Treatment of dyslexia in children and adults: what you need to know about it

Dyslexia is a fairly common phenomenon in which a person has difficulty reading. Such difficulties arise as a result of the special development and formation of mental functions of the brain. This feature most often begins to appear at early school age and can have various forms of expression. At the same time, any type of pathology can be corrected in various ways, one of the most effective of which is the Davis method.

Creator of a unique approach to the treatment of dyslexia

The author of the method, Ronald D. Davis, is a versatile personality. A sculptor, engineer and businessman, he founded the Reading Research Center in California, developing a revolutionary approach to treating dyslexia.

Despite all his talent and high level of intelligence, Davis experienced problems with reading since childhood, but this did not prevent him from achieving success in life. Moreover, by the age of 38, he was able to overcome his main vice, easily reading a book in just a few hours. Having seen the fruits of his labor, Ronald began to develop the author's approach and put it into practice when working with other people with similar pathologies. Today, his book “The Gift of Dyslexia” has been translated into many languages ​​and is a real manual for the treatment of this disorder, the correct use of which brings a positive effect in almost 99% of cases.

Definition and types of dyslexia

Dyslexia is a disorder in the development of reading skills, caused by underdeveloped mental functions that take part in this process. A characteristic feature of dyslexia is repeated persistent deviations in the reading process:

• mixing and replacing sounds;
• letter-by-letter reading;
• reversal of syllables;
• difficulty composing or understanding complex sentences;
• misunderstanding of the meaning of what is read.

Dyslexia is called the problem of geniuses. Winston Churchill, Hans Christian Andersen, Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, George Bush, Quentin Tarantino suffered from this disease

Dyslexia is often called the problem of geniuses. Celebrities such as Winston Churchill, Hans Christian Andersen, Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, George W. Bush, Quentin Tarantino and others suffered from this disease. But, of course, not everyone with dyslexia becomes a genius.

To diagnose dyslexia, it is necessary to assess the level of developed spoken language, grammatical skills, reading, attention, thinking and memory. Dyslexia can be overcome by developing all of the above skills. Therapy is aimed at:

• correct pronunciation of sounds;
• sentence construction;
• development of coherent speech.

According to statistics, the number of students with developed intellectual thinking who have signs of dyslexia is 4.8%. Schoolchildren who have severe speech problems and who have mental retardation are susceptible to dyslexia in 20-50% of cases. In boys and girls, the disorder occurs in a ratio of 4.5 to 1.

Types of dyslexia

Based on the form of defective reading, speech therapy distinguishes two types of disorders:

1. Dyslexia - reading skill is partially impaired.
2. Alexia is the inability to master reading or complete loss of skills.

If dyslexia is not corrected in a timely manner, children may develop low self-esteem and depression.

These problems arise separately and precede the development of dysgraphia. If dyslexia is not corrected in a timely manner for children and primary schoolchildren, they may develop low self-esteem and depression, and they will also be characterized by bad behavior.

Based on external signs, the following types of dyslexia are distinguished:

• Literal - characterized by partial assimilation of some letters.
• Verbal - characterized by a problem reading words.

Taking into account impaired mental functions and mechanisms, the main types of dyslexia are distinguished:

• Phonemic - characterized by unformed phonemic understanding, synthesis and analysis.
• Semantic - characterized by underdevelopment of syllabic integrity, a poor vocabulary, and the inability to establish connections between words.
• Agrammatic - appears due to underdeveloped written speech, lack of skills to conduct morphological and functional synthesis.
• Mnestic - formed due to memory impairments associated with speech, difficulties in the relationship of letters and sounds.
• Optical - occurs when optical concepts are underdeveloped.
• Tactile - manifests itself along with unclear tactile perception in children with poor vision.

Examples:

• saw - linden;
• clear day,
• sitting;
• com - tom - house;
• beautiful vase;
• cow - carpet.

Based on the above list, underdeveloped speech functions provoke the appearance of phonemic, semantic and agrammatic dyslexia; and ZPR becomes the cause of mnestic, optical and tactile.

What is the essence of the Davis technique?

Corrective work using this approach cannot be compared or contrasted with the therapy offered by official medicine. Dyslexics in this case are not considered as diseases, but as people with a distinctive visual way of thinking. Of course, they have a rich imagination and vivid perception. At the same time, their way of understanding the world around them differs from the generally accepted one. When creating certain images in their imagination, dyslexics experience difficulties and become disoriented in space, as a result of which they cannot correctly complete the thought process.

The Davis method is designed to turn off disorientation and set up a fixed “point of orientation” to counter it. Thus, a person’s attention and imagination is focused on creating realistic images in accordance with the words written on paper.

This approach in most cases helps to control dyslexia, regardless of the age of the person with the pathology. The methodology includes a set of measures that can be divided into 8 stages. Let's take a closer look at each of them.

Diagnosis of dyslexia

If symptoms of dyslexia appear, you should contact a speech therapist. The specialist will examine the child and draw up a profile that includes the level of correct formation of spoken and written speech, reading, memory, attention and thinking.

The initial stage of a speech therapist’s work is collecting information about the formation of the child’s personality and life activity. The specialist examines the child’s articulatory apparatus, his speech and manual motor skills, and evaluates the student’s progress in reading and the Russian language.

Diagnosis of spoken speech occurs by assessing the pronunciation of phonemes, the construction of syllables, and the ability to construct sentences and texts.

To diagnose written speech, the speech therapist gives the student the following tasks:

• rewrite part of the text;
• write a text from dictation;
• write a personal letter.

By testing children's reading aloud and silently, the specialist evaluates speed, accuracy, reading method, comprehension of what they read, and takes into account specific defects.

When studying dyslexia, it is necessary to find out the degree of development of visual perception, the ability to analyze and synthesize, and optical orientation in space.

If necessary, speech diagnostics is supplemented by medical examinations, including consultation with doctors: a neurologist and an ophthalmologist. A neurologist can prescribe an EEG, echoEG, and an ophthalmologist conducts ophthalmological examinations.

Assessing Perceptual Ability

The first step is to identify the most vulnerable area of ​​dyslexia. For example, children often worry about ridicule from peers or low self-esteem. It is extremely important to identify the psychological consequences of pathology and carry out competent corrective work with them. Only after this the specialist reveals the degree of difficulties with perception.

Exercise. The child is asked to imagine a certain object on his own palm. To help a dyslexic person create a holistic image, the specialist asks leading questions: “What color is the object? What is its shape? Size? Weight?”, and also offers to change the parameters of an imaginary thing, increase or decrease it, transfer it to the other hand, etc.

The practice is aimed at using the so-called “mental eye”, which allows you to build a realistic model of the surrounding world in your imagination. When a dyslexic can easily perform this exercise, you can move on to the next stage of correction.

How can you help at home?

Home correction consists of several important points.

Development of phonemic awareness

This is the ability to perceive the sound composition of a word. You need to purchase (or make yourself) cards with all the letters and play “words” with your child as often as possible. The mother pronounces the word, and the child tries to form it out of letters. The game needs to be immediate and lively. For example, collect the name of an animal that was seen at the zoo, or a cartoon character. It is advisable to master words gradually, 1 or 2 per day. If you do this constantly, your baby's vocabulary and ability to read will improve over and over again.

The concept of grammar and semantics

Grammar is the change of words in a sentence, their consistency (yellow leaf, orange carrot).

Semantics - recognizing the semantic meaning of a word (it is raining, although the natural phenomenon has no legs).

The best exercises are listening to fairy tales at a slow pace, when all words and expressions are pronounced clearly, legibly, and emphasized by intonation. The child will inevitably imitate what he hears. Any word that causes confusion or misunderstanding should be explained in detail.

Increasing vocabulary

A child’s thinking is always concrete. He cannot talk about what he has not seen and “tested.” Therefore, you need to increase your vocabulary by showing objects and concepts and talking about them. You need to tell in as much detail as possible. So, using the example of a simple pan, you can talk about metal, circle, pattern, volume.

Articulation exercises

There are many tutorials on the Internet and bookstores on the topic of fun articulation. You can practice according to any publication, the exercises are the same type - hamster (puff out your cheeks), smile, donut, proboscis and the like. It’s better to turn any activity into a game. It is better to start exercises with a speech therapy massage, which “warms up” the muscles of the cheeks and tongue. The duration of the lesson is no more than 5 minutes, otherwise the child will lose interest.

The joint work of specialists and parents always improves the situation and contributes to the formation of correct and clear speech in the child. Take care of your baby’s successful future, sign up for a consultation with a speech therapist right now!

Switching

To obtain accurate images in the imagination of a dyslexic, it is necessary to teach him to turn off the disorientation that occurs every time he begins to create images that do not coincide with the prescribed information. To do this, Davis proposes creating an “orientation point” - a certain space in which a person mentally fixes vision and consciousness.

Exercise. The dyslexic is asked to imagine a straight line that extends from an object presented on the palm, passes through the tip of the nose and exits through the back of the head. The line ends approximately 20 cm above the occipital part - this is where the “orientation point” is located. Otherwise, the child can be asked to imagine that his consciousness is transferred to the person standing behind him.

Once the image of the “orientation point” is fixed in the dyslexic’s head, the need for detailed visualization of the line emerging from the object will disappear. In turn, the child will be able to control disorientation and receive the image in the form in which other people see it.

Basics of the Davis correction method

Some dyslexics find that they absolutely cannot learn to read. As adults, they still struggle with sounds and letters, putting them together to decipher words. They cannot remember the characters or combination of characters. The words they know don't look familiar on the page. Their word recognition ability is typically rated below third-grade level, even though they may have worked on reading for years.

Other people can read words relatively well. When they read aloud, everything sounds clear. But these students discover that they do not understand what they are reading. They have to read the sentence several times to get any meaning out of it. They tend to have great difficulty writing and find the symbols of language very discouraging.

Both types of dyslexics experience the same humiliation and frustration. (Frustration is a deep, chronic feeling or state of insecurity, despondency and dissatisfaction, as a consequence of unfulfilled desires, internal conflicts or other unresolved problems). They are technically illiterate and limited in their freedom to make the written word work for them.

An excerpt from their book “The Gift of Dyslexia” by R. Davis:

“In 1983, the parents of a student with dyslexia in our school program took him to the Ron Davis Research Center. This was our first acquaintance with a truly unique program. When the student returned to school, he felt “in heaven” with his success. He claimed that for the first time he could concentrate and focus on completing a task to completion.

I immediately asked him why it changed him so much. “I can’t tell you, Dr. Smith,” he replied. “It might make you sick. Only people with dyslexia can do this. It makes other people sick." I now understand that he was referring to the Orientation Guidance program he completed and the side effect of nausea that sometimes causes disorientation in non-dyslexics.”

Davis's concept, called "orientation ," is most easily understood by educators and psychologists as "attention . “Providing guidance for orientation control” provides the client with a stable state and reference point for focusing attention. This is important to prevent disorientation and confusion when working with symbols for good reading, writing, spelling, speaking and calculations. There is a strong visual stabilization that promotes focus and creates the feeling of “control” that most clients report. Gaining control and responsibility for your learning system is essential to learning, especially when learning something as complex as reading.

The essence of the technique: to help the child master the mechanism of “turning off” disorientation, by establishing the so-called “orientation point”, from which, due to his rich imagination, he will be able to see the world around him without distortion. This system helps the child master the most difficult to perceive two-dimensional printed words and symbols, and obtain their figurative embodiment in his imagination, thereby eliminating unnecessary gaps in perception.

The basic technique consists of several procedures, which can be divided into the following components:

Assessment of perceptual ability. Interview. Personal Abilities Questionnaire

Purpose: This is an initial procedure to determine whether the Davis Dyslexia Method is suitable for resolving problems and achieving goals in a given case. In which particular area of ​​difficulty the child wants to improve, as well as to determine which method will best suit the needs of a given client. Many parents are surprised when they learn that it is much more important for their child to overcome difficulties in communication or the ability to make friends, than reading or literacy in school. By applying techniques, you can help him eliminate obstacles in both industries. We use this assessment for children and adults. We do not usually do this assessment for children under the age of seven because it is usually only at this age that dyslexia begins to manifest itself.

Procedure Orientation/Adjustment Consultation

The main problem of a child with dyslexia is a state of disorientation i.e. distorted perception.

Goal: To teach the client to control and turn off distortions in perception, to quickly restore accurate perception. Teach the client, in a state of accurate perception, to detect sources of confusion (words, symbols, sounds, etc.).

The dyslexic begins to experience the difference between the perceptions obtained in a state of orientation and disorientation and gains the ability to control his disorientation, that is, to consciously turn it on or off. This control also raises the threshold for confusion.

Next, we artificially create the prerequisites for recognizing the moment when disorientation appears. It is very easy to see that other people are disoriented; seeing that you yourself are disoriented is incredibly difficult. However, a dyslexic must detect signs of confusion in himself in order to fully control it. We monitor disorientation while a dyslexic performs tasks known to induce confusion. Gradually he himself will begin to notice the false perceptions that accompany all types of disorientation.

Discharge.

People suffering from dyslexia experience constant high stress and, as a result, fatigue.

Goal: to teach the client to achieve and maintain a state of relaxation in order to reduce stress or anxiety, relieve tension, as well as headaches that arise as a result of staying focused. This procedure may also raise the level of the confusion threshold and improve the effectiveness of orientation and scale control.

Energy scale.

The concept of an energy scale is included in the program to provide the client with control over his sense of speed, time, and ability to assess energy level and potential. This helps the client function “normally” in relation to other people.

Fine-tune orientation.

Goal: find your optimal orientation point. Give the client the opportunity to see, feel, and learn that balance can be used as a means to induce a state of orientation. Teach the client to always determine his exact orientation.

Exercises with KUSH balls

Purpose: exercises to eliminate problems associated with coordination of movements (dyspraxia), i.e. bring the kinesthetic sense into harmony with optimal orientation. Strengthen the use of optimal orientation, develop coordination and sense of timing. With these exercises, we force the opening of nerve pathways that were previously blocked, and we also bring kinesthetic and visual perception together.

Mastering symbols.

With disorientation and false sensory perceptions under control, there is another factor worth considering: the initial confusion that begins the chain of factors.

Disorientation is caused by encountering an unrecognized symbol/word sufficient to exceed the threshold of confusion.

Remove the confusion from the symbol/word and disorientation will not appear.

This can happen if the dyslexic controls the disorientation. The ability to turn off disorientation allows the dyslexic to accurately and adequately perceive the symbol and eliminate confusion.

Three important factors influencing the character recognition process:

1. Knowing what the symbol/words look like.
2. Knowing what he/it sounds like.
3. Complete knowledge about the meaning or concept of a symbol/word.

The absence of any of these factors, especially a mental image or concept of its meaning, can cause confusion and lead to disorientation. This is because dyslexics think primarily in conceptual forms and images, rather than in the sound shells of words.

If all three factors are met in relation to a particular symbol, the likelihood of confusion is reduced to zero, and the appearance of disorientation is no longer provoked.

Symbol mastery is an extremely effective method for resolving confusion caused by symbols and preventing disorientation, although it may seem time consuming at first.

Dyslexics often know what a word sounds or looks like, but not its meaning. What they lack is a nonverbal conceptualization of the meaning or concept of the word with which to think. This process allows them to create that "missing link" both mentally and physically, and addresses the cause of dyslexia symptoms.

Three steps to easy reading.

These simple exercises were designed to teach those who cannot read the basic skills needed to read fluently and comprehend what they read.

1. Teach the student to move his gaze from left to right (using the “creeping line” principle)
2. Help the student learn to recognize groups of letters as words.
3. Reading comprehension. Acquiring the client’s ability to combine imaginative thinking with the reading process.

Discharging and checking

When a dyslexic gets into a state of disorientation, the process of creating a “point of orientation” and maintaining it for a long time takes a lot of effort. Many people begin to feel headaches or even feel excessive muscle tension in the neck. In order not to lose control of the “mental eye” and get rid of discomfort, it is necessary to discharge.

Exercise. A dyslexic person is encouraged to use their imagination to create a feeling of calm and relaxation that spreads not only throughout the body, but also reaches an “orientation point.”

With constant training, neck tension and headaches will go away very quickly. After this exercise, you need to make sure that the mind's eye is at the same fixed point. To do this, the dyslexic simply needs to point his finger at the place where his “orientation point” is located. If the point is determined correctly, the test can be considered successful. If not, you should re-place it in the correct place. It is necessary to move on to the next stage after a person has mastered the skills of discharge and verification.

Treatment and correction of ADHD and dyslexia, as well as dysgraphia at the Medis clinic

Inattention, impulsiveness, hyperactivity - these are the manifestations of this type of disorder that are observed in children. There is a high probability that such a disorder will be inherent in a person in the process of growing up; in 30-70% of cases this is exactly what happens if in childhood this problem is not addressed to a specialist and treatment is not carried out in a timely manner. Speaking about ways to eliminate attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, it is worth noting that each specialist dealing with this problem selects his own method and selects the appropriate tools, performing ADHD treatment individually for each patient. This is justified by the fact that there is no method that is equally effective for all people, and in order to effectively treat ADHD, it is necessary to take into account a number of individual factors. In their practice of eliminating attention deficit disorder, the clinic’s specialists use:

• The Gift of Dyslexia is the technique of the great American dyslexia specialist, which allows the child and adult to focus, study and work successfully;
• a drug method that can be used as an additional correction of ADHD;
• behavioral therapy, which helps a person develop skills for correct behavior in society.

The extensive experience of doctors and medical methodologists, their professionalism, knowledge of various methods for diagnosing and treating neurological-behavioral disorders, allows us to guarantee clients of the clinic successful relief from problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, as well as dyslexia and dysgraphia. At the same time, Ritalin and other psychotropic drugs are strictly not used, which are so popular in the “West”, but lead to additional problems.

Settings

At the beginning of therapy, the “orientation point” of a dyslexic person is quite unstable, so it is very important to teach how to accurately determine its location. Only the ability to accurately adjust the optimal point will allow you to control disorientation and manage dyslexia in general.

To adjust the location of the point, you need to mentally move the "mental eye" around the intended "orientation point." In this way, the child will be able to identify the optimal arrangement of these concepts. Having found the necessary point, the dyslexic should fix it using an imaginary anchor.

Coordination

Children with dyslexia have difficulty coordinating their movements and correctly identifying their left and right sides. To get rid of clumsiness and confusion, special exercises that must be performed after successfully identifying and tuning the “mental eye” will help.

Exercise. The child stands on one leg and balances on it, maintaining balance. Having established balance, he needs to catch small balls, doing this alternately with each hand, and then with both at the same time. At the next stage, the ball is thrown with a slight deviation in order to complicate the task and provoke the dyslexic to go beyond the established axis of balance.

Medical intervention

Since dyslexia is associated with immaturity of brain structures, the doctor may prescribe vitamins and nootropic drugs that improve the function of nervous tissue. Drug therapy is always individual, taking into account the speed of development of the baby.

A promising treatment method is micropolarization (TCMP). This method has been tested over a long period of time (about 30 years) and is characterized by high therapeutic effectiveness.

Micropolarization is the effect of a weak (up to 1 mA) electric current on certain areas of the brain. An EEG cap (testile) is placed on the child’s head, and positive and negative electrodes wrapped in a damp cloth are placed under it. The current used is unipolar (flows from plus to minus, from anode to cathode). Under the influence of current, directional polarization of cell membranes occurs, and their enhanced development begins.

The child does not feel anything during the procedure. The full effect of treatment unfolds within 2 to 6 months.

It is advisable that a specialist who develops fine motor skills work with the child at the same time.

Mastering symbols

The imagination of dyslexics is only capable of perceiving three-dimensional three-dimensional images. In turn, the reading process is based on understanding printed two-dimensional symbols, which makes learning insurmountably difficult for these children.

Exercise. The child is invited to create letters, numbers and other written characters from plasticine or clay. After this, it is necessary to compare the three-dimensional figure with its printed counterpart, determine its location in the alphabet or number order. It is necessary to move on to working with the next sign after the dyslexic has consolidated the previous symbol in his mind, can give examples with it, and understands the purpose of its use.

Exercises to correct dyslexia

Learning to write is the most difficult period of schooling. The number of schoolchildren making multiple specific mistakes is constantly increasing. Adults often associate these mistakes with absent-mindedness.

Special work to overcome dyslexia is based on performing special exercises aimed at developing all aspects of speech. In addition, exercises affect the development of fine motor skills, mental processes, and also normalize the emotional-volitional sphere. They form the rudiments for the correct development of written speech, increase the level of general development, enrich the vocabulary, and improve the sense of language.

Exercises to develop phonemic processes

Exercises train phonemic hearing, perception, and memory. They develop the ability to isolate a given phoneme from a word, determine their number in words, and the skill of selecting words with a given number of phonemes.

Differentiate oppositional voiced and voiceless, soft and hard consonant sounds. Discrimination is carried out according to the following algorithm: listen, pronounce, distinguish, write down. At the stage of pronouncing syllables, you need to connect a kinesthetic analyzer, for example: raise your hand for voiced phonemes, and lower your hand for voiceless phonemes.

Determine the sonority of sounds. After mastering the differences in the articulation of voiced and voiceless phonemes, tablets with their symbols are prepared. On one you need to draw a triangle, on the other you need to draw a circle. The child is asked to listen to the words, determine what sound they begin with, and pick up the appropriate card. After oral practice, words are written either in two columns, or only with voiceless consonants, or only with voiced consonants.

Name a word that is different from the others. Discrimination by ear of phonemes that are similar in acoustic parameters, exact repetition of all words with them.

Ball games. They are aimed at the formation of phonemic processes, general and fine motor skills, spatial orientation, regulation of purposeful movements, improvement of accuracy and dexterity. Thanks to them, attention is activated and the behavioral sphere is normalized:

1. “I know a lot of words.” The child needs to pronounce several words on a specific topic or starting with a specific sound; when pronouncing each word, you can use a ball, knocking it on the floor when pronouncing.
2. "Know-it-all." The adult asks a question, passing the ball to the child. The child catches the ball and answers the question with an extended phrase. All words in the answer begin with one specific sound.
3. "Accountant". An adult says a word and throws a ball. The child needs to catch the ball, count the number of sounds in the word and say a word containing the same number of phonemes by throwing the ball back.

Exercises for the development of the speech apparatus and voice

Exercises that develop articulatory clarity, breathing, and voice affect the success of mastering school material. They are based on pronouncing tongue twisters, rhythmic texts, poems, imply the exact repetition of what was heard, and allow you to feel the speech rhythm and tempo.

Insufficient activity of the articulatory organs, accuracy in performing given patterns, and impaired breathing lead to learning difficulties. Work on the development of the speech apparatus contains articulatory and breathing exercises. Producing correct exhalation optimizes the functioning of the circulatory system and has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the entire body.

Smooth breathing allows you to relax and concentrate. The breathing rhythm is the only rhythm of the body that a person is able to consciously control and actively regulate. Breathing exercises can be performed at any stage of the lesson. These include playing wind musical instruments, blowing soap bubbles, and imitating natural processes: sucking, yawning, coughing.

A special place in the development of articulatory organs belongs to the work on tongue twisters. It solves many problems: improving phonemic processes, clarifying the articulatory structure of phonemes, practicing articulatory clarity, long, correct exhalation, memory development, eliminating the fear of pronouncing complex words, ensuring a positive psychological attitude. It allows you to catch speech rhythm, tempo, and helps increase the speed of both oral and written speech.

Exercises to develop fine motor skills

Exercises that develop hand motor skills can improve the emotional state, develop memory and speech. To develop fine motor skills, you can use massage, finger exercises, games, shading, modeling, and drawing. Origami is also suitable:

Exercises to improve visual perception

Performing proofreading tests is well suited for developing work on visual processes. They are necessary to correct visual attention, perception, and create a visual image of a letter.

• "Fly". In the center of the square, divided into cells, a fly is depicted. The adult dictates the path of its movement, for example, 2 cells to the right, 3 cells down, etc. First, the child moves his finger along the cells, then mentally imagines its movement. At the final stage, the child, with his eyes closed, must imagine the path and say in which cell he needs to stop.
• "Upside down". The sheet with printed text unfolds several degrees. The child must read the text without turning his head.
• “Find out from the half letter.” The upper or lower half of the line is covered with a white sheet of paper or part of the line is sealed, the child must read the sentence. This test forms a visual image of letters, the ability to quickly read one or several words at the same time.
• "Lame text." The child is asked to read sentences that are printed in two fonts. Explain their meaning. Note the specifics of writing. Read what is shown in printed font and what is in italics. Copy words printed in the same font. Read the resulting sentence.

Sequential reading

Dyslexics perceive written information not letter by letter, but in a single, holistic way. When studying a word, such a child guesses what object or phenomenon it refers to. It is necessary to develop the skill of sequential reading, highlighting individual syllables and letters. Comprehension of the information read is not taken into account at the initial stage.

Exercise. Choose the simplest possible book and begin reading sequentially letter by letter and syllable. It is important to take breaks and check that the “orientation point” is located correctly.

The next step is to repeat the word read letter by letter and syllable, as well as explain its meaning. In the future, you should develop an understanding of not only individual words, but also entire sentences.

Causes and symptoms of dyslexia

There is still no general consensus about the causes of dyslexia in our time. Foreign speech therapists in their works describe the theory of genetic inheritance of reading and writing problems in people with a more active right hemisphere. Some scientists develop the idea that these problems appear in schoolchildren who write with their left hand.

Many researchers who carefully study dyslexia in primary schoolchildren point to the effects of pathological disorders that lead to minor brain dysfunction:

• brain deformation during childbirth;
• heart disease and maternal anemia during pregnancy;
• congenital heart defect of the newborn;
• placental insufficiency;
• impaired development of the umbilical cord;
• early placental abruption;
• difficult childbirth;
• suffocation of a newborn entwined in the umbilical cord.

In the process of child development, psychospeech development delay (PSRD) may occur, which leads to dyslexia with such damage:

• infectious diseases of the central nervous system;
• head injury;
• childhood diseases: chickenpox, polio, rubella;
• debilitating infections.

With alalia, dysarthria and aphasia, dyslexia is provoked by damage to certain brain areas. Children with mental retardation, serious speech defects, cerebral palsy, and mental retardation are susceptible to dyslexia.

The main social causes of dyslexia:

• lack of communication;
• child's privacy;
• neglect on the part of teachers and educators;
• negative communication environment;
• bilingualism (bilingualism);
• early education;
• fast pace of learning.

The beginning of dyslexia in schoolchildren is unformed spoken speech.

Symptoms

Let us describe the symptoms by type of dyslexia:

• Spoken speech dyslexia. Children make mistakes when pronouncing phonemes, misunderstand the meaning and use of words, and have a small vocabulary. They cannot correctly compose a sentence and connect words in it.
• Phonemic dyslexia. Characterized by the substitution and mixing of phonemes that are similar in articulation or acoustics. In other circumstances, words are replaced by changing, adding, or omitting phonemes and syllables.
• Semantic dyslexia. It is characterized by impaired comprehension of an accurately read text or word. A problematic change occurs during syllable and cursor reading.
• Agrammatic dyslexia. Incorrect reading of endings in words of all parts of speech, confusion in the correct construction of words in the required number and gender. Agrammatisms are present in spoken and written speech.
• Mnestic dyslexia. It manifests itself as impaired optical perception and pronunciation of letters. It is difficult for the student to remember the letters, so he replaces and mixes them up. A study of auditory and speech memory in schoolchildren with this problem showed that children cannot repeat a series of 4 sounds or words or analyze them.
• Optical dyslexia. It manifests itself in the fact that the student confuses and changes letters that are similar in appearance. This anomaly occurs if, when reading a text, a child jumps from one line to the second. Sometimes this can manifest itself as mirror type reading - the student reads from right to left.
• Tactile dyslexia. Blind people often make mistakes and replace letters when reading Braille. Students with these problems, while reading, move from one row to the next, miss letters and phrases, distort the semantic meaning of what they read, and are prone to chaotic hand waving.

Mechanism of manifestation of the disorder

The reading process is characterized by the involvement of optical, auditory and motor speech analyzers.

Reading stages:

1. Optical perception, recognition and differentiation of letters.
2. Correlation of letters with phonemes.
3. Addition of phonemes into syllables.
4. Combining syllables into a whole word.
5. Grouping words into a sentence.
6. Comprehension of the material read.

If these processes are disrupted, then, according to psycholinguistics, these are signs of dyslexia.

Psychologists consider dyslexia as a consequence of a delay in the development of functions in the fetus that ensure the reading process.

Dyslexic disorders are accompanied by underdevelopment of optical vision, poor orientation in space, poor perception of sound, altered construction of correct speech, improper visual and auditory coordination, poor concentration, weak will, and lack of control of emotions.