The symptoms exhibited by dyslexic individuals is closely related to other disorders such as Attention-deficit hyperactivity Disorder, auditory processing disorder, developmental dyspraxia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia (cited in Dalby, 1985). Usually, this disorders display poor short-tem memory skills, poor personal organization skills, problems processing spoken language, left-right confusion, difficulties with numeracy or arithmetic and issues with balance and coordination (cited in Murphy, 2004).
However, there is no definite set of symptoms that would easily identify an individual with dyslexia. Dyslexia exhibits a series of symptoms that are not specific to this disorder. Therefore, dyslexia is a syndrome – wherein formal diagnosis is performed by a neurologist or a psychologist. However, a thorough evaluation is based on testing of reading ability and underlying skills related to rapid naming, memory, sequencing, numerical and phonetics.
In general, individuals with dyslexia often demonstrate the following: May be bright, intelligent and articulate, however their reading, writing and spelling level is below their average age group. Have the same intelligence range as people without dyslexia. May have poor academic achievement due to their problems in reading and writing. May have good oral language abilities but will perform much-poorly on written-language tests.
Because dyslexia primarily affects reading while sparing other intellectual abilities, affected individuals might be categorized as not “behind enough” or “bad enough” to receive additional help in school setting. Might feel dumb or have low self-esteem; easily frustrated and emotional about school reading or testing. Might try to hide their reading weaknesses through compensatory “strategies”. Might learn best through hands on experiences, demonstrations, experimentations, observations and visual aids. Can show talents in other areas
Have difficulty sustaining attention (cited in Davis, 1992) Individuals with dyslexia show signs of confusion in speech and listening skills. They have difficulty distinguishing right and left or before and after; they have difficulty learning the alphabet and its corresponding phonetics; can not associate words with their correct meanings; and because of this fear of possibly making mistakes, some kids become isolated and withdrawn and shy, whilst other kids would become bullies to actively hide their inability to understand the social situation.
They may also have a problem with their handwriting and would result to slower writing speed and irregular formed letters. These dyslexic children are very gifted when it comes to mathematics, however, since they are having a hard time processing words, word-based problems in mathematics might slow their reaction time in comparison with number problems.
As of now, treatment per se for dyslexia does not involve any radical surgeries or pharmacological advancement to help reduce or even cure dyslexia permanently or even temporarily. It is bold to assume that dyslexia has no cure but rather, only needs supportive measures for the dyslexic to cope up with his or her environment. Supportive measures that involves intensive teaching methods to help them learn accordingly; psychological sessions to help with their self-esteem and explain their conditions; strong support group or peer group for their socialization improvement and the most important is the support that they get from their families.