Dyslexia Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Dyslexia Dyslexia is a neurological-based, specific learning disability, characterized by language handling deficiencies, impairment in the ability to recognize and translate words into sentences. It is said that a reading disability reflects a continuous deficit as opposed to an arrest in development and can occur in a person of any level of intelligence. Dyslexia can be related to hormonal or hereditary influences, or brain injury. One in five children are thought to have dyslexia and it is found to be more prevalent in males.(1) The difficulties caused by dyslexia do not accurately measure the sufferer's intelligence. Geniuses of our time, such as Einstein, have been affected by the problems of automatic decoding of words and formation of accurate sentences. It is said that many dyslexics "shine in the arts, creativity, design, computing and lateral thinking." (2) The etiological basis suggests that reading disorders stem from difficulties in phonological processing, i.e. the brain's inabi lity to translate images from the eyes completely and correctly to the ears and mouth.(3) Symptoms of dyslexia range from reading and writing difficulties, to speech, direction, time, concentration, coordination, and even self-esteem issues. Other mental disorders are often found to be co-morbid, yet still separate from dyslexia. Common are disorders such as attention deficit and depression, enhanced by the general feelings of helplessness and confusion of dyslexia..(4) Co-morbid problems tend to lessen once the individual seeks successful help with their dyslexia. There are thought to be various main factors within the brain that contribute to dyslexia. Two of those factors are linked an underutilized left hemisphere and a central b... ...tive outlook, the individual is doomed not to improve. Nothing is concrete in the study of dyslexia, much research and education are still in need for a better understanding and treatment of this disorder. Internet Sources: 1)Barkley, Russel A. & Eric J.Mash. Child Psychopathology Guilford Press, NY, NY. 1996 (pg.418) 2)http://www.dyslexia-inst.org.uk/what.htm#top 3)Barkley, Russel A. & Eric J.Mash. Child Psychopathology Guilford Press, NY, NY. 1996 (pg.418) 4)http://dyslexiaonline.com/information.html 5)http://www.nimh.nih.gov/events/prleftdy.htm 6)http://www.dyslexia.org 7)http://www.dyslexiaonline.com/info_whatisdyslexia.html 8)Carlson, Neil R. Physiology of Behavior. Allyn & Bacon, Mass. 1998 (pg. 507) 9)http://www.medicinenet.com 10)http://www.dyslexia.com 11) http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healinfo/disorder/dyslexia/dyslexia.htm