Raising a child with dyslexia

Five-year-old Cleopatra Wambui appears no different from any other child her age. In fact, she is lively and jovial.

It is only when you talk to her that you realise she has a problem. Cleopatra takes longer than usual to respond when spoken to.

Her speech is not fully developed and she finds it hard to read books or any other written material.

According to her mother Margaret Gandi, Cleopatra’s birth was normal. “However, as she grew older, I noticed that she drooled a lot,” Margaret says.

By the time Cleo, as she is fondly called, hit 18 months, she was yet to utter a word. Two years later, she had shown no improvement.

You see, Cleopatra suffered from dyslexia, and needed to be taught speech, attention and motor skills.

According to Wanjiru Mbuthia, a psychologist at Karen Hospital, dyslexia is a disorder that makes learning difficult.

“Despite straight classroom experience, a child may fail to attain any language skills, be unable to read, write, and spell appropriately.

Sometimes, this may involve an inability to speak well. It is the most common learning disability in children and persists throughout life,” adds Wanjiru.

Ten-year-old Johnstone Alembi also suffers from dyslexia.  Despite going through the normal child training in reading and writing, Alembi cannot put words together on paper, or read as well as his agemates do.

According to his mother, Alembi’s father also has dyslexia.

Causes

While heredity is a factor in some cases of dyslexia, Wanjiru notes that the impairment is caused by the brain’s inability to “translate images received from the eyes or ears into an understandable language.”

As a result, the child will portray average intelligence and low learning capacity.

“It, however, does not result from vision or hearing problems, and is not due to mental retardation, brain damage or a lack of knowledge.”

This is what Cleo’s mother believes: “I knew that my daughter could make progress and was not permanently to be hindered by dyslexia.”

She enrolled her daughter at the Kenya Centre for Community Learning (KCCL).

Signs and Symptoms

Commonly, a child may have difficulty remembering or understanding what he hears. Recalling sequences of things or more than one command at a time can be difficult.

Parts of words or parts of whole sentences may be missed, and words may fail to come out eloquently.

The wrong word or a similar word may be used instead. Your child may, for instance, wish to tell you something, but lack the words with which to tell you.

As a result, he or she may become withdrawn or begin to act strangely to draw your attention.

Wanjiru observes that “letter and number reversals in classroom are the most common warning sign.”

These tend to be common up to the ages of eight. However, if they do not ease off, then it would be well for the child to be tested for dyslexia.

Similarly, hardships in copying from the blackboard or a textbook may indicate that something is amiss.

The child may be disorganized, and may fail to have a solid memory of things learned, even if they involve her favourite topic.

This could extend to sports and games. “Difficulties with left and right are also common as the child struggles to establish dominance for either the left or right hand or leg,” adds Wanjiru.

A child may also show signs of low self-esteem and appear disinterested or lazy in school.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of dyslexia is normally done through testing. When a child with learning difficulties is submitted to testing, the exercise determines her ability in functional reading and compares it to her potential in reading.

“It further assesses how a child takes in and processes information and what she does with the information,” says Wanjiru.

“The main aim is to determine whether a child learns better by hearing information, looking at information, or doing something.”

This test also shows if a child performs better when allowed to give information, by saying something, or doing something with their hands.

Treatment

Treatment for dyslexia focuses on strengthening the child’s weaknesses while utilising the strengths. The child will need one-on-one assistance.

“Use reading approaches that require a child to hear, see, say, or do something. Methods such as the Slinger-land Method, the Orton-Gillingham Method, or Project Read are recommended,” advises Wanjiru.

The child should also be taught compensation and coping skills. “Attention should be given to optimum learning conditions and alternative avenues, computers for instance.”

However, the most important aspect of any treatment is attitude. The child will be influenced by the attitudes of those around him or her.

In addition, dyslexia should not become an excuse for a child to avoid schoolwork. Nonetheless, schoolwork should be broken down into appropriate chunks, with breaks for the child to refresh.

Types of dyslexia

Dyslexia may come in different forms, including:

Trauma dyslexia: This occurs following some form of brain damage or trauma, mainly in the area that controls reading and writing.

Visual dyslexia: It is characterised by letter and numeral reversal, and the inability to write symbols in the correct sequence.

Auditory dyslexia: This is where the sounds of letters or groups of letters may be jumbled or inaudible.

Primary dyslexia: It’s a dysfunction of the left side of the brain known as the cerebral cortex. It is not brain damage and may remain to adulthood. This condition is hereditary and is more common in boys than girls.

Secondary dyslexia: This is also known as developmental dyslexia and is mostly caused by hormonal deficiencies in the early stages of foetal development. It diminishes as the child grows and is more common in boys than girls.

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