such as artistic, athletic, and mechanical gifts; 3-D visualization ability; musical talent; creative problem solving skills; and intuitive people skills.

In addition to unique brain architecture, people with dyslexia have unusual "wiring". Neurons are found in unusual places in the brain, and are not as neatly ordered as in non-dyslexic brains.


In addition to unique brain architecture and unusual wiring, studies have shown that people with dyslexia do not use the same part of their brain when reading as other people. Regular readers consistently use the same part of their brain when they read. People with dyslexia do not use that part of their brain, and there appears to be no consistent part used among dyslexic readers.



It is therefore assumed that people with dyslexia are not using the most efficient part of their brain when they read. A different part of their brain has taken over that function.


Reference:
Bright Solutions for Dyslexia, Inc.
2059 Camden Ave. Suite 186
San Jose, CA 95124

email: info@BrightSolutions.US