【Local medical care】Do not affect children’s future. The sooner dyslexia is treated, the better

Text: Chen Xiaoquan Organizer: Liang Yingxiu

Dyslexia refers primarily to a person having problems with reading, writing, and spelling, manifested by difficulty identifying words accurately and having trouble reading and writing.

In fact, congenital dyslexia has a lot to do with family inheritance.Compared with children with a genetic risk for writing disorder, the risk is 4 to 8 times higher.

Speech deficits are generally considered to be the main cause of literacy problems.

(Kuala Lumpur News) Before explaining what dyslexia is, it is necessary to explain what are “learning difficulties” and “learning disabilities”.

Learning difficulty is defined as an individual’s impairment of specific forms of learning when there is no problem with the IQ, but can be improved with early education; learning disability is a condition that can affect a patient’s ability to learn in all areas, even with intensive educational interventions Can’t improve either.

310,000 children are dyslexic

Nadwah binti Onwi, director of the Speech Therapy Group at Hospital Rehabilitasi Cheras, said that dyslexia is a special learning disability, mainly referring to patients with problems in reading, writing and spelling, manifested as difficulty in accurately recognizing words, Poor performance in reading and writing.

Dyslexia has no distinction between men and women, and the degree can be divided into mild, moderate and severe. It affects the accuracy of reading words, spelling, grammar or calculation of patients, and leads to problems in various learning, which also indirectly affects patients’ daily life and social interaction. interactive.

“According to the International Dyslexia Association report, dyslexia affects 10% to 15% of the world’s population. According to the report of the Malaysian Harmonious Schools Association (PSHM), 10% to 15% of primary school students in Malaysia have dyslexia symptoms However, data from the Special Education Statistics Bureau of the Malaysian Ministry of Education shows that there are about 314,000 children in Malaysia suffering from dyslexia, which also means that one out of every 20 students suffers from dyslexia. Therefore, the previous The numbers are grossly underestimated.”

Dyslexia has a high comorbidity rate with other neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD) and anxiety disorders.

Congenital dyslexia is closely related to family inheritance. Compared with children without family history, those with family history are 4 to 8 times more likely to develop dyslexia. At the cognitive level, phonological deficits are widely recognized as one of the main causes of literacy problems.

According to Mascheretti’s research, environmental factors play an important role in dyslexia, such as maternal smoking during pregnancy, child’s birth weight, socioeconomic status, hospitalization due to risk of miscarriage, age at which parents have children and parents’ first 3 years of age. level of education.

In general, children usually need to undergo standard screening to diagnose whether they have dyslexia, such as Dyslexia Screening Test (Dyslexia Screening Test, DST) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). The therapist also needs to interview parents or teachers about the child’s academic performance.

Congenital cannot be prevented and cured

The therapist will make a diagnosis according to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and the diagnosis follows the following 4 criteria:

1. Children with dyslexia usually have certain difficulties in literacy and mathematics skills such as reading single words and comprehension, writing and spelling, arithmetic calculations, and mathematical reasoning.

2. Despite the special help or targeted guidance provided to the child, 6 symptoms of learning difficulties have occurred for at least 6 months.

3. Insufficient basic academic ability leads to backward academic performance, often far behind peers in age and intelligence.

4. The backwardness in academic performance has nothing to do with mental retardation, neurological disorder or other mental illness, eye disease or hearing impairment.

During the examination, the therapist looks for signs of dyslexia, such as difficulty spelling or pronouncing letters. Once a child is dyslexic, there are several interventions that health care providers can use to help the patient improve reading, literacy, and cognitive deficits, such as multisensory learning, phonological intervention, and cognitive training. In addition, inform parents or teachers about dyslexia-related information.

Family members need to participate in the treatment process

Congenital dyslexia cannot be prevented or cured, but it can be improved with special guidance and early intervention reading management support.

Here are some tips for helping children with dyslexia in Medical News Today, including:

1. Individual needs assessment: This helps the teacher create a targeted plan for the child.

2. Assistance with learning tools: Children with dyslexia can use their senses as learning aids “tools” to improve symptoms, such as touch, sight, and hearing.

3. Guidance and support: Counseling the children to reduce the negative impact of self-worth, support methods include extending the answering time during the test.

4. Ongoing assessment: For adults with dyslexia, different coping strategies may need to be developed to ensure that the patient’s symptoms improve.

Na Hua emphasized that the support of family members is also indispensable. Family members need to carefully observe their children’s reading ability, detect symptoms early, and seek expert help as soon as possible.

“Currently there are two associations that help dyslexia patients, namely Persatuan Dyslexia Malaysia and Persatuan Patologis Pertuturan Bahasa Malaysia.”

During the treatment process, family members also need to be involved, and at the same time, allow the patient to take a short break between each course of treatment without giving too much pressure. Families can combine a variety of fun ways to improve their patients’ literacy skills, especially creative online games, as well as using different colored markers, chalk, blocks and learning equipment to help them learn.

“It is important that family members have patience when teaching their children, and try different methods to find the most suitable teaching method for the children. In addition, families can also try to let the children complete the work independently, and give appropriate praise and appreciation, to help them build positivity in their lives.”

Malaysia focuses on speech therapy

Cognitive Training Improves Skills

Cognitive training aims to improve specific areas of the patient, such as visuospatial skills, memory skills, and psychomotor skills. In our country, however, many treatments for dyslexia focus on language aspects, such as word mastery, letter recognition, and writing skills.

According to Nahua, interventions should be more specifically targeted at certain deficit areas and take into account many cognitive and language factors holistically to ensure better outcomes.

“Therapists convey information in word reading assessments and interventions to help patients with dyslexia to correctly pronounce letters, spell and pronounce words fluently.”

3 teaching methods to aid pronunciation

According to Understood.org, there are 3 ways to teach children with pronunciation:

1. Systematic:Reading skills are taught in a logical sequence. Children must master foundational skills before learning more complex skills. For example, the teacher ensures that the children can mix the sounds of 2 letters, and then asks them to find these mixed words in the words.

2. Clearly:Teaching is clear and direct. For example, the teacher points to each letter in the word and pronounces it.

3. Evaluation:Teachers continually assess children’s progress to ensure they have mastered basic skills before moving on.

Dyslexia Doesn’t Affect IQ

Question 1.Is Dyslexia Linked to Intellectual Development?

Answer 1.Dyslexia is a condition that hinders certain forms of learning without affecting an individual’s overall IQ.

Language problems not caused by eye disease

Question 2.Treating Vision Helps People With Dyslexia?

Answer 2.No studies have shown that vision therapy improves dyslexia. Dyslexia is a language problem, not an eye disease.

Acquired

Question 3.Only children have dyslexia, and are all dyslexia congenital or genetic?

Answer 3.In addition to children, dyslexia can also occur in adults. Some traffic accidents lead to brain injury or left hemisphere stroke may suffer from dyslexia, which can be called acquired dyslexia.

Symptoms include: difficulty concentrating on a task; avoiding any meetings about planning; becoming overwhelmed if asked to fill out lengthy forms; overreacting to one’s own mistakes; Better; easily affected by stress and prone to low self-esteem.

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