Dyslexia, also known as specific learning disability, can affect a child's academic success and cause difficulties in social relations. Stating that the negative effects of dyslexia can be reduced if it is understood at an early stage, Prof. Dr. Hale A. Kahyaoğlu Çakmakcı said that the child should be well observed in the pre-school period. Çakmakcı emphasized that problems such as delay in speech, confusion of sounds with close syllables while speaking, confusion of direction-time concepts and difficulty in choosing the dominant hand should be taken into consideration.
Prof. Dr. Hale A. Kahyaoğlu Çakmakcı from the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Istanbul Atlas University, made an assessment on dyslexia.
Difficulties in reading, writing and language skills
Stating that dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental learning disorder, Kahyaoğlu Çakmakcı said, “Specific learning disability, also known as specific learning disability, is a learning disorder that occurs due to difficulty in processing the connection between sounds and letters. Individuals with dyslexia have difficulty in reading, writing and language skills without organic pathologies related to vision and hearing.”
At least 1 child in a class of 20 has dyslexia
Emphasizing that contrary to what is known in the society, there is no relationship between specific learning disabilities and intelligence (normal, superior, borderline), Kahyaoğlu Çakmakcı said, “Dyslexia is seen at an average rate of 5 percent to 7 percent in our country. In other words, it is not a rare disorder. In a class of 20 students, at least 1 person has dyslexia.”
Symptoms of dyslexia become clearer with starting school
Stating that dyslexia has symptoms that vary according to developmental stages, Kahyaoğlu Çakmakcı said, “Families should read frequently and follow the developmental charts of their children. Children with dyslexia can start showing symptoms very early, but the symptoms become clearer when they start school.”
Attention to symptoms in preschool period
Drawing attention to the symptoms of dyslexia in the preschool period, Kahyaoğlu Çakmakcı warned, “In the preschool period, they may experience problems such as delayed speech, confusion of sounds with close syllables while speaking, confusion of direction-time concepts and difficulty in choosing the dominant hand.”
Difficulties in reading and writing can occur
Kahyaoğlu Çakmakcı noted that the symptoms in the school period occur in reading and writing and said, “In the school period, children have difficulties in reading late, erroneous and slow; confusing letters, difficulty in reading comprehension; late, slow, reverse, erroneous, intermittent-multicontiguous writing and learning and performing mathematical operations. In the school period, they have difficulty in learning a foreign language, summarizing the book or story they read and learning new words.”
Environmental factors are also effective
Stating that environmental factors as well as genetic factors are effective in dyslexia, Kahyaoğlu Çakmakcı said:
“Although recent studies indicate that dyslexia has a genetic background, the importance of environmental factors cannot be denied. Factors such as smoking, alcohol or substance exposure during pregnancy, premature birth, lack of oxygen during birth, malnutrition, negative communication methods of parents and life events that will negatively affect cognitive skills can be counted as risk factors.”
They may have difficulties in school attendance and social life
Stating that the negative effects of dyslexia can be reduced if it is understood at an early stage, Kahyaoğlu Çakmakcı said, “If dyslexia is not recognized in children for a long time, they have difficulty in continuing school by falling behind in their lessons. In addition to these, since they fall behind, they start to have problems in being accepted by their friends in the social field.”
Multidisciplinary approach to the child and family is important
Emphasizing that specific learning disabilities require a special study and special expertise, Kahyaoğlu Çakmakcı made the following statements:
“After the necessary psychological tests and measurements are made and evaluated to understand specific learning disabilities, psychoeducation is given to the family and programs are started with special education methods for the child. Because they cannot read and learn at the same speed as their peers and because they have to make more effort, they may start to lose self-confidence. Therefore, it is important to work with children with specific learning disabilities with a multidisciplinary approach, both psychologically, educationally and for the family. It is also critical to determine whether there are problems accompanying specific learning difficulties.”
Dyslexia may be accompanied by other problems
Kahyaoğlu Çakmakcı warned that children or adults with dyslexia may be accompanied by depression, anxiety disorders, ADHD and intelligence problems, and said that the interventions to be applied by experts vary according to the accompanying problem.
Families should heed these suggestions
Emphasizing that the family's approach to the child with dyslexia is important, Dr. Faculty Member Hale A. Kahyaoğlu Çakmakcı gave the following advice to parents:
“Families should make their children feel safe, peaceful and accepted under all circumstances.
Families should be very patient in this process and should not expect more from the child than their own rate of progress. Even the slightest learning experience of individuals with dyslexia can be very challenging and time-consuming compared to normal individuals. Sentences such as 'how can you think so much even for such a simple thing' will negatively affect the child's self-confidence and ability to overcome the situation.
Families should not compare the child with others and make them feel under pressure. 'Have you finished your homework yet? Look, your friends have already finished all of them, you couldn't do it again' should be avoided.
Families should cooperate with teachers and praise and appreciate the positive developments of their children.
Families can model with positive examples. In other words, they can read biographies of people who have overcome similar problems before and talk to their children through these examples.
In addition, I recommend that families who try too hard and try too hard consult a specialist to learn how to cope with feelings of 'inadequacy', frustration, fear and anxiety.”
İHA Haber Kodu: 20241108AW325009