Etymologically, the word Dyslexia derives from the Greek word dys which means ‘difficulty’ and lexia, meaning ‘word’ or ‘language’. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5): “Dyslexia is an alternative term used to refer to a pattern of learning difficulties characterized by problems with accurate or fluent word recognition, poor decoding, and poor spelling abilities […]”
As stated in the website theenglishclub.com: “People with Dyslexia have trouble separating and grouping the sounds that letters make. They can learn to read, write and spell, but they process language differently than the average person, and thus require different training”.
Considered a specific learning disability, due to its neurobiological
…show more content…
Being a ‘language –based disability’ most learners do not have problems with oral language; the difficulty relies on the phonological aspect, essential when learning to read and write, as allows to manipulate and discriminate sounds at all language levels.
Dyslexia covers a wide range of symptoms and even though they vary in every child, all of them have in common the difficulty of learning to read and therefore, to write properly. Despite the fact these two processes seem to go hand in hand, they are in fact, two different practices. When reading, there is a huge variability. For instance, some students may read very well but not understand the meaning of the text or perhaps they can decode and understand exactly what they are reading but with some difficulties, for example when performing reading aloud. Writing on the other hand requires and involves more skills than any other area. Besides of being coherent and cohesive, a piece of text should present good grammar and punctuation. All these elements combined are fundamental to communicate a clear
…show more content…
co-founder of the Dyslexia Training Institute, claims: “It cannot be overstated that students with dyslexia are capable of learning to read and write when given the appropriate intervention. This intervention should be structured and multisensory. It should be an explicit instruction of the underlying structure of English, and it should be informed by linguistics. For many of these students, accommodations in the classroom can be the difference between academic success and academic failure and frustration”.
According to the pioneer neuro- psychiatrist Samuel Orton, instruction should also be multisensory involving movement, listening, speaking, touching and so on, but taking into account how the learners respond according to their learning preferences.
The website understood.org for learning and attention issues points out a series of strategies that could be advantageous for developing writing