Dyslexic

My Alumni e-group sisters started a discussion on Dyslexic children some time last week. I read with interest as I am beginning to pay more attention to my girls’ studies even though they are only 5 and 4 yr old.. well, you can expect them to play more than read ;o) but still better equip myself with knowledge on the condition. This note was from Kak Hani, who shared her experience caring for a dyslexic child (thanks k.Hani!).

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The most obvious thing about dyslexic children is that they look and act extremely bright but cannot read and write. Basically, if they are bright, they should be able to write and read. Their brain functions are wired differently. There are many studies done. For instance, when they test the brain of a dyslexic child the parts of the brain that they use when reading are different from a normal child - this could be seen in the brain scans that they do. But when it comes to thinking out of the box, they are very good in it. They see things in a different way that we do. And this helps when trying to solve a problem, they can come up with pretty good creative solutions. Because their brain is wired differently, they see words as we see it in the mirror. They have a mirror image vision and therefore writes alphabets the way they see it. You can see that they write b as d, their z and s are switched. Once you teach them the skills to write as how they hear - they write cute as kiut or cyut. Lazy as lezi or layzi. House as haus. There are also other psychological and social behaviour involved as well, like unable to organize well, slow, forgetful etc. In some extreme cases, they cannot mix around well especially with peers of the same age, difficulty in fitting in groups, making friends... Some adult dyslexics even cannot find their car when they park in the mall. But we must teach them coping skills to help them through their lives. Tom Cruise, Lee Kuan Yew, Albert Einstein and many other successful personalities are dyslexics. Never give up. Keep on coaching the kids and encourage them to face reality and to go on to continuously find ways to cope.

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Side note: It is all in our minds. If it happens to my child, I hope Allah will give me strength, courage and patience in caring for them. Amiin..