Reflections On Dyslexia Assignment 2022

Running head: REFLECTIONS ON DYSLEXIA
REFLECTIONS ON DYSLEXIA
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Introduction
Dyslexia can be defined as a specific learning disorder or disability which affects an
individual’s capability of manipulating and decoding when reading and writing in spite of
having normal intelligence. The problem affects different people at varying degrees. Most
often, the cases of dyslexia are hereditary in nature and can run for generations in a single
family (Peterson & Pennington, 2012; Reid, 2016). The background causes of dyslexia are
rooted in the neurobiology of cognition. Peterson and Pennington (2012) also state that apart
from genetic factors, environmental influence can also impact the appearance of dyslexia in a
person even though those cases may appear in adulthood. They have identified dyslexia also
as a result of traumatic brain injury, dementia and stroke. This assignment will take a more
personal approach to the problems related to dyslexia, how it affects the learning abilities of
individuals and how they cope with them.
Discussion
My initial understanding of the term dyslexia was ‘reading disorder’, much like a lot
of other people. But on watching the video ‘Reflections on dyslexia’ (Messurier, 2012), I had
a much clearer understanding of the term. As the interviewees in the video said, dyslexia
could range from reading disability to having problems memorizing numbers and
mathematical formulae. One individual also had issues with spellings. I have noticed that
most cases of dyslexia do not occur in isolation and mostly accompanied by ADHD or other
behavioural disabilities.
The general problem with all patients of dyslexia that has been observed is that they
are embarrassed of reading out loud in public, especially classes, where their slow
performance could be mistaken as a cognitive disability and can be associated with lower
level of intelligence. In one case, this has led to the individual dropping out of school

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completely in year 7. The main reason behind a dyslexic’s inability to keep up with their
peers in class is that they take longer to process words in decoding them. Even words given in
isolation need to be broken down in order to be understood.
Another trait that I observed about the disease is that it can be hereditary, like in case
of the interviewee Rick where he and his children all have dyslexia, though in varying
degrees.
Another observation that I made was that the dyslexic students all chose arts, crafts,
physical education and other subjects as their strongholds in school, where less amount of
cognitive processing is required. This is because most dyslexic individuals are more
dependent on their right hemisphere of the brain which is responsible for spatial activities
such as music, art, intuition and frontal lobe, over their left hemisphere of the brain which is
responsible for analytical activities such as processing language and logic (TED-Ed, 2013).
This has been proved through fMRI scans of such brains (Norton, Beach & Gabrieli, 2018;
Sun, Lee & Kirby, 2010).
Most dyslexic individuals I have encountered have stated that organizing and
brainstorming with their peers have helped them get through study material and classes more
easily than working on their own. This support can also come from teachers, parents or other
care givers who could help the student in reading and writing in or out of class hours.
Assignments are also easier for students with dyslexia than sit-down examinations as it gives
them ample time for research and processing and they are not in a hurry to complete the task.
Neurodiveristy must be kept in mind which tells us that all neurobiological
differences should not be labelled as a defect given multiple talented personalities such as
Picasso, Einstein, Whoopi Goldberg, and others have all been identified as having dyslexia.
In another video that I watched of a teenage dyslexic girl, it was highlighted specifically that
having dyslexia is ‘not a bad thing’ (Behind the News, 2014). This is in direct contrast with