Dyslexia

According to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (1994), Dyslexia is defined as a Reading Disorder within the category of Learning Disorders. The other learning disorders are Mathematics Disorder and Disorder of Written Expression.

Since Dyslexia is the most common type, it has become a generally used term worldwide to define learning disorders. In our country, using the term Dyslexia instead of learning disorder carries a distinct importance. This is because the phrase "Learning Disorder" is frequently misunderstood as "Intellectual Disability" (Mental Retardation) by both educators and parents, which leads to a great deal of confusion and misinterpretation.

According to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (1994), which Child and Adolescent Psychiatry specialists take as a reference to diagnose Learning Disorders, the diagnostic criteria for Learning Disorders are as follows:

DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR DYSLEXIA - READING DISORDER

Reading achievement, as measured by individually administered standardized tests of reading accuracy or comprehension, is substantially below that expected given the person's chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education.

The disturbance in Criterion A significantly interferes with academic achievement or activities of daily living that require reading skills.

If a sensory deficit is present, the reading difficulties are usually far in excess of those generally associated with it.

DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR DYSCALCULIA - MATHEMATICS DISORDER

Mathematical ability, as measured by individually administered standardized tests, is substantially below that expected given the person's chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education.

The disturbance in Criterion A significantly interferes with academic achievement or activities of daily living that require mathematical skills.

If a sensory deficit is present, the difficulties in mathematical ability are usually far in excess of those generally associated with it.

DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR DYSGRAPHIA - DISORDER OF WRITTEN EXPRESSION

Writing skills, as measured by individually administered standardized tests (or functional assessments of writing skills), are substantially below that expected given the person's chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education.

If a sensory deficit is present, the difficulties in writing skills are usually far in excess of those generally associated with it.

SYMPTOMS OF DYSLEXIA BETWEEN THE AGES OF 0-6

Some of the early symptoms of Dyslexia between the ages of 0-6 include:

Mispronouncing words,

Difficulty finding rhyming words (e.g., table-cable, etc.),

Inability to sustain games, getting bored quickly,

Difficulty using forks, scissors, or tying shoelaces,

Putting shoes on the wrong feet,

Inability to copy shapes like circles or squares,

Inability to color within the lines,

Inability to ride a bicycle,

Reluctance toward activities outside their own area of interest,

Failure to notice similarities,

Confusing right and left,

Difficulty putting things in order/sequencing,

Inability to learn or mixing up colors...

SYMPTOMS OF DYSLEXIA IN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Some of the symptoms of Dyslexia during the primary school period include:

Academic success being lower than expected given the child's intelligence and age,

Succeeding in some subjects while failing in others (for example, being good at math but failing significantly in geometry),

Slow reading,

Confusing certain letters when writing or reading (e.g., p-b, b-d, k-t, y-h, 6-9, 2-5),

Writing in reverse (e.g., writing their name as "temhA" instead of "Ahmet"),

Reading by making up the endings of words,

Reluctance toward reading,

Avoiding writing assignments,

Slow writing,

Difficulty copying homework from the board,

Unwillingness to do homework,

Frequent errors in the four basic arithmetic operations,

Inability to learn the multiplication table,

Creating their own shortcuts,

Forgetting to carry over numbers in math,

Inability to count the alphabet in order,

Lack of success in physical education (e.g., running, catching a ball),

Fear of making mistakes,

Confusing right and left,

Confusing concepts such as year, month, and day (e.g., answering "May" when asked "Which season are we in?").