What is Dyslexia?
When talking with families, one of the first questions we always answer is “so what is dyslexia?” The International Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as follows:
“Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities...” (see full definition at https://dyslexiaida.org/definition-of-dyslexia/)
To understand what that means to parents and students, a few keywords help us understand where dyslexia comes from and how it impacts your child.
First, we read that dyslexia is “neurobiological in origin.” This means that dyslexia is not a result of your child being “lazy” or having lacked good instruction. Rather, their brain is wired differently when it comes to processing the structure of written words.
This different wiring impacts their ability to process the “phonological component of language.” Phonology is the study of sounds that make up a language. Difficulty in this area makes it hard for students to pick out the individual speech sounds that make up written words, which in turn causes difficulty when having to decode or spell.
Finally, dyslexia is “unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities.” We hear from parents all the time who say, “but they are so good in … (math, sciences, arts)! I don’t understand why they can’t read as well.” Dyslexia is typically a profile of both strengths and weaknesses, so why students may struggle with activities or learning that involves written language, their overall ability to learn is intact.
Introducing Our Team!
Meet Jean Bates! I have 25 years experience teaching students having difficulty with reading and spelling. In addition to working with students privately, I work with kindergarten to fourth grade in a public elementary school in Central New Jersey. I was named Teacher of the Year for my school in 2010 and was a recipient of the Outstanding Special Education Teacher Award by the National Association of Special Education Teachers for 2010-2011.
Reading and spelling do not come easily to all and the most amazing part of working with my students is that point in time when they begin to feel success. Watching their confidence build is one of the many reasons I enjoy the work that I do.
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