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Dislexia
Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that primarily affects reading and language processing. Children with dyslexia often struggle with recognizing letters, decoding words, and associating sounds with letters or letter combinations (phonemic awareness). Key characteristics of dyslexia include difficulties with phonological processing, slow or inaccurate reading, poor spelling, and problems with writing. While dyslexia presents challenges, it’s important to remember that it does not reflect your child’s intelligence or potential..
Children with dyslexia may face additional hurdles in school due to these reading and writing difficulties. Challenges associated with dyslexia can include slow reading fluency, difficulty with reading comprehension, and trouble with word recognition, especially for unfamiliar words. These challenges may lead to frustration, low self-esteem, and avoidance of reading tasks. Dyslexia can also affect other areas of academic performance, such as math, where word problems may pose significant challenges due to reading difficulties. This makes it important to get the right support early on, as these challenges can affect their overall academic experience.
Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that primarily affects reading and language processing. Children with dyslexia often struggle with recognizing letters, decoding words, and associating sounds with letters or letter combinations (phonemic awareness). Key characteristics of dyslexia include difficulties with phonological processing, slow or inaccurate reading, poor spelling, and problems with writing. While dyslexia presents challenges, it’s important to remember that it does not reflect your child’s intelligence or potential..
Children with dyslexia may face additional hurdles in school due to these reading and writing difficulties. Challenges associated with dyslexia can include slow reading fluency, difficulty with reading comprehension, and trouble with word recognition, especially for unfamiliar words. These challenges may lead to frustration, low self-esteem, and avoidance of reading tasks. Dyslexia can also affect other areas of academic performance, such as math, where word problems may pose significant challenges due to reading difficulties. This makes it important to get the right support early on, as these challenges can affect their overall academic experience.
Importance for Literacy Development:
Dyslexia directly affects a child’s literacy development, which is foundational to their overall academic success. Reading fluency, comprehension, and spelling are often areas of significant difficulty for children with dyslexia. Without early and targeted intervention, the gap between a dyslexic child’s reading abilities and those of their peers may widen. This can result in difficulties across subjects, as reading is integral to understanding instructions, solving problems, and accessing information in most academic areas.
The challenges associated with dyslexia extend beyond just reading. Children with dyslexia may also struggle with writing, as they find it difficult to retrieve the correct spelling of words or write sentences that flow logically. This can lead to frustration and a reluctance to engage with reading and writing tasks. However, research shows that with specialized intervention, children with dyslexia can develop literacy skills that allow them to thrive in school and beyond.
Orton-Gillingham Approach
The Orton-Gillingham approach is a structured, multisensory, and individualized method specifically designed to help children with dyslexia improve their reading skills. This approach integrates visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile elements, ensuring that children engage multiple senses during instruction. This helps reinforce learning pathways in the brain and strengthens reading fluency and comprehension.
Orton-Gillingham breaks down reading and spelling into smaller, manageable parts, teaching phonemic awareness and phonics in a highly structured and sequential way. It emphasizes mastery at each level before moving on, giving children with dyslexia the confidence to build strong reading skills. Numerous studies have shown that children with dyslexia who receive Orton-Gillingham instruction make significant gains in reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension (Ritchey & Goeke, 2006). By addressing the specific challenges of dyslexia in a structured, individualized way, the Orton-Gillingham approach equips children with the skills they need to become confident and competent readers.
Research Reference
Ritchey, K. D., & Goeke, J. L. (2006). “Orton-Gillingham-based reading instruction: A review of the literature.” The Journal of Special Education, 40(3), 171-183.
