3. Dyslexia & Discalculia

  • Dyslexia: difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols
  • Dysgraphia: difficulty in written expression (writing) but with normal oral expression.
  • Dyscalculia: difficulty understanding & manipulating numbers & math procedures.

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability (80-90% of LD diagnoses), affecting 20% of children & adults. With treatment, children can be successful in school & college, but it is not “curable.” Dyslexics tend to be fast, creative, and logical thinkers.

From Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity: best 1-page discussion of dyslexia: http://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia/

Just as there are no “standard” cases of autism (ASD) because each case seems to be different, there may not be “standard” cases of dyslexia. Since we know that each child’s (and adult’s) brain is unique, we should be wary of any standard treatment. It may mean that sensitive, personalized treatments are particularly good because the clinician, teacher, or parent can vary the techniques to find what seems to work.

The Clinical Viewpoint from Mayo Clinic. Here’s a thorough, scientific view of what we know about Dyslexia, its symptoms, causes, diagnosis & treatment. Written in plain English so its accessible to teachers and parents. Note the lists of symptoms, likely causes, and how it’s diagosed. Ask yourself how scientific our understanding of dyslexia actually is. The Clinical Viewpoint from Mayo Clinic (two tabs) as the “official” work on Dyslexia.:  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dyslexia/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20353557

Here’s an emotional and hopeful story from real life, re-enacted in a 20-minute movie with professional actors. While the case is from the U.K. decades ago, the overwhelmingly positive reaction and critical acclaim for the new video (Sept, 2020) suggest that it remains timely. It covers home, school, teachers, administrators, bullying, and finally, success. Nearly one million viewers watched it in its first three months on YouTube. Here’s an abstract:

Based on a true story of tenacity, a seven-year-old boy struggles to make sense of words on the page. But when Mike is diagnosed with dyslexia and the teachers continue to fail him, his mother takes matters into her own hands to help her son fulfil his true potential. An Official Selection at the Oscar-qualifying LA Shorts International Film Festival 2020, this award-winning film was made to create awareness of children with dyslexia as they are not only being failed, but they are also being damaged. People assume dyslexia is being addressed, but in reality, it isn’t.

A dyslexic boy can’t read and write until his mother takes matter into her own hands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LJkJrCxgLE

note:  system, lessons, and tools are now a commercial product called “Nessy.” The website includes free trials, research, and impressive testimonials. Check it out. This is NOT a recommendation because neither I nor my colleagues have first-hand experience with it. Rather, it’s just a sample of dedicated dyslexic treatment materials not from a big publisher with a big advertising budget. Here’s the site: https://www.nessy.com/us/

A Rose-Colored View of Dyslexia?

Young Engineer of the Year’s story of Dyslexia. Watch Neurodiversity: an untapped resource for future inventors | Shawn Brown | TEDxTruro. 2017, 14-min. Shawn is a highly successful engineer and media personality whose dyslexia affects his memory. That caused him to fail exams that require memory, but he was the UK’s Young Engineer of the Year when measured by his strengths. In this entertaining and interesting talk, we see inside someone who points out how our schools can help all kinds of minds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uecEdkEoY4E

“… advocate and educator Dean Bragonier offers a different take on Dyslexia. By looking at the unique mindset of Dyslexics as a strength, Dean reframes a perceived weakness as a powerful tool …”
The True Gifts of a Dyslexic Mind | Dean Bragonier | 2015 TEDx – 17-min : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dPyzFFcG7A

The Creative Brilliance of Dyslexia | Kate Griggs | TEDx, 2018, 15-min:  Inspiring, case-study of successful schools by the organizer of the common voice of the U.K.’s dyslexic associations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYM40HN82l4

Resources:

Dysgraphia is often related to physical coordination and fine-motor control. This site will not address dysgraphia because it is usually the outcome or symptom of a different condition.

Dyscalculia: difficulty with numbers and mathematical concepts and processes (very broad definition). Consider that roughly 30% of American 15-year olds score in the bottom 10% of international mathematics tests, while only 6% score in the top 10%. These scores place U.S. students in the middle or below middle of the 69 nations participating. Here’s a one-stop site to better understand Dyscalculia (includes helpful video): http://www.dyscalculia.org/

One commonality among Dyslexia and Dyscalculia is that they both involve symbol systems: an alphabet or system of numerals and signs. Note that much of western research on dyslexia has focused on letter-sound correspondence, but there is no such letter-sound correspondence in some languages like Chinese. Chinese dyslexics show different kinds of brain patterns than phonemic language dyslexics.

Note also that the evolutionary development of the human brain, compared to its spoken language development, has no analog in symbol recognition or meaning. There are parts of the infant brain “pre-designed” to understand and produce spoken language. There is no such part of the human brain pre-designed to understand or produce symbols or numbers greater than three or four.