QA Adult Dyslexia

For people living with learning disabilities even the smallest task can often seem insurmountable. Just imagine trying to go into a grocery store and picking up the things you need to create a recipe. If you have adult dyslexia then even making that list can seem impossible. Far too often children with dyslexia are simply passed through school until they graduate, or at least that was what happened in the past. Teachers would often find the children difficult and would simply put them in a remedial class. Those children grew up and still had the same learning disability. Dyslexia is a very common learning disability and one that is not solely reserved just for children. Adults all across the world suffer from this condition and many do not get the help that they need. This article will cover many of the questions that adult dyslexia diagnosis brings up. If you know of someone that is suffering from this disability, maybe you can help them get the help they need.

What is adult dyslexia?

Dyslexia, whether it is adult or child, is considered a learning disability. It is usually specific in that it mainly effects how things are perceived by the individual affected by the disability. Most dyslexics find that words are often appear to be scrambled and not in the correct order. This also pertains to numbers as well. Dyslexia actually is a Greek word that means "difficulty with words" but as research has shown, it can affect numbers just as well. Many dyslexics find that they have trouble following orders or instructions and have great difficulty putting letters and numbers in the correct order. Often they will be thinking in their mind that they are putting it down correctly but in actuality some are reversed. With adult dyslexia it can be even more difficult because chances are they have been dyslexic their entire lives. So they did not develop the necessary coping skills early on because the disability was not diagnosed early in their childhood. At this point they may be suffering from poor work habits and even very low self-esteem.

What are some related conditions to adult dyslexia?

Not every adult that is diagnosed with dyslexia will have the same co-conditions. But some of the conditions that often do occur with dyslexia are: dysgraphia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, Specific Language Impairment or cluttering. Each of these conditions involves some sort of ability that the adult dyslexic is having problems with. Dyspraxia is a condition in which there is an actual neurological condition that makes balance difficult when dealing with routine tasks. The others listed are different problems that may involve a person seeing a process or word combination clearly in their mind but not having the ability to record or write it down properly. Dysgraphia generally occurs with writing and typing whereas dyscalculia is a problem that involves mathematics. In all of the related conditions the end effect is still the same: the person is not able to express, through writing or speech, the correct order of the words or numbers.

Who are some early pioneers in discovering and researching adult dyslexia and dyslexia in general?

There have been many great early researchers, doctors and scientists that have studied dyslexia. Oswald Berkhan identified the condition back in 1881 but the disorder was not officially labeled as dyslexia until Rudolf Berlin did so in 1887. For many years dyslexia was labeled as congenital word blindness because there was such a fixation on individuals who were unable to comprehend written material. It was thought that the brain simply processed the information wrong and so when writing or reciting the information back, many words were omitted or simply switched around. In some instances of adult dyslexia that is the case. Since those early pioneers many other researchers have studied this disorder and discovered that it is more than just phonetics or alphabets that can have dyslexics stumped. Some, such as Galaburda and Kemper in 1979, discovered that the brains of dyslexics actually have anatomical differences. This helped show the world that it was not simply poor learning skills. It showed that there are actual physical differences that lead a person to being dyslexic.

How is adult dyslexia managed?

Adult dyslexia can be managed in numerous ways. But first the underlying conditions must be diagnosed and addressed. Researchers have found success with dyslexics by using phonological educational methods. But if there is a phonological problem then another method must be used. It often helps to use a combination of visual, auditory and written training to help the dyslexic. For those living with dyslexia there are ways to cope with everyday tasks. One way is to invest in speech to typing software. The person speaks into the microphone while the software is running and the program writes down what is being said. If an adult dyslexic is taking classes it may be useful to use a recording device in class and then later carefully use the device to review and write out the notes.