Transcript Dyslexia By Shahram Hassan It's not easy having Dyslexia. Last week I went to a toga party as a goat. -- Unknown.

Dyslexia
By Shahram Hassan
It's not easy having Dyslexia. Last
week I went to a toga party as a
goat.
-- Unknown
What is Dyslexia?
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Dyslexia is originally a Greek word which means
“difficulty with words”
Dr. Rob Hicks from BBC, defines Dyslexia as “a
congenital and developmental condition that
causes neurological anomalies in the brain. It
includes a range of types of learning difficulties
where a person of normal intelligence has
persistent and significant problems with reading,
writing, spelling and sometimes mathematics
and musical notation.”
What is Dyslexia?
The International Dyslexia Institute defines
Dyslexia as:
A specific learning disability that is neurological
in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with
accurate and / or fluent word recognition and by
poor spelling and decoding abilities. These
difficulties typically result from a deficit in the
phonological component of language that is often
unexpected in relation to other cognitive
abilities and the provision of effective classroom
instruction. Secondary consequences may include
problems in reading comprehension and reduced
reading experience that can impede growth of
vocabulary and background knowledge.
A more informal explanation
Imagine all your skills levels as a bar graph, everyone skills
increase at a regular pace. But a dyslexic student
reading and writing skill would increase at a slower pace
compared to other skills, and to other people reading
and writing skills. So even though a dyslexic student
maybe be well accomplished in other fields, his/hers
reading and writing skills would probably be lower than
everyone else
Why is This important for Tutors?
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Dyslexic students would turn to peer tutoring for
help rather than from the instructors, which
would seem intimidating.
Some people with dyslexia may have not been
diagnosed with it and might be unaware of their
disability.
One in five children in the United States are
dyslexic so chances are you might meet a
dyslexic student.
Common Signs of Dyslexia for
College Students
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May read very slowly with many
inaccuracies.
Continues to spell incorrectly, frequently
spells the same word differently in a single
piece of writing.
May avoid reading and writing tasks.
May have trouble summarizing and
outlining.
Continued…
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May have trouble answering open-ended
questions on tests.
May have difficulty learning a foreign
language
May have an inadequate vocabulary.
May confuse similar words such as “b” and
“d” or “p” and “q”.
Common Signs of Dyslexia for
Adults
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May hide reading problems
May spell poorly; relies on others to
correct spelling.
Avoids writing; may not be able to write.
Often very competent in oral language.
Relies on memory; may have an excellent
memory.
Example Of Dyslexic Writing
Other Characteristic of People with
Dyslexia
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Innovative thinking
Excellent troubleshooting
Creativity
Lateral Thinking
Intuitive Problem Solving
Famous People Who Are Dyslexic
Facilities on De Anza for dyslexic
students
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The Educational Diagnostic Center is
geared to help students with learning
disabilities, like dyslexia.
The EDC has specifically trained
professionals, such as tutors, to help
students with learning disabilities
Educational Diagnostic Center
(EDC)
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Located on the De Anza campus, Learning
Center West Room 110.
Provides testing to determines different
disabilities.
Specialized tutoring and Examination
accommodation.
Provides registration assistance.
What if Your Tutee is Dyslexic?
If you feel that your tutee maybe dyslexic it
would be best to talk to their instructor
and give reasons for your assumption, and
see if the instructor agrees with you. Then
tell the instructor about the EDC and they
may be able to diagnose what learning
disability your tutee may have. Dyslexia is
a very frustrating disability especially if
you don’t know you have it, so what ever
you can do to help will be greatly
appreciated.
The End
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The British Broadcasting Corporation
www.bbc.co.uk
The International Dyslexia association
www.interdys.org
British Dyslexia Association
www.bdadyslexia.org.uk
Educational Diagnostic Center Website
www.deanza.edu/specialed/edc/