Dyslexia can have a significant impact on the lives of people who have it. However, some people treat the learning disorder with a sense of hopelessness. An attitude of “My child will never have a great life” or “My child won’t be able to finish school or get a good job” can unnecessarily take hold of some parents.
Dyslexia is a learning disorder that can be dealt with in a variety of ways. Parental pessimism will spill over to a child with dyslexia. After all, if a parent thinks only bad can come to their child, it is unlikely that their child will be optimistic about their future. And that attitude can only add fuel to the fire of negative emotions that accompany a journey with dyslexia.
The easiest way to snap out of unwarranted pessimism is to focus on getting a dyslexic child the help they need. Let’s explore the types of aid available to help someone live a fantastic life with dyslexia.
Reading
Most dyslexics can overcome difficulty with learning to read through the use of phonics. Phonics uses the sounds that make up words to help a dyslexic learn to read. The use of sound to decode words and increase understanding takes advantage of a different path through the brain than just trying to decode the printed marks on a piece of paper. One method that builds on phonics and uses other sensory learning techniques has been successfully used for many years. It is called the Orton-Gillingham method and it is widely available to children with dyslexia.
Alternative Learning Modes
Sometimes a dyslexic will gain great benefit from learning material through methods other than a printed book. The same words presented on a monitor or display, using certain fonts and colors, has been used by some dyslexics to accelerate learning.
Listening to audio books or classroom material with text-to-speech apps. can also accelerate learning. Listening to the material makes use of the same brain pathways used in phonics instruction. But this type of material focuses more on the meaning of sentences, paragraphs and pages than the sounds that make up individual words. Text-to-speech is being included in more and more software as the technology behind it has dramatically improved. Making classroom material available in digital form means a student with dyslexia can make use of text-to-speech with little, if any, cost.
Video instruction can also be a great help to dyslexics. The ability to rewind and watch a video multipole times can help a dyslexic more easily organize and understand classroom material.
Organizing and Planning
Where reading is the most commonly recognized aspect of dyslexia, and maybe the one most likely to spur pessimism in a parent, there are many other ways of helping a dyslexic child.
Dyslexics can be challenged when it comes to placing objects in order and when it comes to understanding time and the impact it has on everyday life. Here again, inexpensive, and often free, technology can help a lot. There are tons of time management apps. that help in organizing what needs to be done in a day. And there is lots of planning software available to help a student organize their approach to writing a paper or completing a semester-long project.
Many dyslexics using this software can outshine their non-dyslexic peers when it comes to time management and project planning. This is remarkable considering MRI’s have shown that the areas of the brain dealing with tracking and understanding time are less active in dyslexics. A student with dyslexia, who has no mental point of reference for time, can actually out-perform their friends!
Math
Lots of dyslexics are challenged by basic math, and later, algebra. This is called dyscalculia. Here again technology can provide the answer. Software is readily available to help students perform math at any level, from elementary school through college.
I personally know a person with severe dyslexia and dyscalculia who became the Chief Financial Officer of a $100 million dollar company. He used numerical models built in Microsoft Excel to propel his career from basic accountant to CFO.
A large number of entrepreneurs have dyslexia and other related learning challenges. In fact, the proportion of successful entrepreneurs who have a learning disorder is much higher than seen in the general population.
If a person who has both dyslexia and dyscalculia can advance to being a senior executive, or own their own successful company, your child can overcome their learning issues and lead a great life. They may not want to become an accountant or own a business, but they can overcome dyslexia to do just about anything they want.
Emotional Help
Dyslexic children can experience life-long negative emotions from being different or being bullied for reading problems. They need loving help from parents and other adults in their life to improve their self-image and to find the methods and workarounds that will help them overcome the effects of dyslexia.
The last thing a dyslexic child needs is a parent with an unwarranted pessimistic view of their learning disorder. If the abundance available assistance to dyslexics is not enough to snap a parent out of feeling hopeless, that adult should ask someone for help in dealing with their negativity. Anyone can be frustrated by dyslexia. But continued pessimism is bad for the dyslexic child and bad for their parents.
Dyslexia can be successfully dealt with! Dyslexics can and do live great lives!
Dan Kaluzny is author of Loving Your Dyslexic, A Heart-to-Heart Discussion of How to Help Children and Adults with Dyslexia
