What exactly is dyslexia
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WHAT
EXACTLY  IS  
 DYSLEX IA ?
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W H A T EX A C TLY
I S  D Y S L E X I A ?
1 Dyslexia is a reading impairment
sformeone of average or high intelligence.  
This implies that their reading skill is  
significantly lower than what their cognitive 
 abilities predicted. One of the most well-  
established and studied dyslexia deficits is a 
 core phonological deficiency.
This difficulty affects the processing and  
manipulation of units of sounds in a spoken 
 language. People with dyslexia often find it 
 harder to learn, retain, and retrieve the  
representation of sounds in their native  
language.
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2 IS  IT C O M M O N ?
The prevalence of dyslexia in the population 
 varies across studies. Generally, it can 
range  between 5% to 20% of the 
people.
Although dyslexia is a life-long difficulty, the 
 impacts vary across the lifespan. For  
example, an adult who has had sufficient  
exposure to reading over the years may  
show reduced impairment in reading  
accuracy and fluency compared to a child,  
even though the spelling difficulty may  
persist.
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3 IS  IT INHERITED?
Many worry if dyslexia runs in the family,
especially if other family members have 
 difficulty with reading or writing  
Chromosomal studies have found skills. 
genetic components of dyslexia that re main 
 to be narrowed down to pinpoint the gsoemnee  
responsible for reading difficulty.
Indeed, there is a genetic risk for dyslexia in  
a family with a history of reading
impairment, whether diagnosed or
undiagnosed. However, it is also assuring
that having the risk does not equate to  
having the disorder because of epigenetics.
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4 H O W  TO IDENTIFY?
Getting a diagnosis might be daunting if  
you feel that you or someone you know has 
 dyslexia. Fortunately, dyslexia testing does  
not involve needles but a comprehensive  
evaluation with professionals such as  
educational psychologists.
During this evaluation, the psychologist will
analyse  pertinent information such as 
cognitive  ability, verballanguage skills, 
 phonological abilities, spelling and
aobthileitries in conjunction with developmental  
background. Only qualified professionals  
can diagnose dyslexia.
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5 P R I M A R Y  S Y M P T O M S
The main symptoms of dyslexia are
 difficulties with accuracy and in
word reading. Othfelure pnrcoyblems that arise in  
tandem with impaired reading are poor  
phonological awareness, verbal short-term
memory,  rapid naming, learning of  
phonology speech perception,
s, peed, and npornowcoesrdsi nregpetition.
People with dyslexia may also present with  
social-emotional symptoms such as anxiety,  
poor self-esteem or self-image, and negative 
 thought patterns.
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AVAILABLE
INTERVENTI
ONS
There are a myriad of reading programs  
that have been shown to help children 
with  dyslexia.
6 Here at Total Communication Therapy, we 
 use various programmes and educational
therapy. Parents can consult our
educational therapists, and get a
recommendation for an intervention 
 suitable for them.
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C O N N EC T N O W
www.totalcommunication.com.sg
+65 9115 8895
[email protected]
 
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SINGAPORE 227977