Dyslexia or Language Based LD

What is a language-based learning disability or dyslexia?

A language-based learning disability, often known as dyslexia, is a problem in translating language into thought and thought into language. Dyslexia can cause difficulties in reading, writing, spelling, handwriting and sometimes mathematics. We suspect someone has a language-based disability when they are reading or writing at a level below what we would expect for someone with their level of intelligence, age and educational opportunities. Dyslexia runs in families. It is not due to a physical disability such as a visual or hearing problem.

Signs of a Language-based Disability

• Problems understanding what is read
• Lack of awareness of the sounds that make up words (phonemes)
• May have been slow to learn to speak as a child
• Difficulty spelling – may spell the same words differently in one document
• Trouble with the order of letters in words
• Difficulty with rhyming words
• When pronouncing words, may reverse sounds
• Problems with writing – with organizing and expressing ideas
• Problems with handwriting
• May have trouble understanding jokes or slang
• May confuse directions and left & right hands

What specific strategies can help?

• Direct instruction about how sounds and letters are related (phonemic awareness) – rhyming, identifying words that sound similar or different, isolating sounds in words, changing the beginning or ending sounds in words, clapping out the syllables in words
• Computer programs in phonemic awareness
• Listening to an audio recording while following the written word
• Instruction using several senses – seeing, hearing, touching, movement
• Breaking information into its smallest parts and teaching each part. As well, teach how the small parts fit into the big picture
• Studying word parts – root words, prefixes, suffixes, compound words, contractions (morphology)
• Studying word meanings – words with opposite meaning, similar meanings, several meanings (semantics)
• Direct instruction about sentence structure – (syntax)
• Use visualization when reading or writing – eg. paint a picture in words, ask them to close their eyes and imagine all the details of the scene and then write about it.¹
• Meaningful topics of study - writing letters to friends, job applications
• Integrating reading, writing, speaking and listening into all learning activities
• Providing a model or list of steps in a process – post on the wall& give a handout
• Allowing learners to do their projects in alternate forms – drama, video or audio recordings, oral presentations, drawings or demonstrations

1 Bell, N. Visualizaing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking. Paso Robles, California: Academy of Reading Publications, 1986.

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