Living with Dyslexia
by: Mike Fak
This was what was supposed to be called a short work week but it was anything but for me. First off, all the organizations, state agencies and to a degree even the AP slowed down on sending in their releases. Of course most of them aren't worth printing but you can usually find a few nuggets amongst the self-serving balderdash. That meant I had to find stories without at least a few landing in my lap.
To make matters worse, I was being taught how to post all our AP articles since the publisher who usually does that will be taking some time off. Now posting takes about twelve steps per article and for the life of me I was having trouble remembering the sequence and the certain nuances that some of them have.
Thank God my son, who was doing his own job but was listening in, got it all as I don't think I have it yet. Yes, the youngster is already way ahead of me and doing just fine on the job. He has tried to encourage me when I forget a step or forget what comes next and he calmly shows me my errors and I move on. He has explained to me. "Dad, don't be discouraged. You know 90% of what to do. Of course the 10% you still don't know is crucial.
The real problem I have been having is because the step by step instructions are in plain English and when I get discouraged and lose my concentration, I can't read English. You see I am one of those millions of Americans who suffer from Dyslexia. It is a really strange malady and I imagine I am lucky that my case is mild or at least I have been able to control it over the years so that it seems mild. I can read a book for pleasure quite handily and I can look at other works as long as I am relaxed and concentrating. When I get flustered, or in a hurry or spend too much brain power worrying about why I can't get something, then the monster kicks in and the words start moving letters around and nothing makes sense to me.
MRI's have shown we dyslexics aren't using the correct spot in the brain when we read and there are varying degrees of this non-register of words into thoughts just as there are varying degrees of stroke damage.
When I type fast I also come out with some real douzies. I have never speed-typed Chicago right in my life. It always comes out Chicago every single time. Once in a while when I get pressed for time I look back at a misspelled word and it is so far removed from what it should be that I sometimes can't figure out what word it was I wanted to type.
Like I said, I am fine when I'm not flustered or in a rush and can concentrate but I am a rushing kind of person so it can be hard some days.
I'm fortunate that I have my little mentor right at home who I can yell to when I forget something I should be able to remember and can't see it on the sheet right in front of me. I'm lucky. The monster could have been worse.
Freelance writer, columnist, author and writing coach, ex-Chicagoan Mike Fak presently resides in Central Illinois. More information about Mike's services are available at his home website www.mikefak.com
Mike currently writes humor columns for searchwarp bi-weekly and is the managing editor of www.lincolndailynews.com
More information for making money as a freelance writer is available at http://www.mikefak.com/id45.html
The Dyslexia Types - Naming the Heads of the Many-headed Beast!
By Jorge Chavez
The term 'dyslexia', from 'dys', meaning wrong or problematic and 'lexia' pertaining to words and letters, literally refers to any type of problem in reading. But in medical definitions and common usage the term dyslexia is used to refer to any of several different classes of problems in processing images and sounds.
For clarity of diagnosis and reference these classes of problems are sorted and grouped into various "dyslexia types".
Specifically, dyslexia refers to systematic neurological difficulties in processing images and sounds into useful understood data. The eyes may see fine, but the brain cannot easily decipher the signals it receives from the eyes regarding written words and translate that into the corresponding sounds of spoken words.
There are several different dyslexia types, different classifications of the nature of these translation and interpretation problems.
The most prominent and best known dyslexia types are:
Surface dyslexia. The symptoms of this form manifest themselves as systematic mistakes in going from the written word to the pronounced word. This is particularly apparent in various area where the English language has rules of pronunciation that are inconsistent.
For example, "jowl" might be read as though it rhymed with "bowl", "furlough" might be read as though it rhymed with "tough" or "petty" could be read as though it rhymed with "pretty".
Phonological dyslexia. Symptoms are an inability and failure to grasp and master the phonic nature of the English language. Individuals with this form have severe problems reading new or nonsensical words. This is because they cannot grasp the linkage between the individual sounds or phonemes of the spoken word and the individual or grouped letters on the printed page.
Double-Deficit Dyslexia is the name given to the condition of those individuals who have both Surface Dyslexia and Phonological Dyslexia.
Auditory Dyslexia and Visual Dyslexia both originate from the magnocellular theory of dyslexia. This theory is based on the belief that dyslexics have neurological weaknesses in the magnocellular cells of the area of the brain known as the thalamus. This specific area is where rapid processing of visual and auditory information takes place.
Studies have shown that dyslexics apparently do have weaknesses in their visual and auditory processing. But while these weaknesses may stem from the same area of the brain, they are not uniform or balanced; they are not present to the same degree.
As a result, these two dyslexia types are closely related. For example, a child with poor hearing skills but with average visual skills may be diagnosed as having Auditory Dyslexia, whereas one with poor visual skills but average hearing may be diagnosed as having Visual Dyslexia.
Then finally, there is Orthographic Dyslexia. Orthography is term applied to the set of symbols or letters that make up a language. In English and other European Languages this is the 26-30 or so letters of the alphabets of the specific languages. In Japanese, Chinese or other oriental languages it covers thousands of different characters and symbols.
And so Orthographic Dyslexia relates to problems in identifying and manipulating letters and/or symbols in reading, writing and spelling.
For additional information about dyslexia types, causes, and testing procedures, follow the links below...
For more detailed information about the dyslexia types and the symptoms of dyslexia and how to test for it, visit: Dyslexia Types
For information about adult dyslexia testing (that you can do from anywhere), visit: Adult Dyslexia Test|Home Dyslexia Test
Jorge Chavez is a researcher, analyst and writer at http://overcoming-dyslexia.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jorge_Chavez
Adult Dyslexia Assessment - Conduct Online Dyslexia Screening at Home
Dyslexia is a reading and learning disability. Dyslexic people have difficulties in reading, spelling, following instructions, recognizing sequence or putting things in order and often confused with directions like left and right. In the past, dyslexia is not a known condition, this is the reason why there are adults with dyslexia who are not properly treated and taught on how to deal with their condition. Now adult dyslexia assessment is available to help anyone to know if they are dyslexic and for them to seek immediate professional help and treatment.
It is ideal to diagnose dyslexia at an early age and learn how to deal with this condition as early as possible. If dyslexics failed to get the necessary help, their learning and reading disability will result to frustration, loss of self confidence and low self-esteem. There are dyslexic adults who are still struggling with the disabling effects of dyslexia which should not be the case. Dyslexic adults could have been taught how to handle reading and learning disability if dyslexia testing was available when they were younger. But it is not too late to get an adult dyslexia assessment now and get the necessary help for you to overcome the disabling effects of dyslexia.
If you think you have the signs and symptoms of dyslexia, it is essential that you take an adult dyslexia assessment for you to know the severity of you condition. Dyslexia is a serious condition but you can overcome the disabling effects of dyslexia if you know what you are dealing with. A detailed adult dyslexia assessment will help you seek the necessary help you need.
Did you know that you can conduct an adult dyslexia assessment from the comfort of your home? The first internet performance-based dyslexia test for adults is now available.
Find out right now if you are showing any signs of dyslexia! Visit Adult Dyslexia Screening Online
To know more about health and beauty remedies visit Great Discovery-Health and Beauty
Gerry Restrivera writes informative articles on various subjects including Adult Dyslexia Assessment: Conduct Online Dyslexia Screening at Home. You are allowed to publish this article in its entirety provided that author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and included with every reproduction.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gerry_Restrivera
