A World of Books by Kyna: Understanding Literacy

Dyslexia is not a disease - but rather a learning disability In 1881 German physician Oswald Berkhan, was presented with a case of a boy with general intellect and physical capabilities, yet unable to learn to read and write. This case was the first identification of what ophthalmologist Rudolph Berkhan 6 years later officially termed 'dyslexia'. Defined as a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin, dyslexia affects about 1 in 5 students and is characterised by difficulties with accurate and/fluent word recognition coupled with poor spelling and decoding abilities. Dyslexia also results in problems with reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. However, despite these and more underlining challenges, dyslexia does not affect general intelligence and occurs across the range of intellectual abilities. Additionally, it is important to note that Dyslexia is highly genetic and is best t

"Dyslexia, or Specific Learning Difficulty, is a congenital organizing disability which impairs hand skills, short term memory and perception, so inhibiting the development of a child's literary skills - particularly reading, writing and spelling, and sometimes numeracy. In its effects, dyslexia can range from slight reading or spelling difficulties to complete illiteracy." - Dr. H. Chasty M.Sc. (Psychology) PhD., Director, Dyslexia Institute, U.K. Dyslexia was first used as a general term to describe an array of learning challenges, until the late 1920's when Dr. Samuel Torry Orton redefined it as "cross lateralization of the brain". By this he meant the left side of the brain was doing what the right side of brain was expected to be doing, and vice-versa. This 'mixed hemispheric dominance' have lead some to believe that dyslexia was linked to brain or nerve damage, which is far from the truth. Debunking the myth Humans are said to think in two ways