DYSLEXIA IN FORT COLLINS, COLORADO

Licensed experts with Children’s Hospital training are helping children in our community.

Parents who visit the dyslexia specialists at NeuroDevelopment Center of Colorado ask many important questions.  The more parents understand about dyslexia the better equipped they are to help their child overcome this learning disability.

Q: What is dyslexia?
A: Dyslexia is a neurologically based learning disability. It refers to reading problems that often cluster with other language-processing difficulties. These reading problems are not primarily due to vision or hearing loss or a child’s lack of exposure to reading instruction.

Q: How common is dyslexia:
A: Studies have estimated that between 5-15 percent of children in the United States demonstrate significant dyslexia symptoms.

Q: Who can best diagnose dyslexia?
A: Dyslexia is a complex language-based learning disability. Doctoral-level clinicians have the developmental background, proper assessment instruments and clinical expertise to determine if a child’s learning problem is the result of dyslexia.  NeuroDevelopment’s clinical team in Fort Collins trained in children’s hospital settings and has provided hundreds of comprehensive evaluations for dyslexia.

Q: What causes dyslexia?
A: This question has prompted some fascinating research lately. Prior to founding NeuroDevelopment Center of Colorado, Dr. Aaron Skalicky contributed to some of this research for the National Institutes of Health. Using various technologies, scientists can now literally peer inside the brains of children who struggle to develop early reading skills. We are finding that these children also tend to have underlying differences in brain development. The language cortex (a section of grey matter above your ear) is one brain area that seems to be different in many dyslexic brains. Neurons (brain cells) may not organize in the normal way during pre-natal and early child development. 

Q: How do I know if my child has dyslexia?
A: A proper diagnosis of dyslexia includes examination of related language and information processing abilities as well as an understanding of the child’s history and current developmental status. There is no single dyslexia test. A skilled clinician considers the diagnosis following a comprehensive evaluation.

Q: Why is a comprehensive evaluation more helpful than a simple reading test?
A: Spotting a reading problem is relatively easy. Only a comprehensive evaluation for dyslexia can rule out other subtle information processing problems that may otherwise go undetected and untreated.

Q:  Does dyslexia only affect my child’s reading?
A: Dyslexia can impact all areas of academic learning, particularly spelling, use of grammar and written expression. Many dyslexic children also struggle with low self-esteem and tend to underestimate their other intellectual abilities.

Q: What does effective dyslexia treatment look like?
A: Dr. Sally Shaywitz is the director of the Yale University Child Study Center and an international leader in the field of learning disabilities. In her best-selling book “Overcoming Dyslexia” Dr. Shaywitz explains that research points to explicit, systematic and multi-sensory instruction as the most effective dyslexia treatment. Master’s level instructors in the NeuroDevelopment Learning Clinic help children overcome dyslexia by providing this type of intensive one-to-one program.

Q: Is special education enough to help a dyslexic child?
A: Studies show that children with moderate to severe dyslexia usually require more intensive intervention than is available in most schools. This is why clinical dyslexia programs, such as the NeuroDevelopment Learning Clinic, are often needed in conjunction with school support.

Q: Does a dyslexia diagnosis mean my child will never be a good reader or a strong student?
A:  While research shows that dyslexia is a life-long condition, we also know that when dyslexia is correctly identified and treated early in life students make significant gains in reading and overall academic performance.  Many prominent scholars, businesspeople and civic leaders struggled with dyslexia before developing effective compensatory strategies.

Q: What can parents do to help a child who has dyslexia?
A: Parents can arrange for a comprehensive evaluation with a doctoral-level specialist. When the child’s difficulties are fully understood, parents can remain involved with the clinical specialist and school team to develop intervention plans. Parents of dyslexic children can also learn how to incorporate specific language-training exercises and academic strategies into the nightly routine. Most importantly, parents can help their child understand what dyslexia is and begin providing ample emotional support and encouragement from an early age.