Dyslexia . . . what is it exactly? This week, HSLDA Special Needs Coordinator Dianne Craft discusses this learning struggle which affects many children’s ability to learn on Home School Heartbeat with HSLDA President Mike Smith.
Mike Smith:
This week, we’re talking with HSLDA Special Needs Coordinator Dianne Craft. As a former homeschool mom with 25 years of experience teaching children who struggle with learning, Dianne is a Certified Natural Health Professional, and the author of Brain Integration Therapy Manual and the Right Brain Phonics Reading Book. Dianne, we're glad to have you with us today.
Dianne Craft:
I’m happy to be here, Mike.
Mike:
Dianne, what exactly is dyslexia?
Dianne:
Well, dyslexia basically refers to children who have a great difficulty learning to read. Many bright, hard-working children are struggling with dyslexia. This reading disorder often causes a child to be at least two years behind in reading. Dyslexia affects their visual processing ability, causing them to reverse whole words when reading. In the auditory area the child often exhibits this difficulty remembering names of letters. They tend to have a very poor memory for the words they just read, sounding the same word out over and over again in a reading passage. This auditory dyslexia causes them to have trouble remembering dates such as their birthday, causing them to feel less smart than they really are. But there are easy solutions a parent can do. A helpful article to read would be “Smart Kids who Hate to Write” and just read that and see what you can do to help your child at home!
Mike:
Dianne, thank you for your valuable insight. And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.
