Dyslexia is a topic that many writers (of fiction and non-fiction) struggle to write about. This struggle is often due to a lack of understanding of what dyslexia is. Fiction and non-fiction writers might both end up writing about a teacher who has a student with dyslexia so an understanding of the condition is very important in order to accurately portray the people or characters in one’s book.

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a learning disability where people often have difficulty reading and understanding what they read; this causes the individual to often read at a much slower speed (SNHU, n.d.). Currently, there is not an exact known cause of dyslexia, but there are known facts that contribute to the development of it. Pennington (1991) found that there is a genetic basis of dyslexia and that it tends to run in families. The main risk factors for dyslexia include family history, early speech delay, prematurity, low birth weight of less than 1500 g. Dyslexia cannot currently be seen using brain imaging technology so it is unknown if there are any brain development causes. However, research is currently ongoing in the hope of researchers being able to use brain imaging technology to be able to diagnose dyslexia. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for the condition either, but there are ways to help students to improve their reading abilities. 

Ways to have those with Dyslexia Improve Reading Skills

One aspect of dyslexia that writers need to know about is how to realistically have a character with dyslexia improve his or her reading skills. For non-fiction writers, this understanding would prove useful in providing background information.

Tunmer and Chapman (1996) found that those with dyslexia often struggle with the metacognitive aspects of learning; metacognitive is the awareness of one’s own thought processes. This can be addressed by taking the time to not just focus on teaching the required topics, but also teaching students about how learning takes place (Reid, n.d.). This can be done by using some metacognition strategies like visual imagery, self-interrogation, and webbing; these strategies could be done by the teacher, taught to the student, or done with the teacher and student. Visual imagery would have the student discuss what they comprehended from their reading and sketch images from the reading, self-interrogation could have the students ask and answer their own questions about what they know about the topic and expect to learn next, and webbing would have the teacher use concept maps to help the student follow the text (Reid, n.d.).

Hidden Positive Aspects

Those with dyslexia are often better at tasks where seeing the bigger picture is more important as they are able to scan their environment and notice differences much easier than those without dyslexia (Schneps, 2014). You can also introduce them to some learning strategies that can help improve their reading abilities.

References

Pennington, B.F. (1991).  Genetic and neurological influences on reading disability: An

overview. Reading and Writing 3, 191–201.

Reid, G. (n.d.). Dyslexia, metacognition and learning styles. Retrieved from

http://www.lbctnz.co.nz/sld/dyslexia/metacognition.html

Schneps, M. (2014). The advantages of dyslexia. Scientific

American. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-advantages-of-dyslexia

Siegel L. S. (2006). Perspectives on dyslexia. Paediatrics & child health, 11(9), 581–587.

doi:10.1093/pch/11.9.581

SNHU, (n.d.). Module Overview. Retrieved from

https://learn.snhu.edu/d2l/le/content/289180/viewContent/6421198/View

Tunmer, W.E. and Chapman, J. (1996) A Developmental Model of

Dyslexia- Can the Construct be Saved? Dyslexia 2 (3) 179-189.

Widell, V. (n.d.). Dyslexia  GIF. Retrieved from

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/12186441/This-website-lets-you-experience-what-it-is-like-to-be-dyslexic.html