Page 119 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2019

HEALTHY LIVING jumbl d
story by Lynn Lofton
There can be many reasons children
have difficulty learning to read. One of those may be dyslexia, something that can label a smart child as slow.
Tamela Prince, an accredited teacher with specialization in teaching dyslexic students, gives this definition: “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological 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 their cognitive abilities.”
A teacher at the 3-D School Gulf Coast, a private state accredited special purpose school that services children whose primary diagnosis is dyslexia, she points out that dyslexia is difficult to diagnose. For that reason, dyslexic students are often labeled lazy, withdrawn, and frustrated.
“The diagnosis of dyslexia requires a comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation by a state licensed, highly credentialed diagnostician,” Prince said. “Because of the complexity of diagnosing dyslexia, a diagnostician
needs a deep understanding
of dyslexia to sift through the information provided from medical and school history, as well as the assessment given during the formal evaluation.”
Early identification of dyslexia is very important to the future success of these children, she explains. “Although dyslexia is receiving more attention, there
continues to be a lack
of understanding
regarding what dyslexia
is and interventions
required to adequately
service students with
dyslexia,” Prince said.
“The reality is that
the dyslexic brain is
amazing. It thinks,
creates, solves problems
and processes information
in a different way; it’s
able to think outside the
box.”
When these children are given the research based instruction to become fully literate, they often grow into leaders in business, science, industry, education,
and the arts.
Based on decades of research in the
area of reading, treatment requires specialized direct instruction using an Orton-Gillingham based multi-sensory program. This type of instruction is explicit, cumulative and incremental in teaching the critical components of reading.
3D School Gulf Coast Open House: October 4, 8:30-11 a.m.
3D School Gulf Coast
228.697.3323 • www.the3dschool.org
FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net October 2019 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 119
e