Dyslexia is a common specific learning difficulty. According to statistics, approximately one in ten schoolchildren is diagnosed with it.DyslexiaThe male-to-female ratio is approximately 2 to 3 to 1. Around 70% are mild, 20% are moderate, and 10% are severe.
Intellectual and sensory functions are both normal.
Many children with dyslexia are often misunderstood as being lazy or unmotivated due to poor academic performance, which can affect their self-confidence and social relationships, leading to various emotional and psychological problems. In reality, children with dyslexia have normal intelligence and other sensory functions, but experience varying degrees of difficulty in reading, writing, and mathematics. Parents may notice that their children are later in speaking than their peers and require more time to learn words during the preschool years.
The symptoms mentioned above become more apparent after starting school, and these children often experience difficulties with learning letter shapes and pronunciation, frequently confusing words that have similar meanings, shapes, or pronunciations. Their reading speed is also slower, reading comprehension is weaker, and when writing, they often make numerous errors, frequently misspelling words, omitting strokes or getting the stroke order wrong, writing slowly, and due to visual-spatial and hand-eye coordination issues, their characters may be disproportionate, with uneven spacing. Furthermore, their mathematical logical reasoning and organisational skills are weaker than those of their peers.
Improvement through reading and writing guidance
Current research indicates that the causes of dyslexia are related to genetic inheritance, brain structure, and abnormal brain function. Children with dyslexia may also suffer from developmental problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, motor coordination disorder, and specific language impairment. Currently, the age for diagnosing dyslexia in Hong Kong must be six years or older, and the students must be attending a primary school in Hong Kong. The diagnosis is the responsibility of a professional educational psychologist or clinical psychologist.
As some symptoms may appear before the age of six, other assessment tools, such as the "Hong Kong Preschool Unified Developmental Scale," can be used to identify children with early signs and provide assistance. However, the current government assessment method is limited to diagnosing students in local schools receiving instruction in Cantonese or Mandarin. It is unable to assess children attending local international schools who receive instruction in English or other foreign languages. Therefore, if a child attending an international school is suspected of having a learning disability, parents should seek an appropriate assessment from an educational or clinical psychologist with experience and training in foreign language instruction.
Fully understand the symptoms and accept your child's differences.
Current methods for improving dyslexia primarily focus on education, teaching children through various evidence-based reading and writing support strategies. There are currently no medications that can cure it. If parents can identify the problem early and have a thorough understanding of dyslexia, they are often more likely to accept and understand their children's needs, provide them with a suitable learning environment and appropriate support training, and offer care and support to reduce stress for both parties, enabling their children to grow up healthy and happy.
Dr. Bosco Chan
Paediatric specialist
Health & Wealth Issue 195 https://www.healthplus.hk/page274?article_id=3245
