2004-2-11
This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Education
Report.
Last week, we began a discussion of learning disabilities. These
are disorders that cause unusual difficulty for a person to develop
skills needed for life. A person can have a learning disability in
one or more areas like reading, writing, listening, speaking or
working with numbers. Today we talk about the condition known as
dyslexia.
Researchers say eighty-five percent of people with a reading
disability have dyslexia. The experts say the brain fails to link
letters and sounds correctly in people with dyslexia.
The most common effects are difficulties reading, spelling and
writing. Some people have problems with only one of these skills. Or
they may have trouble with spoken language. They may find it
difficult to express themselves clearly or understand what others
say.
Dyslexia also can affect a person emotionally. Specialists say
students with dyslexia often think they are stupid and unable to
learn. They say children who feel like this are in danger of failure
and depression.
Signs of dyslexia in young children include learning to talk at a
later age than others, and difficulty pronouncing words. Dyslexic
children also have trouble learning or remembering letters, numbers,
days of the week, colors and shapes.
Older students may have difficulty learning a foreign language.
They may read very slowly or have trouble remembering what they
read. Another possible sign of dyslexia is difficulty planning and
organizing time.
Researchers say dyslexia continues through life and there is no
cure. They say the most important part of treatment is to find the
condition at an early age.
Specially trained educators can help teach people with dyslexia
different ways to learn. Schools can give students more time to
complete tasks and provide help taking notes. Researchers say
listening to recorded books and writing with a computer can also
help.
There are organizations around the
world that work to improve the study and treatment of dyslexia. One
group is the International Dyslexia Association. You can learn more
information on its Web site. The address interdys.org. Again, the
Web site is interdys.org.
We continue our series on learning disabilities next week. You
can find our reports on the Internet at WWW.testbig.com. This
VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.
This is Steve Ember.