1. Dyslexia
By:Jessi Ritucci

2. What is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability that involves a lack of coordination between sight and sound, and makes it harder for a child to read or write.

3. What causes Dyslexia?
Anatomical and brain imagery studies show differences in the way the brain of a dyslexic person develops and functions.
Dyslexia also may run in families; dyslexic parents are likely to have children who are dyslexic.

4. Signs of Dyslexia (before school)
Difficulty learning nursery rhymes
Often accused of not listening or not paying attention
Poor understanding of prepositions
Difficulty with 2 or more instructions at one time
Difficulty keeping simple rhythm
Finds phonological difficulty with the selection of “the odd one out” EXAMPLE: cat; mat; pig; fat
Obvious “good” and “bad” days for no apparent reason

5. Signs of Dyslexia (once school starts)
Difficulty learning the alphabet
Difficulty sequencing or forming letters and numbers
Difficulty isolating and sequencing sounds
EXAMPLE: k-a-t
Difficulty with sequence and memory for words
Slow with reading, writing, and spelling
Not reading quickly enough to comprehend

6. Other Signs of Dyslexia
Poor ability to finish work on time
Poor pencil grip / messy handwriting
Poor attention
Poor sense of time or space
Poor organization skills
Difficulties with arithmetic and mathematics

7. How does Dyslexia affect the child’s reading ability?
Words may look jumbled, making it difficult to read or remember what they read
They may fail to see or hear similarities/differences in letters and words
They may be unable to sound out the pronunciation of unfamiliar words
They may have problems comprehending rapid instruction or remembering the sequence of things

8. How does Dyslexia affect the child’s writing ability?

9. Example:

11. How widespread is Dyslexia?
About 14% of the school population nationwide has a condition that qualifies them for special education.
Half of all special ed. students have a learning disability.
About 85% of those LD students have a primary learning disability in reading/language processing.
Many more (15-20%) have symptoms of dyslexia.
*Keep in mind that there are also many children all over the world who have dyslexia and it has not yet been discovered or diagnosed.

12. Fact:
A child who has dyslexia might start out doing fine in school, but it will become a struggle later on, especially when reading becomes an important part of schoolwork.
It is important for a parent to communicate with their child’s teacher to find out if the child is struggling in any areas.

13. Fact:
Discovering a learning disability is the first step toward getting help that will make it easier for the child to learn.

14. Fact:
Most children with dyslexia have average or above-average intelligence, and work very hard to overcome their learning disability.

15. What does it mean to be Intelligent?
Definition: to have the ability to understand, to learn, and to use what you learn and understand.
There are so many ways to be intelligent.
Examples:
-Someone can be intelligent at building and fixing things
-Or, intelligent with words
-Or, intelligent with mathematics and solving problems
-Or, athletes are intelligent with the way they understand how to move their bodies through space and how to learn new gross motor skills
-Or, intelligent with music or art

16. What if you’re bored in school?
School should not be boring
Most of the time, when kids are bored in school, it is either because they are having trouble with their attention or because they don’t fully understand what is going on
Many kids say they don’t concentrate because they are bored, but they may be bored because they can’t concentrate.
It is important to know the difference. If the
child is having difficulty paying attention,
they should be tested for a learning disability.

17. What if you get embarrassed about getting help at school?
Nobody likes to feel embarrassed or be called names. But if you need help, you need help. It doesn’t make sense to refuse help because it’s too embarrassing.

18. What do Leonardo de Vinci, Michelangelo, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, Cher, Will Smith, Keira Knightly, Orlando Bloom, and Patrick Dempsey all have in common?
They all had(or have) dyslexia, yet are acknowledged to be among the most creative and successful people in their fields.

19. My Story: (The beginning)
It took until the end of 4th grade for my struggling to be recognized; I had trouble with reading.
I took a psychometrist’s test, which is a test that measures IQ’s, behavioral development, motor development, reading, language, and math skills to determine why I may was struggling.
I found out that I had 2 different learning disabilities, one being minor dyslexia.
I was given medication to take daily, mainly for my attention problems (which was associated more with my A.D.D—not so much the dyslexia).
I was always embarrassed in school and felt “dumb”. I would ride the bus after school to my tutors house, but told my friends that I was babysitting.

20. My Story: (Today)
I have now found many ways to deal with my disabilities.
I am no longer taking the medication because I have come up with strategies that work for me to stay focused; (different strategies work for different people).
I have much more confidence in myself and my school grades have become increasingly better throughout the years.
**FACT: Dyslexia is not something that goes away on its own or that a person outgrows, but people can work around their disability with a lot of effort and extra work.