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Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the learning to read and, basically, the speed and accuracy of reading. One in fourteen children suffers from this disorder.
Therefore, it is very common in our classrooms. It is also one of the most well-known disorders in society in general. However, there is a set of false myths about its nature, characteristics, and intervention.
Then we will review them and try to shed some light on their certainty:
1. From dyslexic family history, dyslexic son
Having a family history does not determine that the child will have dyslexia, but it predisposes them. Therefore, if a child has a history, it should be followed from the start of early childhood education in order to detect and intervene as quickly as possible.
2. If a child is left-handed they are more likely to have dyslexia.
In the past, being left-handed was thought to cause reading and writing difficulties, and for many years these children were forced to write with the right hand.
This generated a set of myths that still exist and have no scientific basis. Being left-handed does not predispose you to have reading problems.
3. If the child confuses the words in the mirror while reading and writing, he is dyslexic.
Reading and writing in the mirror is done by many children in the early stages of learning to read, but these errors go away later.
There are, yes, some dyslexic children who carry these errors longer, but not all. Therefore, it is not a marker for dyslexia, but rather a slow reading and with errors that are not expected for his age.
4. Dyslexia does not appear until the age of 7
There is a certain tradition of waiting when a child does not learn to read at the same rate his classmates thought he will develop later. This is a totally inadvisable practice. The important thing is not the diagnosis, but the detection and intervention as early as possible. We must not wait for it to fail and start working at the first warning sign.
5. A bad reading habit can cause dyslexia
Dyslexia is not caused by a lack of reading habits but by a set of variables. The root of the problem is a genetic predisposition generating a phonological deficit, but this is not enough to explain the heterogeneity of reading difficulties.
There are many risk factors at the biological, cognitive and environmental levels. Therefore, we must maximize the beneficial effects that the environment can bring, such as systematic and intensive work in schools and a daily reading habit at home.
6. It is a disease that can be cured with proper treatment
Dyslexia it is not an illnessIt is a learning disability that cannot be cured, but rather gets better with proper treatment.
Numerous studies have shown that with early and intensive intervention between 56% and 92% of these children reach an average reading level. Although there are different degrees of affectation, the later this intervention is performed, the less the degree of improvement.
7. Dyslexic children are lazy and do not make an effort to learn to read.
It is a myth that must be banished from the classroom. Dyslexic children are not lazy, but have great difficulty reading.
There is no child who does not want to learn to read well. The important thing is to provide everyone with the best strategies and activities so that you can realize your full potential.
8. Dyslexics have a low IQ.
A definite criterion for being diagnosed with dyslexia is to have an IQ within the parameters of normality. They are therefore children with normal intelligence, but their difficulty lies precisely in a specific problem of automation of reading.
The big challenge for them is that in school they first learn to read, then they learn by reading and if any of the main learning tools is affected, their academic performance will also be affected.
9. There are miraculous ways to cure dyslexia
There are many and varied methods that promise excellent results such as auditory integration (Tomatis), visual therapy (optometry), colored lenses or sensory integration.
Scientific studies have shown that they do not improve reading performance. The only intervention that has been shown to be effective is one that focuses on work on phonological skills (phonological awareness and the alphabetic principle) and the practice of reading.
10. People with dyslexia are more creative and good at other things.
Unfortunately, it is not the case. Although there are many lists of celebrities with dyslexia, their genius is not a consequence of this disorder but, being very common, it is normal that a large number of people, also famous, are affected. However, the essential fact that we must stick to is that although these people suffer from dyslexia, it has not stopped them from being successful in their respective fields.
We hope that clarifying these myths can help better care for people with reading problems, both for parents and teachers.
* Lloren Andreu is director of the Master of Science in Learning Disabilities and Language Disorders at the Open University of Catalonia.
This article was published on The Conversation and reproduced here under the Creative Commons license. Click here to read the original version.
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