ADAPTING TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Adaptive attributes

A study has found that entrepreneurs are five times more likely to be dyslexic than average citizens

Evidence based on randomly selected populations of children indicate that dyslexia affects boys and girls equally; that dyslexia is diagnosed more frequently in boys appears to be the result of sampling bias in school-identified sample populations.

In the United States, researchers estimate the prevalence of dyslexia to range from three to ten percent of school-aged children though some have put the figure as high as 17 percent. Recent studies indicate that dyslexia is particularly prevalent among small business owners, with roughly 20 to 35 percent of U. S. and British entrepreneurs being affected.

MATHS ABILITIES IN DYSLEXICS

Mathematical abilities

Dyslexia and dyscalculia two learning disorders with different cognitive profiles. Dyslexia and dyscalculia have separable cognitive profiles, namely a phonological deficit in the case of dyslexia and a deficient number module in the case of dyscalculia.

Individuals with dyslexia can be gifted in mathematics while having poor reading skills. They might have difficulty with word processing problems. (i.e., descriptive mathematics, engineering, or physics problems that rely on written text rather than numbers or formulas).

LITERACY PROBLEMS

Writing and motor skills

Because of literacy problems, an individual with dyslexia may have difficulty with handwriting. This can involve slower writing speed than average, poor handwriting characterised by irregularly formed letters, or inability to write straight on a blank paper with no guideline.

Some studies have also reported gross motor difficulties in dyslexia, including motor skills disorder. This difficulty is indicated by clumsiness and poor coordination. The relationship between motor skills and reading difficulties is poorly understood but could be linked to the role of the cerebellum and inner ear in the development of reading and motor abilities

HOPE FOR DYSLEXICS

Reading and spelling

Spelling errors — Because of difficulty learning letter-sound correspondences, individuals with dyslexia might tend to misspell words, or leave vowels out of words.
Letter order - People with dyslexia may also reverse the order of two letters especially when the final, incorrect, word looks similar to the intended word (e.g., spelling "dose" instead of "does").

Letter addition/subtraction - People with dyslexia may perceive a word with letters added, subtracted, or repeated. This can lead to confusion between two words containing most of the same letters.

Highly phoneticized spelling - People with dyslexia also commonly spell words inconsistently, but in a highly phonetic form such as writing "shud" for "should". Dyslexic individuals also typically have difficulty distinguishing among homophones such as "their" and "there".
Vocabulary - Having a small written vocabulary, even if they have a large spoken vocabulary.
Writing and motor skills

Because of literacy problems, an individual with dyslexia may have difficulty with handwriting. This can involve slower writing speed than average, poor handwriting characterised by irregularly formed letters, or inability to write straight on a blank paper with no guideline.
Some studies have also reported gross motor difficulties in dyslexia, including motor skills disorder. This difficulty is indicated by clumsiness and poor coordination. The relationship between motor skills and reading difficulties is poorly understood but could be linked to the role of the cerebellum and inner ear in the development of reading and motor abilities. [5]
[edit] Mathematical abilities

Dyslexia and dyscalculia two learning disorders with different cognitive profiles. Dyslexia and dyscalculia have separable cognitive profiles, namely a phonological deficit in the case of dyslexia and a deficient number module in the case of dyscalculia.

Individuals with dyslexia can be gifted in mathematics while having poor reading skills. They might have difficulty with word processing problems. (i.e., descriptive mathematics, engineering, or physics problems that rely on written text rather than numbers or formulas).
Adaptive attributes

A study has found that entrepreneurs are five times more likely to be dyslexic than average citizens

Evidence based on randomly selected populations of children indicate that dyslexia affects boys and girls equally; that dyslexia is diagnosed more frequently in boys appears to be the result of sampling bias in school-identified sample populations.

In the United States, researchers estimate the prevalence of dyslexia to range from three to ten percent of school-aged children though some have put the figure as high as 17 percent. Recent studies indicate that dyslexia is particularly prevalent among small business owners, with roughly 20 to 35 percent of U. S. and British entrepreneurs being affected.

WAYS OF LOOKING AT DYSLEXIA

There are many definitions of the disorder called dyslexia but no consensus. The World Federation of Neurology defined dyslexia as follows:

Specific developmental dyslexia is a disorder manifested by difficulty learning to read despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and adequate sociocultural opportunity. It is dependent upon fundamental cognitive disabilities that are frequently of constitutional origin.

Some of the other published definitions are purely descriptive, while still others embody causal theories. From the varying definitions used by dyslexia researchers and organizations around the world, it appears that dyslexia is not one thing but many, insofar as it serves as a conceptual clearing-house for a number of reading skills deficits and difficulties, with a number of causes.

Castles and Coltheart, 1993, described phonological and surface types of developmental dyslexia by analogy to classical subtypes of acquired dyslexia (alexia) which are classified according to the rate of errors in reading non-words.

However the distinction between surface and phonological dyslexia has not replaced the old empirical terminology of dysphonetic versus dyseidetic types of dyslexia.

The surface/phonological distinction is only descriptive, and devoid of any aetiological assumption as to the underlying brain mechanisms, in contrast the dysphonetic/dyseidetic distinction refers to two different mechanisms:— one relates to a speech discrimination deficit, and the other to a visual perception impairment.

Most people with dyslexia who have Boder's Dysiedetic type, have attentional and spatial difficulties which interfere with the reading acquisition process.

WHAT IS DYSLEXIA?

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that manifests itself as a difficulty with reading, spelling and in some cases mathematics. It is separate and distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as a non-neurological deficiency with vision or hearing, or from poor or inadequate reading instruction.It is estimated that dyslexia affects between 5% and 17% of the U.S. population.

Dyslexia is thought to be the result of a neurological defect, and though not an intellectual disability, it is variously considered a learning disability, a language disability, and a reading disability, among others. Dyslexia is diagnosed in people of all levels of intelligence.

SO YOU ARE WONDERING ABOUT DYSLEXIA?

Hils Learning is led by Hilary Craig, specialist teacher for persons who learn differently or have learning difficulties.

She is internationally recognised as an innovative educator and therapist and an enthusiastic and dynamic workshop presenter. Based with her team in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from where she runs her private practice, Hilary also travels throughout Asia training teachers and educating parents.

Together with her team she specialises in developing strategies for helping individual learners meet their own unique challenges.