testing for dyslexia

Dyslexia was a word that had fallen out of fashion for a while in education. As of late, it’s been coming back.

All dyslexia truly means is difficulty with language but the difficulty or difficulties can take many different forms. It can be written language or spoken language or both.

That could be what is meant when someone says there is no real test for dyslexia. Many parents these days are willing to call a spade a spade and if their child has difficulty with language, they’re willing to deem it dyslexia even if the tester is not.

The way I understand it, dyslexia refers to a neurologically-based disability in reading. A speaking disability is known as aphasia. (Sorry, I tend to be more nit-picky when it comes to definitions. =))

BTW, here’s some information regarding dyslexia as collected from Janet Lerner’s textbook, LEARNING DISABILITIES: THEORIES, DIAGNOSIS, AND TEACHING STRATEGIES 7th Edition (@1997):

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Many of the brain investigations involve studies of individuals with dyslexia, a puzzling type of learning disability that interferes with learning to read. A recent definition of dyslexia proposed by the Orton Dyslexia Association is shown in the box, “Definition of Dyslexia.”

[Definition of Dyslexia:

Dyslexia is one of several distinct learning disabilities. It is a specific language-based disorder of constitutional origin characterized by difficulty in single word decoding, usually reflecting insufficient phonological processing. These difficulties in single word decoding are often unexpected in relation to age and other cognitive and academic abilities; they are not the result of generalized developmental disabilities or sensory impairment. Dyslexia is manifested by variable difficulty with different forms of language, often including, in addition to problems in reading, a conspicious problem with acquiring proficiency in writing and spelling. (Source: Definition of “dyslexia” adopted by the Orton Dyslexia Society Research Committee and National Institute of Health. Used by permission.)]

Reading is an extremely complex human task that requires an intact and well-functioning brain and central nervous system. The Case Example entitled “Recollections of Individuals with Dyslexia” illustrates the serious consequences of having dyslexia.

[CASE EXAMPLE: Recollections of Individuals with Dyslexia:

The following statements by individuals with this severe reading problem reveal the frustration and self-doubts they face in school and in life.

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I am told that before I went to school, I was a spirited little girl who said she was “on her own” at the age of 5. This little girl was the life of a party, very conversational, and very happy. Then I entered kindergarten, and my spirit deflated like a falling hot air balloon. I remember trying to spell my name and not being able to accomplish this simple task…The hurt and frustration did not stop after school. It continued when my best friend from preschool told me she could not be my friend anymore because she thought I was stupid. (Source: From “Stephanie’s Story,” by S. Burlington, 1994, Perspective: The Orton Dyslexia Society, 20 (1), p. 38. Reprinted by permission.)

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My name is Amy…Throughout my early years, I was very much like many other children, loving to play and run around with friends. I could play like the other kids my age, but when it came to academics, I was different. At the age of 5, when I could not write the alphabet, I was told that I was severely dyslexic. I learned that by playing sports, I could rechannel some of the frustration I experienced from school work in a positive way. I found that when I figure-skated, I would leave the learning problems aside for a while and skate freely on the ice. I skated competitively from the ages of 7 to 10. (Source: From “Amy’s Story,” by A. Elseman, 1993, Perspective: The Orton Dyslexia Society, 19 (3), p. 24. Reprinted by permission.)

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The burden of being dyslexic is a unique one. Every case is different and every affected person deals with it in his own way. I feel fortunate to have met adversity at the young age of 6. Dyslexia is something that will never go away; you can only train yourself to counterbalance it. The lessons that being dyslexic have taught me outweigh the struggle to overcome my impediment. (Source: From “Frederick’s Story,” by F.C. McMahon, 1992, Perspective: The Orton Dyslexia Society, 18 (4), p. 10. Reprinted by permission.)

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Henry Johnson is a very successful adult who was labeled “dumb” in elementary school because he couldn’t keep up in class. He knew why, but he would not tell. He got by with bad grades in middle school. He survived high school and even college with help from friends. He has kept it a secret for 40 years. His wife was the only one that knew.]

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DYSLEXIA:

The condition known as dyslexia is an unusual type of severe reading disorder that has puzzled the educational and medical communities for many years. Dyslexia is one type of severe learning disability that affects some children, adolescents, and adults (Lyon, 1995a). The Case Example entitled “Dyslexia” provides statements from people with dyslexia about how this problem affected their lives.

[CASE EXAMPLE: DYSLEXIA:

Adults who have suffered from dyslexia can long recall the anguish of trying to cope with this mysterious condition in a world that requires people to read.

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I remember vividly the pain and mortification I felt as a boy of 8 when I was assigned to read a short passage of a scripture with a community vesper service during the summer vacation in Maine—and did a thoroughly miserable job of it.—Nelson Rockefeller, TV Guide, October 16, 1976.

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There was something wrong with my brain. What had previously been a shadowy suspicion that hovered on the edge of consciousness became certain knowledge the year I was 9 and entered fourth grade. I seemed to be like other children, but I was not: I could not learn to read or spell.—Eileen Simpson, Reversals: A Personal Account of Victory Over Dyslexia, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1979

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The first time I remember shame was when I used the wrong word in the wrong order. Everyone always laughed at me. Perhaps I could have laughed too if I had been able to see the mistakes I had made. But I couldn’t. What I had said sounded quite logical to me. I would sit there trying hard to think what I had said, then burst out crying…My lack of reading and writing ability became noted, not only by the teachers, but by the children, too. There was no help or even understanding. Just impatience on the teacher’s part.

I can still remember the terror as the class stood up in turn to read aloud. I would start to read with sweaty hands as the print danced before my eyes. I would stammer and sputter in an effort to start. The teacher would look up, see that it was me, and say crossly, “Oh, for goodness sake, sit down and shut up.”…I would do anything rather than go to school; powder my face with talcum to make me look pale; scream; have hysterics; be doubled up with pain, be sick.—Sue Loftus-Brigham, Dyslexia Need Not Be a Disaster, London: London Dyslexia Association, 1983.

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I am writing to you about my husband’s desperate need for help. I think he has dyslexia. Shortly after our marriage, I began to notice he never read a newspaper or a book. He asked me to read labels and directions to him, explaining his eyes were not strong enough to see small print. Yesterday, our 7-year-old daughter was reading a book and asked her father to help her with a word. He grew red in the face, ran out of the room, and I found him crying. He admitted the truth. He can’t read. He told me that he just can’t recognize letters and words.—Letter to a reading problem clinic.]

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People with this baffling disorder find it extremely difficult to recognize letters and words, and to interpret information that is presented in print form (Cruickshank, 1986). Many people with dyslexia are intelligent in other ways. For example, they may have very strong mathematics or spatial skills. Although there are a number of different definitions and explanations of dyslexia (one definition of dyslexia is given in Chapter 7, page 229), there is general agreement on four points (Hynd, 1992):

1. Dyslexia is probably due to a congenital neurological condition.
2. Dyslexic problems persist into adolescence and adulthood.
3.Dyslexia has perceptual, cognitive, and language dimensions.
4. Dyslexia leads to difficulties in many areas of life as the individual matures.

People with dyslexia often find ingenious ways to hide their disability and cope with their inability to read. Even their close associates may never suspect the truth. For example, an elderly widowed gentleman, caught in the social dating whirl, routinely handled the problem of dining in restaurants by putting down his menu and saying to his companion, “Why don’t you order for both of us, dear? Your selections are always delicious.” This man hired professionals to handle all of his personal matters, including his checkbook. His friends attributed his actions to wealth, never suspecting his inability to read.

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The way Lerner describes it, dyslexia is a severe, lifelong, neurological form of reading disability. It never completely goes away, but it can be remediated and the person taught to read, write, and spell at least to some degree (with special techniques).

Yours truly,
Kathy G.

I’d like to be able to agree with you as it seems this is of some importance to you. It deserves to be said that what words mean and how we use them can be different. The prefix Dys = bad or difficulty and lexia = words both stemming from Greek.
So dyslexia becomes bad words or difficulty with words.
Difficulty with words is not specific to written or spoken words.

a= means not or without
so aphasia really means without speech. Dysphasia means simply difficulty with speech.

Their dictionary definitions aside, these words are used by many people in many ways and often in contradicting ways but dysphasia to me is the word most commonly used to describe difficulties with spoken language. But I’ve seen kids with speech difficulties described as suffering from “a dyslexia.”

Aphasia to me is used most often for stroke victims, for example, who once speaking normally, lose their speech capacities when the stroke has affected or destroyed the speech centers of the brain. I never see diagnoses of aphasia on my middle school students but I do see diagnoses of dysphasia is used for those having difficulties with speech. But again, different clinicians use different words to describe the same thing. While I’ve seen some overlap in the terminology used by phychologists and speech/language pathologists, speech/language pathologists understandably get the most specific when speaking to speech/language difficulties.

Of all people, classroom teachers probably misuse these words more than anybody and parents are probably more confused by it than anybody.

The first clinician to work with kids with reading difficulty was Samuel Orton in 1907 and he called what he was seeing “word blindness”. I can’t say whether Orton was also the first person to deem the “word blindness” he was describing as dyslexia.

As an author, clinician and researcher on learning disabilites, I have used ‘dyslexia’ as synonymous with ‘specific reading disability’. This term applies to anyone significantly delayed in the acquisition of reading skills. Often researchers use a 2-year delay as a suitable criterion, and many word-recognition tests can give this information. We provide more information about this, including advice and remedies for dyslexia on our site www.go-brainwaves.com