Dyslexia is one of the most common learning difficulties. It was first introduced in 1884 by R. Berlin, a German ophthalmologist. He used it to describe a particular reading disturbance in the lack of a pathological condition in the visual organs to contain it. In his publication three years later, Berlin defined that dyslexia is caused by a left-sided cerebral lesion (p. 1). He presumed right handedness and spoke of "word-blindness."
In the 70’s, the meaning of dyslexia was broadened. It was medically defined as an “impaired ability to read with a reading skills level under the average person with normal human intelligence. Also, it describes those with the condition of a normal vision who are able to recognize letters and meanings of objects and images (Kraft, p. 1).”
Individuals who have this condition may experience a difficulty with the facility of both verbal and written language. Prior education or stage of learning is not necessarily related to dyslexia. Dyslexia depends on the individual and it can have moderate or intense effects on its victims. That is why some dyslexic people have moderate symptoms compared to some other who really experience greater difficulty reading, etc. This implies that the extent and effects of this disease vary as well.
The symptoms of dyslexia consist of the following: problems of expressing one’s self using a language and/or disabilities (p. 1). They may also confuse word orders and sounds. Some others may omit or slur over some words. Dyslexic individuals may also turn around letters and terms in printed language. This is called mirror writing or the absolute overturn of words and this is casually present in some cases of dyslexia. These individuals may also experience the difficulty in processing the reading material which was spoken to them. Also, they may experience difficulty explaining the material’s major ideas.
Dyslexic individuals may incorrectly conceive words or sounds. No matter if the dyslexic person is loudly reading or silent or listening to oral language, he/she usually cannot recall significant aspects of the thing being said or read.
In the aspect of listening and speaking, dyslexics have difficulty in word pronunciation, particularly those with two or more syllables. Often, dyslexic people have no ability to say again the phrases which were previously orally said to them. They find it hard to contextualize clues or they cannot glean over the definition of the orally spoken terms. They also have difficulty in following instructions. They also do not comprehend words with the same sounds or meanings, rhymes and idiomatic expressions. They also do not comprehend similes, metaphors, and other figures of speech.
Dyslexia is considered hereditary. Thus, this is passed on from one family to another, from one generation to the next. The most popularly known and highly supported theory of dyslexia’s effects on reading and writing is termed as the “phonological processing impairment theory.” The effects of dyslexia vary from one individual to another. The only common trait among dyslexic people is that they read at levels significantly lower than people of their own age.
The above condition is diagnosed with the use of a full evaluation that includes tests on one’s intelligence, learning and language. Dyslexia can be treated by focusing on a specific learning problems which the person experiences. There are also several prognoses for people with the said condition. Special education may also help.
