By Mark Parker


Reading disabilities are often part of a much wider learning disability may also exist on their own. The severity tends to vary such that they manifest with mild signs in some learners and with more severe signs in others. Due to the negative effect these disabilities have on academic performance. To deal with the problem of reading disabilities Carlsbad residents should understand several things on the problem.

While observations may give clues that a certain learner is having difficulties, a professional should always be informed. The most ideal expert to be involved in the beginning is a paediatrician. Any other specialists may come in later after their recommendation or referral. The evaluation process is must the same as what happens with any other medical conditions. A detailed medical history is taken and the affected individual will be subjected to a physical examination as well as some diagnostic tests.

There are several categories of the problem. Processing speed deficit is one of them. Children with this form of disability tend to be quite slow in recognizing written words or numbers. While this may not directly relate to how smart a child is, it does affect how well they learn. There is a possibility of falling behind their peers. Slow processing has also been associated with other problems such as impairment of executive functioning skills. These skills are involved in things such as goal setting, problem solving and focusing on tasks among others.

Hyperlexia is the opposite of processing speed deficit. The learner is abnormally fast in reading. Although it may be mistaken for a talent, it actually posses a big disadvantage to the individual. This is because they tend to have very poor comprehension. Many of the affected children will be noted to have other characteristics that place them in the autism spectrum. Speed training can be undertaken so as to ensure they have enough time to understand the content read.

10 to 15 percent of learning disabilities are related to comprehension. In this category, the leaner is neither a fast nor a slow reader but they have difficulties putting words in context thus cannot understand the meanings of a passage, for instance. Possible causes include problems with language comprehension, abstract verbal reasoning and disordered social reasoning.

Another category is that associated with retention problems. A number of children have difficulties decoding and thus will end up with problems of remembering content. Such children use a lot of effort to grasp individual words such that they are left with less mental energy for remembering. Some of the telltale signs include frequent confusion about word meanings, lack of concentration when reading and omission of details.

The solution is largely dependent on the underlying problem. For instance, if the learner has difficulties studying text written in a particular colour them this can be changed and a reassessment done after sometime. Black text put on a white background for some people; the letters may appear as though they are vibrating. Other possible solutions include the use of overlays and putting on colour tinted glasses while reading.

To increase the chances of success, teachers and parents need to work closely. Some of the early signs that may be noticed either at home or at school include consistent spelling errors. Learners need to be subjected to adequate practice so as to improve in this area. There are numerous exercises available online most of which have games incorporated games in them to make the learning experience fun.




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