Enriching Lives

What is dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a neurological disorder; this means that it is a disorder created through the different way

in which the brain processes language-based information. It causes difficulties with activities such

as reading, writing and spelling.

People with dyslexia have difficulty recognizing printed words.

When they come to a word that they are not familiar with they find it difficult to break the word

down into its individual parts in order to create the sounds that make up the word.

People with dyslexia can have problems with reading comprehension this is because the meaning of

what they are trying to read can become lost in the struggles they have in reading the words.

This can also affect their reading fluency - people with dyslexia are often slow readers and so the

sentences they are reading can often come out disjointed especially when they are reading aloud.

They can also often find it difficult to find the right word that they want to use when speaking or

writing.

Dyslexia can either coexist with another learning difficulty as in Emma’s case or can exist on its own.

(Shaywitz, 2005).

One interesting fact that people may not know is…

That our brain is plastic! That doesn’t mean it is made from the same type of non-biodegradable material

that many of the products produced are made from these days. The ‘plasticity of the brain’ is a fancy way

of saying that as long as learning difficulties such as dyslexia are picked up early and the right help is

provided, we have the ability to change how our brain works - this means there is hope for people like

Emma who have dyslexia.

How can I help someone with dyslexia?

According to Emma, you can help people with dyslexia by:

Speaking clearly which assists with auditory processing

Helping them with their reading

Making sure they can understand the text

Also (and this would help a lot) if you didn’t tease them about their disability.

Where can I find out more information about dyslexia?

Dyslexia Foundation of New Zealand - www.dyslexiafoundation.org.nz

<http://www.dyslexiafoundation.org.nz>

Especially designed for young people is the Dyslexic Like Me - Children’s App which provides an

understanding of dyslexia and how to overcome this disability. You can find out more about this by

going to http://blog.dyslexia.com/dyslexic-like-me-childrens-app/#.VFayW_mUdyw

<http://blog.dyslexia.com/dyslexic-like-me-childrens-app/>

Emma is a gift. She enjoys playing Minecraft and doing athletics. She is also really caring and gives up her lunchtime once a week to help people in need. Emma is great at working in with other people to create a positive difference in the community.
However just like Ciara, Emma finds writing, reading and maths difficult. This is because Emma has dyslexia and dyscalculia. In this profile, we will have a look at what it means for Emma to have dyslexia, a language-based processing disorder that affects approximately 55,000 school children in New Zealand (Ministry of Education, 2007).