Overcoming Dyslexia

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Overcoming Dyslexia The teacher walked to the front of the room with her book in hand and as she got closer to the front, Paul got lower in his seat. He knew what was coming next; it was time for the class to read the next chapter. The teacher would start reading and then call on different students to read as they moved through the chapter. This scared Paul right down to his toes. He had read in front of the class before, but it was what followed after class that worried him the most. The taunts from the other students like “retard” or “are you stupid or what?” This type of relentless teasing would continue until gym class where he could hold his own ground again. He did not have any problems in gym; class he was good at sports and liked to play. The reason that Paul has so much trouble reading is because he has Dyslexia. Dyslexia is a type of reading problem. In Greek, Dys means difficult and lexia means word or language (Goldish 18). The definition of Dyslexia varies based on which research group you are talking to, but one of the most widely accepted ones is from the National Center for Learning Disabilities and the National Institute of Child Health. The Orton Dyslexia Society Research Committee defines dyslexia in this way: Dyslexia is one of several distinct learning disabilities. It is a specific language based disorder of constitutional origin characterized by difficulties in single word decoding, usually reflecting insufficient phonological processing abilities. These difficulties in single word decoding are often unexpected in relation to age and other cognitive and academic abilities; they are not the result of generalized developmental disability or sensory impairment. Dyslexia is manifest by ... ... middle of paper ... ...ological Processing Deficits in College Students with Dyslexia Who Have Age-Appropriate Reading Skills.” Journal of Learning Disabilities 34.6 (2001) : 394-400. Wood, Frank B., and Elena L. Grigorenko. “Emerging Issues in the Genetics of Dyslexia: A Methodological Preview.” Journal of Learning Disabilities 34.6 (2001) : 503-11. Works Cited Goldish, Meish. Everything You Need to Know About Dyslexia. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 1998. Reid, Gavin. Dyslexia: A Practitioner’s Handbook. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998. The International Dyslexia Association Website. 12 Nov. 2002. . Wood, Frank B., and Elena L. Grigorenko. “Emerging Issues in the Genetics of Dyslexia: A Methodological Preview.” Journal of Learning Disabilities 34.6 (2001) : 503-11.

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