Do I have dyslexia if I place numbers backwards, unless I'm very careful? E.g. If I see 17 I may write 71? The same happens with letters sometimes. Details: I'm a 22-year-old man with a degree in engineering and this started when I was 17.
This is dyslexia. That this is about numbers is immaterial I believe. Dyscalculia is about memorizing and understanding math facts or processes.I cannot fathom the idea that inverting or mis-sequencing a string of digits be any different than doing this with letters of words or syllables.It is about memory or processing the stored data in the right sequence when outputting.I have not kept up with the recent research, but from what I remember of the few courses I took on dyslexia 15 years ago, this is what I feel is happening. Processing information in the wrong sequence is a sign of the brain going too fast. I remember having a student who had a high IQ after being tested, but the speed of her writing was so slow that she mis-sequenced the spelling of words and skipped words altogether even. Motor skills are too slow versus cognitive processing. We could say the same thing for decoding (our mouth might not be outputting what we are thinking in the right sequence). It is a matter of coordination, putting all the different steps in the right order. The neuronal path must be strengthened. I figure also that at the start of learning there might be a lot of side paths that the signal can take. There might ALSO be in some instances a lot of roads made up of syllables that make up one word.This latest research sort of confirms this:Reading between the lines in children's vocabulary differencesBtw, increasing oral and written vocabulary (the way it is stated in the article) is what I did a lot when I was teaching French (as a 2nd language) in immersion classes.
Is my friend dyslexic...I'm confused?
Poor spelling is CLASSIC dyslexia; so is phonetic spelling, which you allude to in your post ("rilly" for "really.") In fact, some dyslexics have such a horrible time spelling that even spellcheck has NO IDEA what they meant. There's a free online spellchecker specifically for dyslexics: http://www.ghotit.com/free_service.shtml They misinterpret stuff in their head, too...although the smart dyslexics (which is the majority of them, actually) compensate by taking really good guesses based on context. I have a dyslexic son; I'd say he gets about 2/3 of what he's reading. Writing is more difficult for him than reading is, and spelling is an exercise in frustration. Before you feel TOO sorry for your friend (aw, the poor widdle fing!), I want you to go to the library and rent a video called "How Hard Can This Be?" I need to tell ya, I'm dyslexic, too (although it hits me in math abilities), and I saw that video for the first time when I was 16 and I remember sitting there (at home) with tears in my eyes because someone finally GOT IT, someone UNDERSTOOD. Even if I didn't, here was proof that I wasn't crazy. It's by a gentleman named Lavoie, I think. "Illiterate" is different from "dyslexic." Don't give up on her. Be a resource. Be supportive. She can certainly go to college. She can get books from the national service that makes textbooks on tape for the blind. Reading is the worst possible way for her to take in information. She'll simply have to find an alternate method. But it's doable. And she's probably a very creative thinker. Don't write her off just because of that. It didn't stop Leonardo da Vinci. Or Thomas Edison. For more on dyslexia, google "Barton Reading." She has a reading system that's geared towards dyslexics, and her website is full of information.
Why do I suffer from this type of numeric dyslexia, where I keep reversing numbers, usually the last two digits? Is there any solution to it?
Some people reverse numbers when they look and then write - while other may reverse when then hear someone say numbers and then they write them or say them back. The visual skips may happen because the eyes slip their focus and the brain doesn't register it. Sometimes tapping each number reduces the likelihood that you'll make a mistake - but other factors such as the numbers being too small or being close together may also make errors less likely. If you can alternative colors of numbers or their background this may help - I'm thinking about people who have to work with Excel sheets and the like.The ones that happen from listening are usually a sign that your auditory working memory is being overloaded. 2 different strategies for that - one, slow the speaker down - and perhaps repeat back what's been heard (subvocalization). Two, either visualize or write down (well spaced) what's been heard. Visualization is usually easier with a slow speaker.Hope that helps. We know some folks who have to work with columns of numbers for their work using Excel sheets - and activating the text to speech options in Excel can really help. It is frustrating for sure!
Adult Dyslexia?
It's worth the effort... Latest research is showing that there are some very simple techniques that can reduce the problems with dyslexia. A son of a friend was diagnosed as dyslexic (when he moved from primary school to secondary school), He appeared to be unable to read the normal books. The kid was given these plastic tinged sheets (yellow, for some reason) and, all of a sudden, was able to read complete words and sentences. It seems that, with the normal black type on white paper he was seeing less than half the words on a page. Now, he sees all the words, and is beginning to recognize them quickly and easily. He's now catching up with his classmates in both maths and languages. My granddaughter has also been diagnosed as having a form of dyslexia. Not the same as the kid above, but she now knows how to check what she writes in exams, and can see when she does this strange thing of adding in words and phrases. She does need a reader to ensure that she gets the questions in tests and exams, but it's making a difference to her school work, and even ordinary everyday life, because she can now compensate for the "mess" she sees in pages. Me, I'm dyslexic as well -- my "trick" to getting through books (I read two or three novels a week, plus a lot of business stuff) was to use a straight edge along the lines of words. I don't need the straightedge nowadays, unless I'm tired or my eyes are tired, but it made a huge difference in primary and secondary school and even at university. The thing is, dyslexia never goes away, whether is really bad (the first kid) or mild (as in my case). I still need a straight edge when I'm working with explaining an approach to, for example, a programming problem, or to show the flow of a process for auditing systems. So, get tested -- it might be that you only have a mild form of dyslexia (like reading "bog" for "god" or being unable to distinguish left from right (another bit that happens to me) without other visual clues (watch on left wrist, not right wrist) or the direction that puts a screw INTO a join rather than out). Or it might be a a more serious form. School (from primary through adult education) is a rather protected place where dyslexia is a minor problem. Out there, when you start to work, you will have real problems and you will really need coping mechanisms if you ever want to hold down a career job.
Why is my 4 year old writing from right to left?
my daughter is 4 and in pre-k and she just started writing from right to left, she was doing it correctly and now shes not. And when we work on her numbers she is reading those from right to left as well. Shes not picking up on her sight words I work on them all the time with her but shes not getting it. Her teachers have noticed the change is there something i should be worried about???
Accommodations for students with dyslexia or dysgraphia?
I don't know about other people, but for myself, something that really help are: -Photo copied version of teacher's notes. If I do have to copy from the board, teachers use print, not cursive and leave descent spaces between lines -When doing novel studies where books won't be read out loud in class, to get the book a week or two early helps a lot -If I have to read out loud in class, knowing what passage a day before so I can practice helps -The use of a computer with spell check for written exams -Extra time for exams -Being aloud to write in the test booklet -Not being penalized in non-language classes (math, sciences,social studies) for spelling mistakes Remediation, as much as I hate it, is important as well.