What is Dislexia?
Dyslexia is a difficulty in learning to read, and at the same time it also affects writing. There are several theories about the reason for this problem, the most accepted so far is that of the “double route”.
Dyslexia is totally independent of intelligence and cultural level. It is characterized by the fact that the individual’s reading, writing and spelling skills are well below the level expected according to his intelligence and chronological age.
It is a cognitive problem, which affects those linguistic skills associated with the written modality, particularly the transition from visual to verbal coding, short-term memory, order perception and sequencing.
Causes of Dyslexia on children
The main cause of childhood dyslexia is genetics, as researchers have been studying specific genes and have found several genes that are linked to difficulties with reading and language processing.
If there are people with dyslexia in your family, there is a greater chance that your child will also have childhood dyslexia. Therefore, if some of the symptoms start to appear, it is advisable to see a speech therapist as soon as possible. However, a history of learning difficulties and premature birth or even low birth weight may also be a cause.
Symptoms of dyslexia on kids
The manifestations of dyslexia are different according to age. So, we can find 2 stages in which there will be different symptoms:
In preschool (up to 6 years old):
- Difficulties in learning to speak.
- Mispronounces words and has difficulty learning new words.
- Inverting the sounds of words or confusing words that sound alike.
- Difficulty learning names, numbers, colors, and letters.
- Problems with social skills.
- Difficulty learning nursery rhymes or playing rhyming games.
- Trouble following directions and learning routines.
- Difficulty with balance.
In elementary school (ages 6 to 12):
- Presents a very low reading level.
- Difficulty finding the right word or answering questions.
- Problems processing and understanding what he/she hears.
- Difficulty seeing similarities and differences between letters and words, and even hearing them.
- Inability to pronounce an unfamiliar word.
- Difficulty spelling.
- Taking longer than usual to complete tasks that involve reading or writing.
- Poor grammar and spelling.
- Disorganization of homework and schoolwork.
How do we treat dyslexia on kids in Speech therapy Barcelona?
Sometimes dyslexia and its symptoms are not easy to diagnose, so the most important thing is that if you begin to detect behaviors such as those specified above, it is best to go to a professional, because the sooner it is diagnosed the better.
In Logopeda Barcelona, the first thing to do is to make a diagnosis to see if the child has infantile dyslexia. In the case that the child does have childhood dyslexia, what will be done is a treatment focused on improving reading skills through a series of exercises such as:
- Learning to recognize and use the sounds that make up words.
- Understanding that letters and letter strings represent certain sounds and words.
- Understanding what you read.
- Reading aloud to acquire accuracy, speed and expression in reading.
- Build a vocabulary with the words recognized and understood.