Have A Dyslexia Test To Know If You Are Dyslexic
Dyslexia is mostly a condition that causes someone to have trouble reading, right? And also the only sure way to detect it is through a dyslexia test, right? O.K. So why is it so difficult to get a clear definition of dyslexia?
The key reason why there's confusion is that the meaning of the term 'dyslexia' depends on who's using it. Should you become confused when reading about dyslexia, don't feel alone! It's a bit confusing! People are using the concept of "dyslexia" to mean different things.
The situation is further complicated when you start to research information about dyslexia. You learn about auditory, visual, orthographic and phonological dyslexia. What do all these mean? Which are the types of dyslexia and how do you distinguish between one type and another?
There is a great deal of confusion around the terminology being used.
To begin with, let's see if we can clear up some of the confusion and have a clearer perspective on what the term "dyslexia" actually means.
It is important to understand that you have two different schools of thought, two different ways in which the word "dyslexia" itself is used. The 2 different meanings of dyslexia are:
1. In the pure academic sense the term "dyslexia" carries a literal meaning based on the etymology of this word itself. From its parts, 'Dys' means wrong or problematic (for instance, as with 'dysfunctional') and 'lexia', which means regarding words and letters. So literally, 'dys'-'lexia' comes from difficulties with words. In this sense, whoever has problems with reading, for whatever reason, has dyslexia.
2. There is a much wider use and application, used by parents of dyslexics and by dyslexic adults. In the applications sense, dyslexia refers to a range of symptoms which include difficulties with reading, writing and spelling plus other concerns like difficulties with hearing and remembering what was heard, poor short-term memory and certain difficulties with physical coordination.
And for that reason, as you can see, the meaning of "dyslexia" depends on who's speaking and the context in which the word will be used. The only method to know whether an individual is dyslexic or not, and what type or severity he / she may have is through dyslexia tests.
It is estimated that 10% of the population suffers from some type and degree of dyslexia. That's why school-age children have become routinely screened for dyslexia. Any child with reading problems will go through a preliminary dyslexia test. If needed, she or he will go through full dyslexia testing.
We'll have to deal with the various kinds of dyslexia in another article...