Dyslexia Associates of San Antonio
Turning Stumbling Blocks into Stepping Stones for Those With Reading Issues
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Dyslexia is NOT an intellectual handicap, nor is it a lack of concentration or effort on the part of the reader. It is a processing difference that takes place in the brain as a person reads.
Have you ever glanced at a word on a page or billboard, thinking it was one word, only to realize it was another? Have you ever struggled to "sound out" or read a word? If you have, you can understand what happens to the dyslexic reader every day.
In some cases, letters might seem to reverse, wiggle or simply not come together on the page. In other cases, one word or letter just "seems" like another or it is difficult to remember phonics and pronunciations of letters and letter combos. Dyslexics struggle over individual word meaning and pronunciation, a task which can hinder
comprehension and long-term memory of what has been read. Dyslexics may also have problems with spelling or vocabulary as a secondary characteristic.
Dyslexics have a hard time reading; therefore they avoid reading, making reading and learning more and more difficult as they age. It is a vicious cycle which CAN be broken.
See the definitions of dyslexia to the right and its characteristics below.
Signs of Possible Dyslexia
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF DYSLEXIA include:
_____Difficulty blending or breaking apart individual sounds in words
_____Poor spelling_____Messy handwriting_____Difficulty following step-by-step tasks_____Creative and visual, wants the "big picture", not just steps or details_____Difficulty remembering what was read
____Flips or reverses letters or numbers- b/d, h/g, 3/5/, 3/8, m/n, etc
_____Has trouble tracking XXXXXXXX (tell how many Xs without touching them)
_____Words may wiggle, swim, or move on the page
_____Reads letter by letter instead of seeing sight words OR
_____Reads beginning of words and "substitutes" another word
_____Problems rhyming words (younger ages)
_____Loses place on the page, skips words or lines
_____Guesses word sounds
_____Difficulty copying from the board
_____Changes one or more letters in a word to read it as another word
_____Has trouble remembering sounds for blends, prefixes, suffixes
_____Tries to memorize words rather than sounding them out
The characteristics above are just an initial checklist. We recommend a full reading assessment. A series of tests in the multiple areas of testing mandated by the Texas Education Agency will give a complete picture of strengths and weaknesses, and will confirm whether a child or adult is indeed dyslexic.Case Study 1
Alicia, age 7, is bright but hates to read. As she reads, she often guesses words and loses her place. She pays attention in class but can't seem to remember phonics rules. She tries to memorize text in books and reverses letters as she writes. She is creative but frustrated . She gets As and Bs in regular work, but low scores on tests and reading assignments
Case Study 2
Jose is 12, and he reads slowly and laboriously. His spelling is bizarre and he gets frequent headaches when he reads. He uses his finger to track the lines as he reads and stops frequently to sound out words. Jose is a limited English speaker who has been in the U.S. for 5 years. He reads below level in both languages and is failing 3 classes.
Case Study 3
Cynthia is 17 and in advanced and dual credit classes in her junior year of high school, but she takes 2-3 hours nightly to do her homework. She remembers lectures and takes notes, but struggles with reading on grade level. She is making As and Bs in her classes.
As defined in the Texas Education Code TEC §38.003:
(1) Dyslexia means a disorder of constitutional origin manifested by a difficulty in learning to read, write, or spell, despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and socio-cultural opportunity. [1]
The International Dyslexia Association further explains:
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:[2]
In other words, a person is born with characteristics of dyslexia, just as he or she may be born with brown eyes,curly hair, or a need for glasses.
It also means that dyslexia is a lack of progress in reading even though a person has had opportunities to learn and has normal or even higher-than-normal intelligence.
With dyslexia a person may also have difficulty spelling, understanding text, and/orlearning new vocabulary.
[1] Dyslexia Handbook, Texas Education Agency, Revised 2018
[2] Adopted by the International Dyslexia Association Board of Directors, November 12, 2002.
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