dyslexia
and Sabine Schrör, medical journalistDr. med. Julia Schwarz is a freelance writer in the medical department.
More about the expertsSabine Schrör is a freelance writer for the medical team. She studied business administration and public relations in Cologne. As a freelance editor, she has been at home in a wide variety of industries for more than 15 years. Health is one of her favorite subjects.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.Dyslexia is a reading disorder. Those affected find it difficult to read and understand words and texts, although they can hear and see normally. Sometimes the ability to write is also limited. Other names for the internationally used technical term dyslexia are dyslexia and reading and spelling disorder. Find out everything you need to know about dyslexia here - symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.
ICD codes for this disease: ICD codes are internationally recognized codes for medical diagnoses. They can be found, for example, in doctor's letters or on certificates of incapacity for work. F81
Brief overview
- Description and symptoms: impaired reading and / or writing ability: slow, faltering reading, slipping in the line, swapping letters. Reading is often not understood. Dyslexia can be congenital or acquired. It is mostly recognized in early elementary school age.
- Causes: Congenital dyslexia: presumably genetic changes (mutations) on chromosome 6. Acquired dyslexia: It is much more common and can occur if areas responsible for reading have been damaged by a stroke or an accident, for example.
- Diagnosis: Anamnesis to collect symptoms and medical history, physical examinations such as vision and hearing tests, electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain waves, intelligence test, specific dyslexia text.
- Treatment: targeted reading promotion inside and outside of school. Informing the community about the diagnosis to encourage patience and understanding. Application for compensation for disadvantages in order to adapt performance records and grades in the area of reading / writing to the impairment. For accompanying psychological problems: psychological support.
Dyslexia: description
In dyslexia, the ability to read and / or write is impaired. Dyslexia affects between five and 15 percent of the total population, although the severity of the disorder can vary. Most often, dyslexia is discovered in the first few years of school.
Genetic factors seem to favor dyslexia. But it can also occur after a traumatic brain injury or a stroke.
Other, older names for dyslexia are dyslexia and reading-spelling disorder.
Dyslexia or Alexia?
In the case of dyslexia, the ability to read is impaired. With alexia, on the other hand, those affected cannot read at all. Alexia usually develops when the nerve tracts that are responsible for reading have been interrupted. This can happen, for example, as a result of a stroke, a traumatic brain injury or as a result of a tumor.
A distinction is made between phonological and semantic alexia:
- Phonological Alexia: Those affected can recognize individual letters, but cannot combine them into one word.
- semantic alexia: those affected can put the letters together to form words, but cannot understand what they have read.
Dyslexia: symptoms
People with dyslexia read very slowly and hesitantly. When reading, they often slip in the line or swap letters. In addition, they often cannot understand what they have read.
Dyslexia: causes
A distinction is made between congenital and acquired dyslexia.
- Congenital dyslexia: Genetic changes (mutations) on chromosome 6 are probably responsible for congenital dyslexia. The mutation causes certain areas of the brain that are responsible for reading to be less active. Those affected can read individual letters, but cannot combine them into words.
- Acquired dyslexia: Much more common than the congenital variant. Acquired dyslexia occurs when the region of the brain responsible for reading has been damaged, e.g. by a stroke or accident. Usually other areas of the brain are also affected. Therefore, acquired dyslexia is often associated with language and spelling disorders.
Dyslexia: diagnosis
If you suspect dyslexia in your child, see a pediatrician as soon as possible. An untreated reading disorder can cause insecurity, fears and other pschische problems in the affected child, which can make dyslexia therapy difficult.
The pediatrician will first discuss the symptoms and previous medical history with you and your child. Possible questions are:
- How does the reading disorder express itself specifically?
- Do other family members have dyslexia?
- How has your child developed so far, for example in terms of walking and speaking?
- How great is your child's motivation to learn?
- Does your child only have problems with reading or also with spelling?
- Does your child have any known physical or mental illnesses?
Investigations
The doctor will then examine your child thoroughly. The aim is to rule out certain diseases as the cause of the reading disorder. The examinations include, for example:
- Eyesight and hearing tests: This can be used to find out whether the reading problems are due to poor eyesight or hearing.
- Electroencephalography (EEG): The measurement of brain disturbances makes any structural or functional disorders of the brain visible.
- Intelligence test: With an IQ test, it can be ruled out that a reduced intelligence hinders learning to read.
Dyslexia test
The doctor himself checks the reading ability with a special dyslexia test. The child has to read a short text out loud. Depending on how confidently it reads, the test will be positive or negative.
Dyslexia: treatment
Once the diagnosis has been made, the child's social environment (teacher, classmates, relatives, friends) should be informed. Because dyslexia often puts the affected children under great psychological pressure - many are ashamed of their reading disorder, suffer from self-doubt and fear of failure. In addition, there is the pressure to perform at school, which can exacerbate reading difficulties. If the environment reacts patiently and understandingly, this can relieve the child considerably and prevent stigmatization.
Children with dyslexia should also be given targeted support inside and outside of school in order to enable reading success and thus increase self-confidence and the joy of reading.
Compensation for disadvantages
Parents of dyslexia children can apply for a so-called disadvantage compensation from the Ministry of Culture. This stipulates that the school performance of those affected in the area of reading and / or writing is assessed differently. This is to save children suffering from dyslexia from further disappointment. A medical certificate must be presented to the school psychologist to apply for compensation for disadvantages.
Most children feel relieved by the disadvantage compensation, because they no longer have to read aloud, for example, and get better grades. This strengthens their self-confidence and later improves their chances of getting an apprenticeship position. But there are also children who perceive the compensation for disadvantages as a devaluation, which can reduce the motivation to learn.
Dyslexia: prognosis
The earlier dyslexia is identified and treated, the better the prognosis. Above all, it is important to properly treat possible psychological problems. If children with dyslexia suffer from fear of school and failure, it is advisable to consult a child psychologist.
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