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Nancy Thorup

Dyslexia, Dysgraphia & Dyscalculia

What is a specific learning disorder with impairment in reading (Dyslexia)?

It is language-based disorder and is a general term that involves difficulty in learning to read or interpreting words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence. A student with Dyslexia will display difficulty with connecting sounds to symbols, sounding out and spelling words, unable to easily convert new words into ‘sight words’ and struggles to recognize a word as a whole.

  1. Phonological Dyslexia is trouble breaking words into syllables and into smaller sound units called phonemes. This makes it difficult to sound out or “decode” words.

  2. Surface Dyslexia (Dyseidetic) is difficulty converting new words into ‘sight words’ and recognizing a word as a whole. This skill is important for words that have tricky spellings or for words like weight and debt that can’t be sounded out – readers must memorize them.

What is a specific learning disorder with impairment in writing (Dysgraphia)?

Dysgraphia is a specific learning disability in which the ability to express oneself through written language is impaired. It has the potential to cause problems with spelling, organizing words on a page, and putting thoughts on paper. It often overlaps with other cognitive disabilities such as dyslexia, speech impairment, attention deficit disorder, or developmental coordination disorder.

What is a light sensitivity?

Sensitivity to light is a perceptual processing disorder. It is a visual processing problem which appears to be caused by a defect in one of the visual pathways that carries messages from the eye to the brain. It is not an optical or language-based disorder. Phonics-based instruction will not help a student with a light sensitivity. Students with a light sensitivity have difficulty reading because their brains see distortions on the printed page, or the white background or glare hurts their eyes.

About the Author

Vikki Carrel

Vikki Carrel

Academic Language Therapist, Multi-book Author, National Speaker

Vikki empowers people! She is an Academic Language Therapist, multi-book author and a national speaker. Vikki grew up in Salt Lake City, met her husband at the University of Utah, and has owned several companies across the United States. In 2010, Vikki and her husband moved back to Utah from Doylestown, Pennsylvania and she founded Vikki Carrel & Company, a speaking and training organization. Read more about the author

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