Related articles: Dyslexia
Definition
Dyslexia is a learning disability characterized by the difficulty of understanding the written text and of automating the reading process. Specifically, the reading appears slow and sometimes incomprehensible, since the letters are omitted, replaced or inverted.
At present, the causes of dyslexia are not yet known. However, some factors that could favor this manifestation have been found in association with the disorder. In particular, dyslexia appears to have a neuro-biological basis, as, presumably, it is due to deficiencies or dysfunctions of the central nervous system. These alterations may be secondary to conditions or injuries that compromise the integrity or interaction of the brain areas responsible for the language (Wernicke and Broca area) and their interconnection through the arcuate fasciculus.
Other conditions that could predispose to dyslexia include cerebral distress (secondary, for example, to premature births or fetal hypoxia), space-time disorientation and alteration of the personality (such as excessive shyness). Furthermore, dyslexia has a tendency to recur within the same family and occurs more frequently in males.
Visual-perceptual problems and alterations of eye movements are not responsible for dyslexia. However, these problems can further interfere with word learning. In any case, it is important to remember that subjects with dyslexia have normal cognitive abilities, as the disorder refers only to a specific skill.
Most common symptoms and signs *
- Stuttering
- Learning difficulties
- Difficulty concentrating
- Language difficulties
- Temporal and spatial disorientation
- Memory loss
Further indications
Dyslexia can manifest itself in various forms and can have different degrees of intensity. Generally, this learning disorder results in reading difficulties, production and understanding of written language. Dyslexic children may have difficulty visually identifying the root of the words or which letters within them follow the others (sound-symbol association).
As regards visual reading, moreover, some patients confuse the graphemes of a similar configuration (for example: "d" becomes "b", "p" becomes "q", "m" becomes "w", "h" becomes " n ”etc.). The result is the reversal of letters ("them" instead of "the"), omissions, additions or substitutions.
Often, there is a concomitant deficiency in verbal language and verbal articulation problems: children with dyslexia can reverse the order of sounds in words and have difficulty segmenting words and dividing sentences into pronounceable elements. Delaying or hesitating in the choice of words or in naming letters or images are often early signs of dyslexia.
Dyslexia can also involve problems related to auditory memory and the process of nomenclature or recall of words. Children may have difficulty identifying the positions of sounds within words or remembering letters, numbers and colors.
Although dyslexia is a chronic problem, many children develop discrete functional reading skills over time; others do not, however, achieve adequate literacy.
In general, it is possible to diagnose dyslexia not before the second year of elementary school. The presence of the disorder is verified through appropriate tests performed by a multidisciplinary group consisting of a pediatrician, a neuropsychiatrist and a child psychologist.
The treatment of dyslexia is mainly educational and involves a psychotherapeutic and speech therapy pathway aimed at verbal recovery and learning. The earlier a person intervenes with a re-education program, the greater the chances for improvement.
