Dyslexia

What Is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is primarily the specific learning disability in reading. Even though the person might possess average intelligence, there will be difficulties to read quickly, pronounce words, identify speech sounds and learn how the sounds relate to letters and words. The disorder can be first detected during early schooling, and with early assessment and intervention, one can significantly improve in academics. The underlying mechanisms of this disease are the problems within the brain’s ability to process language. This cognitive disorder is considered to be of two types:

• Related to language processing.
• Related to visual processing.
• Mainly characterized by difficulty in verbal memory, phonological awareness, and verbal processing speed, dyslexia is also sometimes acquired in adulthood due to atrophy or stroke.
• It is commonly diagnosed using series memory, spelling, reading and vision test. It is also found that individuals with dyslexia are good at analytical thinking, insightful thinking, inquiry, and finding different strategies.
• Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Auditory Processing Disorder can sometimes be misread for dyslexia.

What Are The Symptoms Of Dyslexia?

The common signs and symptoms of Dyslexia can be cited based on those exhibited:

Before School-

• Delay in talking.
• Slow learning of new words.
• Difficulty in remembering numbers, letters or colors.
• Problems in playing rhyming games in pre-school.

At school-

• Difficulty in understanding and comprehending with what one hears.
• Difficulty in remembering a sequence of things or events, but an excellent long-term memory.
• Problems in identifying similarities and differences.
• Difficulty in spelling and pronouncing of new words.
• Inability to read as expected for the age.
• Lack of fluency.
• Poor visual gestalt.
• Problems in finding the right word to use.
• Disinterest in activities that include reading. 
• Though the individuals possess high IQ, they may not do well in academics.

Adulthood-

• Difficulty in retrieving words and pronouncing them.
• Slow reading and writing.
• Problems in understanding the expressions that are not directly expressed in a sentence.
• Problems with memorizing.

What Are The Causes Of Dyslexia?

The most common cause cited for dyslexia is the genetic factor. Some other risk factors for dyslexia include:

• Premature birth.
• Low birth weight.
• Alteration of brain development of the fetus during pregnancy due to exposure to drugs, nicotine, alcohol, and others.
• Defective parts of the brain that fail to comprehend reading.
• A family history of dyslexia. 

What Are The Things One Should Do To Manage Dyslexia?

More than the child with dyslexia, the parents and teachers have a major role to play in the management of the disorder:

Teachers-

• Praising the child helps in boosting his or her self-confidence and also to overcome learning difficulties.
• Get the child’s homework done on a computer as writing can be hard due to the disorder.
• Visualize the teaching concept to help the child to remember better.

Parents-

• Understand the symptoms and take early assessment and evaluation of the disorder to treat better.
• Identify the child’s other abilities like logical thinking, art or dance and support those activities. 

What Are The Things One Should Avoid To Manage Dyslexia?

Teachers-

• Avoid asking the child to read out loud as the likely misreading might lead to embarrassment.
• Don’t punish the child for forgetting things.
• Don’t pressurize the child in doing more written work.

Parents-

• Don’t expect the child to be as good as other students in his or her grades.
• Don’t look for an optometrist as it is not a vision-related problem.
• Don’t punish the child for his or her inability to understand and comprehend. 

What Are The Best Foods For Dyslexia?

Here are a few foods that are considered to be the best to combat dyslexia:

• Healthy Fats: Fatty Acid deficiency has found to have a role in developmental disorders like dyslexia. The brain is made up of about 60% of fat and it has a huge role to play in the proper functioning of the brain. It is shown that higher levels of Omega-3-fatty acids, especially Docosahexaenoic Acid has significant contribution in better memory and reading abilities. Some of the best sources of healthy fats include tuna steak, mackerel, wild salmon, chia seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, avocado, and flax seeds.
• Vitamin B family: Deficiency of Vitamin B has shown to cause several neurological symptoms. Some of the major symptoms include forgetfulness, slowed mental response and poor coordination, poor memory, depression, anxiety, learning difficulties, mental sluggishness, and mood swings. Foods including spinach, mushrooms, almonds, tuna, salmon, avocado, broccoli, onions, turnips, carrots, brown rice, eggs, beans, and lentils.
• Magnesium Rich foods: It is seen that deficiency of magnesium has shown symptoms like poor attention span, learning difficulties, poor coordination, hyperactivity, and restlessness. This can be supplemented with vitamin B6 along with foods like walnuts, flax seeds, cashews, chia seeds, almonds and etc.
• Vitamin D3 Rich Foods: Vitamin D3 has a role in boosting the antioxidants to promote healthy brain functioning and also in the production of neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine. It helps in enhancing focus for a long period of time. The best sources of Vitamin D3 are eggs and fish while soaking up to the sun also helps.
• Zinc: Zinc is important in controlling neurotransmitters that are essential in enhanced memory and focus. The deficiency of zinc can be supplemented with foods like shrimp, crab, lobster, mushrooms, lentils, almonds, pumpkin seeds and others.
• Protein: Proteins play a major role in providing the essential amino acids like alanine, tryptophan, and tyrosine that are essential in improving attention and learning. Some of the most recommended foods rich in proteins are beans, nuts, quinoa, tuna, salmon, eggs, spinach, asparagus, and broccoli.
• Iron: Deficiency of iron in children has shown alteration in brain development and functioning, which further impacts cognition and behavior. Iron is important to keep an individual energized and concentrate better. Some of the best foods with iron are spinach, lentils, molasses, raisins, and olives. 

What Are The Worst Foods For Dyslexia?

Some of the worst foods for brain functioning are:

• Trans-fats: Partially hydrogenated oils have higher levels of trans-fats that are found to be associated with lower cognitive abilities. Some of these worst foods include baked foods, fried foods like chips and fries.
• Added sugar and fructose: These take up excess space in the brain to store and take up the space for memory and thoughts. This is said to reduce cognitive flexibility, short and long-term memory. These include excess sugary bakes, pastries, fruit juices.
• Saturated Fat: Saturated fat significantly decreases the brain’s ability to learn and form new memories. Some of the foods to avoid are fatty beef, lamb, and pork. 

What Are The Medicines For Dyslexia?

What Are The Tips To Manage Dyslexia?

• A good night’s sleep is important for a better brain function and memory.
• Regular exercise is helpful for the dyslexics to enhance mental clarity and focus.