Dyslexia Treatment Options
Treatment for Dyslexia
It is believed that although nearly 15% of Americans suffer from various forms of dyslexia, less than 5% are diagnosed and treated early. Now covering a plethora of symptoms, various manifestations of dyslexia are clubbed under the name of “slow learning disorders”.
Dyslexia can be diagnosed at any age from childhood to adulthood. However, for a person to become a well -adjusted and productive member of society, it is essential to start treatment as soon as possible.
Since the exact causes of dyslexia are still to be ascertained, treatment is more limited to managing the symptoms, rather than preventing or curing the condition. Treatment of dyslexia is primarily aims at overcoming the learning difficulties, which the individual faces. Early diagnosis is helpful because if treatment is initiated at the earliest, the social and emotional development of the person proceeds apace. Hence, in the management of dyslexia, it is important to consider the impact of the condition on the life of the individual in total, rather than focusing on the learning disabilities alone.
Treatment for dyslexia aims at overcoming the learning disabilities. Since these individuals have poor language, poor verbal and poor writing skills, special learning aids and techniques are beneficial. Dyslexia maybe diagnosed when a child starts formal schooling, in which it is found to have poor reading skills, tendency to mix letters up, poor speech, mixing up of right and left sides, sometimes associated with poor hearing, vision and lack of concentration.
In keeping with the widespread incidence of dyslexia in the population, federal law requires that these individuals receive special schooling apart from their normal counterparts, for although dyslexics may have normal or above normal intelligence, they have difficulty in putting their thoughts in words or speech in the normal way. The Individualized Education Program ensures this until the age of 16, after which these children are further prepared for higher education or employment as the case maybe.
In the special education program, a child psychologist and a special educator thoroughly assess the child and after a series of tests, come up with an education program tailored to the child`s needs, depending on the specific disability which the child has.
Verbal exercises are found to benefit many, with different components like rhyming exercises, bending words into sounds, word matching, picking out verbal sounds from words and making out differences in spoken sounds. In some cases, repetition of words and writing words have been found to be very beneficial. Reading aloud to the child, playing spelling games and learning after setting the curriculum to music have also found to benefit dyslexics greatly.
An individual approach to each patient, be it in the form of using specially developed soft ware or teaching while involving a pet in the proceedings, or marking left or right in a pair of shoes, is always found to be a great help.
Medical treatment be it in the form of antihistamines, anti motion sickness drugs, or various vitamin or mineral supplements is doubtful at best and dubious at worst. The DORE program developed by the British also involved repetition in an attempt to carry out reading and writing at a cerebellar level, but did not show good results.
With special attention paid to their educational needs, dyslexics can lead well integrated lives in main stream society and show case their often surprising talents, all it requires is a little patience.
Related Articles:
- Overcoming Dyslexia
Since dyslexia is a complex condition, involving several and complex connections in the auditory, visual, speech and comprehension areas of the cerebral hemispheres, the management also involves a holistic approach where considering each patient as a unique case gives excellent results. In addition to the disability in reading and comprehension, there maybe an involvement of [...]...