About Dyslexia
Dyslexia simply means 'difficulty with words'
▪ dys meaning 'difficulty'
▪ lexia meaning 'words'
This name has been in use for over 100 years. In 1978, the term ‘Specific Learning Difficulty’ was introduced, covering Reading, Spelling, Maths and any subject which has to be learned. It also includes dyslexia.
There are various forms of dyslexia
- Dysphonetic - problems involving the auditory and oral sensory systems
- Dyseidetic - problems involving the visual systems
- Alexic - problems in both sense systems
Dyslexia can be associated with behavioural conditions such as Attention Deficit Disorder or Dyspraxia and research clearly indicates that reading difficulties and behavioural problems are often linked.
Research has shown that reading difficulties are best addressed using a structured cumulative multi sensory approach. IDL is a flexible multi-sensory system in which the lessons are built around the needs of the individual student, the underlying philosophy is that the program must fit the student, not that the student must fit the program.
"Dyslexia is a name, not an explanation. Dyslexia means, quite literally, being
unable to read. Children who experience difficulty in learning to read are frequently called
dyslexic, but their difficulty does not arise because they are dyslexic, or because they have
dyslexia; they are dyslexic because they cannot read.
We were all dyslexic at one stage in our lives and become dyslexic again whenever we are
confronted by something that we cannot read." Frank Smith,
'Reading' (1985 Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521312851)