Understanding Dyslexia: Challenges and Perspectives

This assignment explores the challenges faced by individuals with dyslexia and provides insights into their perspectives. It discusses the importance of creating an inclusive learning environment for dyslexic children. The assignment also highlights the need for educators to adapt flexible teaching methods that cater to the unique learning needs of dyslexic students.

Running head: DYSLEXIA
DYSLEXIA
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Introduction:
According to a report published by the Australian Dyslexia Association (2019), it has
been mentioned that a total of 10% of the Australian population suffers from Dyslexia. In other
words, mild to severe Dyslexia is said to affect 1 out of every 5 children in Australia (Australian
Dyslexia Association, 2019). Dyslexia is Australia is treated as a condition of disability that
interferes with the ability of individuals to read, write or spell with convenience (Shaywitz &
Shaywitz, 2017). Within the Australian territory the terms LD (learning difficulty) or SLD
(specific learning difficulty) are invariably used to refer to the challenges faced by Dyslexic
children in the learning process. This assignment intends to present an empathy statement based
upon the video. In addition to this, the second part of the assignment would comprise of a
reflection about Dyslexia and the learning environment.
Empathy:
The term dyslexia is defined as a learning disorder that includes difficulties while reading
due to issues while identifying speech sounds as well as learning how relating with letter and
words is possible. Dyslexia is also associated with reading disabilities since it affects the area of
human brain which is associated with processing language. Individuals suffering from dyslexia
are found to possess normal intelligence as well as vision. Majority of the children suffering
from dyslexia possess the potential to gain success in education if proper tutoring is provided to
them along specialized education program. Along with the academic support, emotional support
from family, friends, educators as well as the society also plays crucial part when it comes to
dealing with Dyslexia. In this report, I will reflect on the video, ‘Reflections of Dyslexia’ in
order to understand the perspective of people suffering from the evil disease.

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The story of each of the interviewees discussed in the video not only helped me to
understand their perspective but also helped me to discard all of my prejudice associated with it.
The video contains experiences associated with dyslexia faced by four adults of different age
range, namely, Rick, Jane, Ross and Gemma. All the participants have discussed their emotional
issues behind dyslexia and how the disease has influenced their behavior, opportunities as well
as success. The stories shared by the interviewees helped me to review my opinion about
learning disabilities. For instance, before watching the video I had the assumption that if a
individual is suffering from dyslexia, he or she can automatically be able to understand the issue
in the initial stage. However, after going through a story of Rick who stated that he was able to
detect the issue after his son was detected with dyslexia, this misconception of mine got
discarded. I was also not aware of the fact that dyslexia gets genetically transferred through
generations. Rick’s story of life did really enhance my knowledge about dyslexia (Messurier,
2012). One of the interviewees, Gemma was suffering from complex learning as well as social
difficulties resulting due to dyslexia. Her story was really saddening since she has been expelled
from school several times due to the problem she was suffering. As per my opinion, it is highly
crucial to motivate students suffering from dyslexia to read and write by their own instead of
throwing them out of the school. Schools possess the responsibility to eliminate the evil disease.
Unethical rustications from school often lead to depression and social isolation (Tamboer et al.,
2016). Prolonged depression, anxiety and social isolation possess the potential to result in
physiological issues in students.
I also learned that people suffering from dyslexia faces several social issues in their day
to day life. This video made me aware of the frequent adverse experiences that are being faced
by people with dyslexia. It enables me to understand how difficult it is for an individual with

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dyslexia to compete with their peers when it comes to academic activities like reading and
writing.
The video also helped me to gain a clear idea of how cans an individual deal with
dyslexia in an effective way. For intake, according to Ross, it is highly crucial for an individual
to detect that he or she is suffering from dyslexia. Detecting the issue makes it a lot easier to deal
with the same (Cavalli et al., 2017). Jane stated that, it is also important to find out what are the
activities an individual suffering from dyslexia is good at. This helps the person to rebuild his or
her self esteem that often get affected due to the disease (Tamboer & Vorst, 2015) . When it
comes to rick, he decided to go for the subjects which on involve too much reading or writing
activities. Along with this, it is also crucial for educating teachers so that they can deal with
students suffering from dyslexia in an effective way.
Finally it can be concluded that the video “reflection of dyslexia’ ha completely changed
some of my perspective about people suffering from dyslexia. I have developed better
understanding of the issue. Not only this, I also understood the importance of enhancing the
awareness of the people suffering from dyslexia so that they can develop more supporting
attitude towards individuals suffering from the evil disease.
Reflection:
My professional role within the educational environment would in future be that of a
psychologist, who is involved within the education system as an allied professional. Dyslexia is a
difficult condition that makes reading, writing as well as other language based skills extremely
difficult. However, it is important to understand that Dyslexia does not affect the general
intelligence level of the children. The condition is characterized by the child having to

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experience social challenges such as inability of the child to perceive humor or sarcasm,
experiencing difficulty in finding the correct words and inability of the child to understand social
expressions. In addition to this, Dyslexia makes it difficult for the child to remember things
accurately or carry out social interaction. On the basis of my learning experience, I have realized
that it is important to foster an inclusive environment for the children suffering from Dyslexia.
Dyslexic children are often introverted and tend to avoid social interaction for the fear of being
judged or bullied by normal peers. I believe that the learning environment should not contain
barriers or should not comprise of activities that can differentiate between the skills and abilities
of the normal children and the Dyslexic children. It is important to include activities that can
support the learning needs of the Dyslexic children and at the same time improve their social
interaction level and confidence level.
As stated by Eden et al. (2016). Dyslexia is presently defined as a learning disability
which is neurobiological in origin and is marked by difficulties in reading, comprehending,
decoding and poor spelling ability. The mentioned difficulties can be said to arise from a deficit
in the phonological component of the language which is unexpected in comparison to other
cognitive abilities (Eden et al., 2016). On the basis of the value of definition, it is important that
educators involve in providing effective classroom instruction (Frith, 2017). This would
significantly reduce problems related to reading and comprehension which if not paid attention
to leads to the development of weaker conceptual understanding and poor vocabulary.
Effective teaching and an inclusive curriculum is an important tool that directs the
learning outcome of the Dyslexic children within an educational institution (Dyslexiaida.org,
2019). The policy and practice of effective teaching while dealing with Dyslexic children should
lay emphasis on the special educational needs of the child and focus on the holistic development

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of the child, considering the strength and weaknesses of the child (Dyslexiaida.org, 2019).
Educators dealing with Dyslexic children must pay attention to the talents and abilities of a
Dyslexic child such as artistic skills or observation power. Educators must adapt a flexible
approach to support the learning needs of the dyslexic children and make use of a teaching
method that could be based upon the child’s discovered strengths (Ellis, 2016). It is important for
the educators to realize that the conventional teaching methods would not support the different
learning needs of the children.
I believe that that after completing the two modules, my ability to reflect on the topic has
significantly improved. I have developed the skill set to introspect and understand the different
learning need of children with a disorder such as Dyslexia. I have understood the learning
challenges experienced by the special children and the need for the creation of an optimal
learning environment to support the needs of the children.
Conclusion:
Therefore, to conclude, it can be mentioned that Dyslexic children experience
challenging learning difficulties that lower their self-esteem and confidence. The adaption of a
strength based and flexible learning approach that could support the special learning needs of the
Dyslexic children could ideally help in promoting positive development.

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References:
Australian Dyslexia Association (2019). Dyslexia in Australia. [online]
https://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/dyslexia-in-australia/. Available at:
https://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/dyslexia-in-australia/ [Accessed 24 Mar. 2019].
Dyslexiaida.org (2019). Do We Need a New Definition of Dyslexia? – International Dyslexia
Association. [online] Dyslexiaida.org. Available at: https://dyslexiaida.org/do-we-need-a-
new-definition-of-dyslexia/ [Accessed 24 Mar. 2019].
Eden, G. F., Olulade, O. A., Evans, T. M., Krafnick, A. J., & Alkire, D. R. (2016).
Developmental dyslexia. In Neurobiology of Language (pp. 815-826). Academic
Press.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407794-2.00065-1
Ellis, A. W. (2016). Reading, writing and dyslexia (classic edition): a cognitive analysis.
Psychology Press.p. 99. ISBN: 9781317365785
Frith, U. (2017). Beneath the surface of developmental dyslexia. In Surface dyslexia (pp. 301-
330). Routledge.P.25-30. Retrieved From:
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351609784/chapters/10.4324/978131510834
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Shaywitz, B. A., & Shaywitz, S. E. (2017). Dyslexia. In Handbook of child language
disorders (pp. 148-166). Psychology Press.P.10-12. Retrieved From:
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315283524/chapters/10.4324/978131528353
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