Critical Thinking Thesis: Learning Disabilities, Specifically Dyslexia

This topic interests me because I am familiar with people who suffer from learning disabilities. This made me want to explore in detail, the learning disability called dyslexia. I have a younger sibling who has not yet been definitively diagnosed with a learning disability however, specialists say that he has a 25% delay. I also have a nephew that was diagnosed with autism. This is why studying about learning challenges and disabilities interests me. Dyslexia is a very known learning disability but not many people know how it is diagnosed, or the extent of the challenges that someone with dyslexia may face.

In this paper I will describe what dyslexia is, by providing a specified definition and I will be differentiating between the different forms to provide additional knowledge of the disability. I will also analyze the variety of tests that Psychologists use to diagnose dyslexia and I will explore dyslexia through the lens of another country to compare the norms and understanding of this learning disability to the U. S. Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects skills such as language, reading, and comprehension.

According to Hudson and colleagues, “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neuro- biological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. ” (Hudson et al. , 2007). People with dyslexia often has differences in the way that their brains are structured. Which in turn may affect their reading skills, phonological skills, and overall language abilities. Some of the differences in brain structure include: “people with dyslexia have less gray matter in the left parietotemporal area (Area A in Figure 2) than nondyslexic individuals. Having less gray matter in this region of the brain could lead to problems processing the sound structure of language (phonological awareness).

Many people with dyslexia also have less white matter in this same area than average readers, which is important because more white matter is correlated with increased reading skill (Deutsch, Dougherty, Bammer, Siok, Gabrieli, & Wandell, 2005). Having less white matter could lessen the ability or efficiency of the regions of the brain to communicate with one another. (Hudson et al. , 2007)”These differences in brain structure causes people with dyslexia to face difficulties especially in areas that require reading. Psychologists use an array of tests to help them definitively diagnose someone with a learning disability. In this case, for dyslexia, they examine areas such as oral and written language, reading, achievement, intelligence, articulation, social skills, and motor skills. Testing in all of these areas help provide specialists with thorough knowledge of capacities where dyslexic people may be suffering in.

Results of this investigation, showed that of the primary school teachers in Kuwait that were surveyed, they were not equipped to teach a student with dyslexia, showing that teachers did very little research on dyslexia or they held very little knowledge of the disability and how it could affect their students. “13. 3% of teachers never attended a workshop on dyslexia and 21. 9% of them never only attended one workshop held by the Kuwaiti Dyslexia Society. ” This means that teachers in Kuwait do not have much training on how to aid students with dyslexia. Kuwaiti primary school teachers also could not recognize the early signs and symptoms of the disability. “Only 6. 9% of the teachers that were tested held a lot of know about dyslexia and only 14% held a satisfactory level of knowledge regarding the disability. ” (Aladwani & Shaye, 2012) This study concluded that teachers were unable to diagnose, recognize and to help treat students that have dyslexia in Kuwait. It is important to compare dyslexia within global areas because it shows how in America, learning disabilities have become a very well known idea and children are frequently diagnosed with them, compared to Kuwait, where teachers are not even prepared to help students with the disability progress in school. From this study one can gather that learning disabilities are not as usual and common in other areas as they are in America.

While it may be a problem that students face, it is not relevant to the education of teachers. From a philosophical perspective, people with learning disabilities are often enabled regarding academics and this causes them to face issues with thinking independently for themselves and critically. The philosophers of difference which is a group of French philosophers is comprised of Foucault, Derrida, Guattari, and Deleuze. They believe that people affected with learning disabilities should be using different ways of thinking and theories such as transgression and the rhizome to promote independence and individualized thinking for people that have learning disabilities. Transgression describes thinking that challenges limitations and constrictions. Foucault believed that transgression will encourage people with learning disabilities to “shape their own identities by subverting the norms that compel them to repeatedly perform as marginal. ” (Allan, 2011) This will allow them to focus more on themselves and go through life guided by their own ways of thinking and avoid them from feeling enabled and controlled by others.

Deleuze and Guattari explained a theory called the rhizome which describes how learning should not have a distinct foundation or connectivity to other ideas in order to master a topic. They describe how binarism causes people who has trouble memorizing information and repeating or regurgitating facts to fall behind in the education system. Breaking the idea of binarism in education allows people to create new practices of knowledge without the necessity of building upon an already existing knowledge. Deconstruction is the idea of how we can critically think about and interpret readings and texts. It states that we should not only focus on the main interpretation of a text, but we should find other discourses that are important to the reading outside of the obvious interpretation. Deconstruction will help people who have learning disabilities with undecidability and subjectivity. It will allow them to provide more information about this marginalized group of people. It lets people to understand learning disabilities from a different perspective.

While taking in the suggested theories from philosophers, some treatments of dyslexia include both physical and occupational therapy if they are having difficulties with motor skills and abilities. Speech therapist are a good tool to help them if they have language difficulties. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a good treatment plan for people suffering from dyslexia will include “The critical elements for effective intervention include individualization, feedback and guidance, ongoing assessment, and regular ongoing practice. ” (Handler, 2011) One on one instruction by a professional trained to assist students with dyslexia, is also a good treatment option. This allows students to practice and become more exposed to language and phonological difficulties that they may be facing and be able to work through them with someone who will work on their educational weakness with them. In summation, dyslexia is a complex learning disability that entails many issue such as phonological disorders, reading, spelling, comprehension, information processing time, etc.

Due to the numerous forms of tests that can be utilized by professionals and psychologists, I think that it is not as difficult to diagnose someone with learning disabilities and dyslexia in today’s time. I believe that it’s important to study issues such as learning disabilities because it can impact someone’s ability to learn and may make it challenging for them. Philosophers believe that educators may be supporting and enabling students with a learning disability in a way that does not encourage their individuality and freedom to think how and as they want to. By applying the recommended theories of the philosophers to educating people with learning disabilities, it could make learning more fulfilling for them and make them feel as if they are in control of their education. It could also allow them to practice and exercise skills and abilities that may be affected by the learning disability. From writing this paper, I learned that the United States is much more aware, familiar, and well informed about all the things concerning learning disabilities such as diagnosing, having, and treating them. Here, a disability such as dyslexia is not uncommon for a teacher to see in an education setting. There is no cure for this disability but there are some treatments that can help people progress and make reading and language less difficult.