10 - Communication Problems: Dyslexia

The problem of dyslexia is the most common of all learning and communication problems. About 10% to 20% of the population have some form of dyslexia. It is more likely to be a male condition by a ratio of 3:1. Dyslexia comes from the Latin word ‘dys’ meaning bad or difficult and ‘lexia’ meaning language. Dyslexia is not a thinking problem but rather a reading disability that has a carry-over through the whole language program including reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Dyslexia is not the result of brain damage or nerve damage. It is the product of a special mode of thought and a natural reaction to confusion.

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Dyslexia is divided into three different categories: visual, auditory, and a combination of the two. Visual is the most common. The dyslexic person is prone to be a tactile, hands-on person, which means that one must touch or feel objects or in many cases to be involved with projects in a nonabstract way. Dyslexics may display some of the following characteristics: delay in learning to talk, inadequate spoken language, difficulty in learning and remembering printed words, reversal of some letters (b,d,p,q) or the order of letters in words, reversal of numbers (very common), prolonged delay in establishing right/left handedness, confusion about directions (right/left), difficulty in recalling a desired word when speaking or writing, deficient skills in the mechanics and organization of written composition, and/or cramped or illegible handwriting.

Restoring a person’s self-esteem is truly the most important part of undoing dyslexia and other learning problems. If the dyslexic person is older, he or she has lived with failure longer and usually self-esteem is quite low. Labelling a child in the absence of any formal diagnosis is especially harmful. The dyslexia specialist first looks for large gaps between math skills, performance skills, spelling, writing, and/or reading skills. Dyslexics inherently perceive more and formulate mental concepts faster than other people. They excel in arts, architecture, engineering, strategy, and invention. They can perceive imagination as reality. This form of intuitive thought is the foundation of genius. Famous people with dyslexia include Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Jackie Stewart (a racing driver), Tom Cruise, George Burns, Whoopi Goldberg, and Cher.