October Is Dyslexia Awareness Month. What Is Dyslexia And Could My Child Have It?

Written by: Amy Babiuch, MD, Executive Contributor

Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.

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When my son turned one he was already walking, and like most one-year-olds, he was into everything! He didn’t make sounds or talk yet, but his older sister “did the talking for him”. A year later, when he still didn’t make sounds, we began the long process of evaluating his lack of speech. By the time he was four, he finally produced some words, but sentences wouldn’t come for another year.

We held him back from kindergarten, but still, the idea of letter sounds seemed completely foreign to him. He couldn’t rhyme, he couldn’t recite his alphabet, and he couldn’t put sounds to letters. He underwent more evaluation, and he was diagnosed with ADHD and started on medications. We employed tutoring for him after school, and an IEP was put into place, but nothing seemed to help. Finally, in second grade he underwent a learning evaluation with a neuropsychologist who diagnosed Owen with dyslexia.

Since that time, Owen has had significant intervention. Reading, writing, spelling and even some sounds are difficult for Owen. We are grateful to have enrolled Owen in Julie Billiart, a school that specializes in learning differences where he is finally receiving the intensive intervention that he needs.

According to The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, it is estimated that dyslexia affects 20 percent of the population. Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to other words (decoding). Functional imaging studies have mapped some of the circuitry of how the brain reads. Typical activation patterns of highly interconnected neural systems seen in normal or good readers are not seen in dyslexics. Their system has a faulty connection which makes it hard for them to understand how letters sound and how they go together to make words.

Having dyslexia does not mean that your child will never be able to read. In fact, most people with dyslexia have normal to above-average intelligence, and they are often very creative individuals. Having dyslexia, simply means that a child may need a different type of teaching to learn to read. Early evaluation, diagnosis, and intervention are key.

Parenting children who have dyslexia can be frustrating and disheartening. As a parent, your inherent knowing tells you that your child is smart, but his or her grades and school performance tell a different story. Worse, children who have unrecognized dyslexia may develop poor confidence and behavior problems. Ultimately, parenting struggles arise, leaving both parents and children feeling inadequate.

Signs that your child may have dyslexia:

• Delayed speech or late talking

• Difficulty remembering or naming letters, colors, numbers

• Problems learning nursery rhymes or rhyming

• Difficulty with letter sounds and spelling

• Reading below the expected age level

• Inability to sound out a new word and problems with nonsense words

• Slow to process what he or she hears

• Difficulty finding the right words

• Problems with remembering sequences (ie: days of the week)

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Amy Babiuch, MD, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine

Amy Babiuch, MD is a physician, life and mindset coach, and an avid proponent for growth mindset development. As a practicing physician who is active in research and academics, she works to promote diversity in medicine and leadership and serves as a mentor to physicians and trainees.

Dr. Babiuch has used her experience, background, education, and knowledge to develop a business devoted to helping parents embrace an all-encompassing mindset, ultimately driving acceptance, positivity, and confidence. She employs a unique approach by focusing on the whole person through addressing personal thoughts and beliefs, in addition to the parent-parent and parent-child relationships. She inspires parents to see the beauty within themselves and those they nurture through her articles, social media presence, and her coaching services.