Discuss the nature of dyslexia and implication for identification and assesment - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages It is to be remembered that this is just only one aspect of the working definition, and this disorder is elusive in the sense that there are many differing opinions about the definition of this disorder in the literature, as a result many other different definitions exist. What all workers in this area accept comes from The Department of Education and Skills in their Framework for Understanding Dyslexia inform on theories and approaches to dyslexia. In it they have presented a practical approach to define dyslexia. Although literally, this word means difficulty with words or language, this literal meaning does not totally apply to the disorder of dyslexia at all. It is true that there are many reasons for difficulty to learn, read, or write. For these individuals, these difficulties "do not seem so easily explainable (DfES, 2004, 5). It has thus been defined by them as "a specific difficulty, typically characterised by an unusual balance of skills. Dyslexia affects information processing" (DfES, 2004, 5) in all the forms, receiving, holding, retrieving and structuring the information and this speed of information processing becomes very sluggish (DfES, 2004, 5). Skills such as reading, writing, using symbols, and carrying out calculations are all dependent on information processing system of the human brain. ...
So, it would be worthwhile to examine the definition that is practically utilized while administering special education to these people. The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice refers to specific learning difficulties in a section considering 'cognition and learning'. The Code states: 'Children who demonstrate features of . . . specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia . . . require specific programmes to aid progress in cognition and learning. . . . Some of these children may have associated sensory, physical and behavioural difficulties that compound their needs' (DfES, 2001a, 7: 58). In this context it is of utmost importance to remember that it is not related to intelligence and may occur in different forms, mild, moderate, and severe. Consequently, their individual profiles vary from each other, with each having their unique strengths and weaknesses, and therefore uniqueness. In this assignment, the nature of dyslexia will be discussed in a greater detail in the following paragraphs so these attributes can be used for identification and assessment of this disorder.
Nature
With continuing research into the area, there has been considerable progress in identifying the causes of dyslexia so effective intervention could be designed to break into the cycle of failure (Fawcett, 2001, 25). This progress has been enormous since the usually grim outlook in such individuals is no longer hopeless. It has been noted that ""the stage is set for undertaking ambitious, multi-disciplinary, multi-perspective projects aimed at redefining the field of dyslexia and learning difficulties as the field of learning abilities" ...Download file to see next pagesRead More