Alistair J. Howitt-Marshall is an educational and developmental psychologist with extensive experience working in special needs education, offender rehabilitation, and private practice. He has a background in psychology, sociology, and educational psychology. He discusses dyslexia, including definitions, diagnostic criteria, cognitive characteristics, behavioral issues, screening tools, and rights under the Disability Standards for Education.
Acronyms SPELD - Specific Learning Disabilities Association ALDA -
The principal difference between ‘dyslexia’ and ‘specific learning difficulty’ is that dyslexia presupposes the existence of certain cognitive deficits that are believed to underpin the condition. Such cognitive deficits (e.g. in phonological processing, memory, visual processing, or motor co-ordination) are believed to be either inherited or due to neurological anomalies which have arisen before (or during) birth or in early childhood.
1). Phonological processing abilities , which affects the acquisition of phonic skills in reading and spelling so that unfamiliar words are frequently misread. 2). Working memory abilities affect the ability to retain letter-sound associations (acquisition of phonics), processing errors of mental lexicon (incorrect words used), and delays in access to mental lexicon (slow down the rate of reading), difficulty in retaining the meaning of text, difficulty sequencing and organising written information, disjointed written because the individual loses track. 3). Automatising skills , which results in a high degree of mental effort when carrying out skilled and unfamiliar tasks. Dyslexics can ’t concentrate on both the mechanics (spelling, grammar, punctuation) and the content of written work, they do not read for meaning. Difficulty with listening and taking notes at the same time. 4). Visual processing , susceptibility to visual discomfort strong visual contrast and rapid flicker which can be irritating. Use of coloured overlays or filters (e.g. by use of acetate sheets or tinted lenses) can be beneficial in alleviating the symptoms of visual discomfort in a fair proportion of cases.
There are a number of other standarised cognitive assessments, but the WISC-IV and SB5 are the industry GOLD standard. Other achievement assessment include the NEALE Analysis of Reading Ability, Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) and South Australian Spelling Test.
The discrepancy method implies that dyslexia can only be identified when there is a significant discrepancy between intelligence and attainment and when all other potential causes of reading disability are excluded. Unfortunately, this has unwittingly had the effect of making dyslexia a condition observed mainly in bright, middle-class children, which has in turn given cause for some professional disparagement of the condition over many years. It also results in diagnosis being delayed until a ‘significant’ discrepancy between intelligence and attainment can be demonstrated.
I like this definition because it acknowledges that people with dyslexia have extraordinary strengths, as well as the obvious weaknesses.