Tuesdays with Tiffany Reading Disabilities

Visual Notes Today we are going to visualize some reading disabilities. Instead of writing words as you take notes today, I want you to draw pictures of the main ideas. Drawing pictures will help your brain remember it in a different way.

Dyslexia

What is it? A problem in the part of your brain that translates what your eyes see into letters and words. People with dyslexia are smart and can see and hear normally. It affects your ability to read, speak, and spell.

Common Symptoms Letter and numbers are switched around Difficulty copying from the board or a book Writing is disorganized Hard time remembering things – even things you really enjoy like a favorite movie Uncoordinated Mix up left and right

More Common Symptoms Difficulty following directions You may use the wrong word but think you used the correct word You mishear what people say Difficulty following a sequence of steps Difficulty spelling Difficulty learning a foreign language Inability to sound out an unfamiliar word

Difficulty Making Friends People with dyslexia sometimes have a hard time making friends. If you know of someone who has these struggles, try and understand that it is caused by the dyslexia and be his/her friend anyway.

Difficulty Making Friends Anxious about making mistakes Feel inadequate Trouble reading social cues like how far away to stand from other people Struggle to find the right words to say Stammer Pause before answering your questions

Difficulty Making Friends They get the order of events mixed-up when they say what happened, so it may seem like they are lying Their story might change every time they tell it, so you think they lie a lot Some days they do everything great and the next day, they can’t do simple tasks like remember how to spell an easy word

Famous People with Dyslexia

Auditory Processing Disorder

What is it? You don’t always recognize the sounds in a word, even though it might be loud and clear to everyone else. For example, someone says, “Tell me how a couch and a chair are the same.” You hear it as “Tell me how a cow and a hair are alike.” This often happens when you are in a noisy environment.

What Causes It? Even though you hear normally, you have more difficulty using the sounds in speech and language. We don’t know what causes this disorder. It is often confused with dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, or a learning delay.

Symptoms Having trouble paying attention to and remembering information that is spoken. Trouble following multi-step directions Trouble listening You need more time to process things You don’t do well in school You get in trouble because you didn’t follow directions or people think you are kidding around when you thought they said something else It’s hard to read, hear what people say, or talk

Trouble in School Some teachers and students think you are lazy Some teachers think you don’t try hard enough in lessons People think you are rude because you ignore them, when you just didn’t hear them Teachers dock your grade because you don’t participate enough in class discussions

Making Friends People with Auditory Processing Disorder have a hard time making friends because they are shy and worry about people laughing at them. They have a hard time talking to people. They don’t like to go to noisy, crowded places because they can’t hear you as well. This is hard for their friends to understand.