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All About Dyslexia and A Promising New Treatment

By HERWriter Guide
 
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Dyslexia has long been misunderstood. Up to the 1970s and even more recently, many children have been considered lazy or "slow-learners" because of their difficulty in reading and forming letters or numbers. Many faced failing grades without knowing that what they were actually dealing with was dyslexia.

According to a recent Fox News article, one in five children may be suffering from this particular learning disability. Fox reported on a new treatment that seems to work well for dyslexics called ChromaGen lenses. These glasses started off as a treatment for people with color blindness but were found to have a great affect on those with dyslexia.

This treatment can "help dyslexic patients see words and texts more clearly and read faster. Originally developed to treat color blindness, ChromaGen lenses reduce the visual distortions seen by dyslexic patients by altering the wavelength of light that reaches their eyes."

The downside of this treatment is that as yet, it's not covered by insurance (yet) and the cost is up to $1000.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/09/04/finding-words-specially-tinted-...

Dyslexia is a learning disability but has nothing to do with a person's intelligence or willingness to work hard. Nor has it anything to do with a person's vision.

Dyslexia is thought to be a neurological problem when the brain processes what it sees differently from someone without this condition. It's hard for the dyslexic person to translate these thoughts into letters and numbers.

They see letters and numbers dancing and jumping around on paper or screens and everything appears jumbled. Hence, reading and writing are extremely challenging to comprehend.

There may also be speech difficulties and there is certainly a genetic component to dyslexia.

EmpowHER has extensive information about dyslexia including what to look for in your child. Your child may have difficulties with many tasks. Some of these difficulties include :

- Learning to speak

- Reading and writing at grade level

- Organizing written and spoken language

- Learning letters and their sounds

- Learning number facts

- Spelling

- Learning a foreign language

- Correctly doing math problems

Treatment can include repetitive learning, being given extra time to complete homework and tests, sitting in the front of the class to help with concentration and avoiding distractions, as well as using all five senses to learn. https://www.empowher.com/condition/dyslexia/treatments

If you suspect your child (or any loved one) may be dyslexic, take them for testing. Tests include understanding how the patient receives information and a series of reading, writing and comprehension tests as well as brain scans.

Treatment can have an enormously positive impact and as with most conditions, early intervention is key although adults usually respond very well to treatment too. It's never too late to test.

Sources:

Empowher.com. Dyslexia. Symptoms and Diagnosis. Web. Retrieved September 4th, 2013.
https://www.empowher.com/condition/dyslexia/symptoms

FoxNews. Health. " Finding the words: Specially tinted glasses help dyslexia patients read". Web. Retrieved September 4th, 2013.
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/09/04/finding-words-specially-tinted-...

Reviewed September 5, 2013
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.

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