Dyslexia In language
The child has problems:
- Composing and structuring sentences correctly.
- Expressing himself in clear terms.
- Using verbs at the right tenses.
In general, his expression and verbal comprehension are still poor, much behind his mental capacity.
3.2 In reading
The child often reads in a hesitant, mechanical way, and therefore he finds no pleasure in reading; school subjects in different fields are difficult for him.
This happens due to the fact that all the child’s effort is focused on deciphering the words, and he can hardly infer their meaning.
If the reading is done silently, it might become comprehensive, but if the child has to read loudly, various problems will appear.
Shows difficulty in using a dictionary, and also in learning the alphabetical order of the letters, as well as any other topic that implies a certain order, like the months of the year, the multiplication table, etc.
3.3 In writing
The motor aspect still shows a certain level of awkwardness.
Muscle stiffness and fatigue occurs frequently.
Calligraphy is irregular and unsophisticated. Some of the letters are almost identical. Writing is largely undeveloped, and the size of the letters varies a lot.
His spelling is poor, there are plenty of mistakes.
Many of the mistakes characteristic to the previous level still occur: confusions, omissions, inversions, repetitions.
When writing, the child needs to make a great effort to put the sentences in order, use the right punctuation marks and express himself in precise terms.
While this stage presents a variety of different characteristics, some children still show features typical for the previous stage; this depends on several factors:
Firstly, on the mental level: children with a high intellectual capacity manage to overcome the difficulties, so their dyslexia appears greatly attenuated.
Then, on the seriousness of the disorder: a severe dyslexia, regardless of the other factors, is more difficult to overcome than a mild one.
Finally, it depends a lot on whether the child was diagnosed early and has received an adequate treatment.
Read MoreDyslexia In calculation
Mirror-writing of numbers.
Inversion of figures in numbers consisting of two or more figures. Example: 24 and 42.
Problems increase when it comes to hundreds or thousands, such as 104 and 140.
Mistaking numbers that sound similar. Example: 30 and 40.
Difficulty in creating series of numbers, both in ascending and descending order.
Tendency to start math operations from the left.
Difficulty in solving problems, when this involves verbal comprehension.
- Children over 12 years of age (Secondary school)
The child has problems focusing when reading or writing.
Shows primary memory problems, not being able to remember what he read, due to his difficulty in understanding read and written text, as well as mathematical concepts.
Interprets information in the wrong way, as he is unable to comprehend abstract information and also due to his poor reading skills.
Shows difficulty in organizing his space, his working materials and also his own thoughts when reading or writing.
Cannot manage his time, and has no strategies to finish his tasks on time.
Works slowly and cannot adapt to new environments.
His social abilities don’t function properly, and he doesn’t manage to make friends or understand conversations.
Finally, he avoids reading, writing and doing math, and gets into an emotional block.
Read MoreCharacteristics of a Dyslexic Child (part two)
2.2 In oral language
The child overcomes dyslalia (a disorder in the articulation of phonemes. It refers to the inability to pronounce certain phonemes or groups of phonemes correctly. The language of a child with a serious form of dyslalia can be incomprehensible.) and the omissions characteristic to the pre-school stage. However, his verbal expression is still poor, and he has difficulties in learning new words, especially if they are phonetically complex.
2.3 In reading
His reading is full of mistakes uncharacteristic for this age.
In letters: There can appear confusions, generally between letters that are somewhat similar from a morphological and phonetic point of view, such as handwritten ‘a’ and ‘o’, printed ‘a’ and ‘e’, pronounced ‘o’ and ‘u’. These confusions also include letters whose shape is similar, differing only in respect to their position towards a certain line of symmetry, like d/b, u/n, p/q, g/p, b/g, d/p. There can also occur omissions of certain letters, mainly at the end of each word and in compound syllables.
In syllables: Inversions, changing the order of letters within a direct (CV) or reverse (VC) syllable and changing the order of syllables within a word is still common.
In words: The child makes omissions, repetitions and/or substitutions of a word for another that starts with the same syllable or that sounds similar, like in ‘accept’ and ‘except’.
Lack of rhythm in reading (reads excessively and notoriously slow).
Absence of punctuation marks in reading and writing.
Skipping or repeating lines.
Mechanical, not comprehensive, reading.
2.4. In writing
Mirror writing, one letter at a time.
Numbers and letters well-written, but drawn with basic, twisted lines or individual, loose strokes. (Direction/ Address)
Mistaking letters that are similar in shape or sound (just like in reading).
Omission of letters, syllables or whole words.
Mixing uppercase and lowercase letters.
Inverting letters, syllables and words, although this happens most often in reverse or closed syllables.
Repeating letters, syllables or words.
Difficulty in correctly separating the elements of a sentence. Example: `The moth erof myf riend.’
Unclear writing, as he writes some letters a little differently.
Lack of hand coordination.
Inadequate position of the child, as well as of the sheet of paper.
Inappropriate muscle tonicity, caused by insufficient of excessive pressure.
Slowness.
Writing fatigue, as a result of the pressure put by the inadequate position.
Read MoreGeneral characteristics of a child with dyslexia
Swaps the positions of letters, numbers and words.
Confuses the order of the letters within words.
Finds it difficult to make the connection between letters and sounds, and to decipher learned words.
Shows difficulty in pronouncing words, as he inverts or substitutes syllables.
Doesn’t know the left from the right, and presents mirror-writing.
Has poor motor coordination, gets confused easily, and is prone to accidents.
Does not hold the pen correctly.
His motor coordination disorder results in poor handwriting and calligraphy.
Cannot follow a series of verbal instructions.
His reading comprehension is very poor, and he remembers information very slowly.
Has problems understanding time, and is unable to tell the hour, day, month or year.
Cannot organize or write his thoughts. Grammar and orthography are characteristic and deficient.
Shows difficulties in learning basic numerical concepts, such as the multiplication table, and cannot apply these concepts in to calculate and solve problems.
Read MoreChild Characteristics at educational level
Depending on the age of the student, dyslexia can present some specific characteristics that, within some wide limits, can be classified in different levels.
At school, dyslexia becomes obvious at basic subjects like reading, writing and calculation.
When they start studying these subjects, many children show some of these disorders that are characteristic to dyslexic children, such as mirror writing, inversions, etc. But these children show only a slight immaturity of the visual and motor functions or of their laterality, and, once the necessary level of maturity is reached, the problem disappears.
Generally, a dyslexic child overcomes the difficulties of a level only to face other difficulties in the next one. However, an adequate intervention will gradually attenuate the burden.
Thus, the most remarkable and outstanding features at each level are:
- Children aged 3 to 6 (Pre-school stage)
Slow lexical development and a delay in the development of speaking, with difficulties in spelling or pronouncing words.
Clumsiness in jumping and running.
Difficulty in following instructions and understanding routines.
Lack of attention and an increased activity and impulsivity.
Difficulty in fastening buttons, buckles or zippers. This motor clumsiness results in a little ability to do handwriting and graphic exercises.
Difficulty in memorizing numbers, the alphabet, the days of the week, the colors, shapes, sizes, positions etc.
Lack of control of the pen and scissors.
Occurrence of problematic situations in his social interactions.
During this stage of early childhood education, children are initiated in the phases that precede writing and reading. Occasionally, they can present difficulties that can be mistaken for dyslexia, without the children actually being dyslexic. Their learning difficulties might be related to some maturative aspects. However, we cite them in order to prevent possible difficulties.
The disorders generally occur in the field of oral language.
Dyslalia (difficulties in talking).
Omissions of certain phonemes, especially in compound, closed or vowel-consonant syllables (CCV, CV, VC).
Confusing phonemes, which generally results in unclear speaking.
Inversions of phonemes, as in ‘aminal’ instead of ‘animal’, or of entire syllables within a word, such as ‘cocholate’ instead of ‘chocolate’.
Poor vocabulary and expression, and low verbal comprehension.
Some authors say that the word `dyslexia` should not be used in children younger than seven, thus observing their process of maturation and development. It is acceptable to speak about dyslexic features or symptoms, with the aim of initiating an early psycho-pedagogical treatment and diminish the child’s difficulty.
Read MoreCharacteristics of a Dyslexic Child
Dyslexic children present a series of common characteristics that manifest in their way of reacting, their personality and school performances. Even though all children are different and not all of them present all the characteristics, they still have many of them in common.
Dyslexia is a special learning disability, whose symptoms change as the child grows and develops. From as early as the preschool stage, it is possible to notice small details that could make us suspect that a child is dyslexic. Between ages 6 and 11, the symptoms are more obvious, or, at least, better known. From the age of 12, learning disorders become more clear.
For a child to be dyslexic, he doesn’t need to show all the symptoms described below. At the same time, it doesn’t mean he is dyslexic for only showing one of them.
Characteristics at personal level:
Lack of attention. Due to the great intellectual focus he must sustain in order to overcome his characteristic difficulties of perception, the child will present a high level of fatigue, which will result in variable attention. Thus, acquiring literacy will require a great effort on their part if they are not interested and they find no intrinsic motivation that could attract their attention.
Lack of interest for learning. His school grades and general performance are usually low, which causes demotivation and low self-esteem for the student. Some children may be very hard-working, and they still won’t see any result to their efforts. This will often make them become uninterested, work less and eventually fall behind.
Personal maladjustment. Sometimes we find dyslexic students showing features that denote an emotional imbalance; these features include low self-esteem and behavioral problems, even violence.
A feeling of insecurity and obstinacy.
Read MoreAPA Formatting: An Overview
All throughout your education, you will be asked by your professors to write academic papers from time to time. In writing academic papers, you need to use some sources to introduce previously established ideas related to your topic, to back up your own ideas with past findings, or to provide a point of comparison that will allow readers to track how things developed or changed throughout time. Aside from being well-supported by references, an effective academic paper must also be done and presented systematically. With this, you certainly need to familiarize yourself with formatting rules such as the APA style which will be discussed in this article.
What is APA style?
This formatting style, developed in 1929 by the American Psychological Association (APA), is most widely used in writing academic papers in different fields, especially the social sciences. If you are already accustomed to other formatting and referencing styles such as Chicago or MLA, that’s great. However, it is strongly recommended that you also get a good grip of APA formatting rules for some professors will surely require you to use these.
If you’re preparing to enter the university or getting ready for a social science subject and want to know more about APA formatting, you can read on for more substantial information that might come in handy.
APA Paper Format
As mentioned earlier, a good academic paper must be written and presented in a well-organized manner. In order to achieve this, rules were created for the whole write-up starting from the size of the paper to the content and reference list.
- The Basics
In writing an academic paper in APA format, you have to use an 8.5 x 11 inch paper and make sure that it has a 1 inch margin on all sides. Also, the contents of your paper must be typed using Times New Roman with a font size of 12 and should always be double-spaced.
In every page, the title of your paper must be included in the left part of the header and the page number in Arabic numeral on the right. If your title has more than 50 characters, make a shorter version of it and use that shorter title for your header.
- Components of Your Paper
The first part of your paper is obviously the title page. On this page, you must type the title of your paper, your name, ID number, course title, school, and name of the professor. Don’t forget to have them centered on the page.
As previously mentioned, every page must have a shorter version of the title and a page number. The only difference with the other pages is that for the title page, you would need to type “Running head: ” before the short title.
After making the title page, the next page should contain the Abstract. Simply put, this is a summary of your whole paper and must only be composed of 150-250 words. Have the word “Abstract” centered on the page and the write-up itself should not be indented.
The body of a paper is usually composed of an Introduction, Review of Related Literature, Method, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion and Recommendations. However, these may vary depending on the requirement of your professor. For example, some professors won’t require a separate chapter for the Review of Related Literature and would instead ask you to incorporate that into the Introduction and Discussion.
Just remember that all headings must be in bold and the first letter of each word should be capitalized except for the articles, conjunctions and prepositions. Also, you should have all first-level headings centered on the page and all second-level headings aligned to the left.
- Referencing Rules
Proper referencing is one of the most important parts of the APA paper format. As you write the main content of your paper, you will notice the need for citing sources. You can’t just make a statement and then tell people that it’s based on your common sense. No matter how simple it is the right way to do it is either to get some data from your results that might explain your claim or just support your statement with previous findings of experts.
There are several citation guidelines that need to be followed but normally, you just have to type the last name of the author, insert a comma, type the year of publication, and then enclose these in a parenthesis. This should be located at the end of the sentence before the period.
Whenever you write an in-text citation as mentioned above, make sure that you take note of these citations and include them in the reference list. So for instance, if you have 10 different in-text citations in the body of your paper, your reference list must have 10 entries as well.
Again, certain rules must be followed for each type of reference. In general, the sources listed in the reference list are composed of the last name of the author/s with the first letter of their first name, year of publication, title that is italicized, and place of publication. They should be alphabetized and presented with the first line of the reference aligned to the left and the next lines indented as shown below.
Additional Insights
Aside from the fact that APA formatting can standardize the presentation of academic papers, APA paper format can also prevent you from being accused of plagiarism. Institutions consider plagiarism as a major offense and you could get penalized because of this. In order to avoid this, make sure that you give proper credit to the authors by strictly following the citation rules.
There are some cases wherein some students do not intentionally plagiarize but because of their negligence, they get into this kind of trouble. You probably have heard this a thousand times from your mom, but please try to be responsible and organized.
Another good thing about APA formatting is that it can add credibility to your study by presenting findings of experts that support your ideas and allow you to present the key points in a comprehensible manner.
Although Wikipedia is the most convenient way to get some information, it is really not a great idea to cite this in your paper. Exert some effort and make use of your school library to get scholarly books or peer-reviewed journals. Another winning tip, there are also online databases where you can get access to valid sources from the comfort of your own home. Using APA as a formatting style may be confusing at first but with constant practice and exposure, you will surely be able to master this in no time.
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