Dyslexia Impacts Hearing Too

Some consider dyslexia a problem that exclusively affects the ability to read and recall words. However, data suggest dyslexia encompasses more than just that, and affects how the brain processes speech as well.

Dyslexia affects Processing Speech

Typically, there are big differences in reading, but for something like listening, there are subtle, critical differences.

The differences in listening can cause problems for those with dyslexia, not only in understanding meanings, but also in comprehending sounds of speech. Data suggests that people with dyslexia have trouble recognizing voices.

Problems with comprehending sounds of speech can cause children with dyslexia to misspeak, for instance, calling a “champ” a “camp”.

The child understands what they are trying to communicate, but they are unable to transmit their understanding to the sounds necessary to correctly utter the word.

Dyslexics compared with Non-Dyslexics in Reading

Data suggests that there are big differences in dyslexics and non-dyslexics in a broad range of tasks such as reading.

There appears to be a wide range of learning difficulties that can be circumvented, but language and reading difficulties are challenging to circumvent.

Normal reading is the ability to have all brain systems integrate automatically. In dyslexia, the brain is not able to integrate its unit of sound systems with other components of its language comprehension system.

Even when dyslexics learn to read well, spoken language deficiencies can persist.

Diagnostic Tests for Dyslexia

Common diagnostic tests will require the participant to separate sounds from words such as saying “batman” only with the “bat” part.

The voice-recognition task might be used as well, to identify young children at risk for dyslexia.

For a comprehensive understanding of the assessment and diagnostic process for dyslexia, please visit us here.

The Takeaway 

For dyslexic children, the ability of truly hearing and comprehending a parent or teacher speak may be a problem.

If a child has trouble grasping the sounds that make up language, acquiring reading skills will be harder.

It is important to understand that what may appear as unintelligent, such as not being able to answer, “who is the president?”, is not a problem of intelligence at all, but rather of word retrieval.  Reframing a basic question like that as a multiple-choice question, makes it a lot more likely that the child will answer the question correctly.

The Pathways team of professionals has helped thousands of people with Dyslexia. We are Dedicated to effective and compassionate care for individuals with neurological challenges.  If you have concerns you might have dyslexia, contact Dr Gordon for a comprehensive evaluation and effective treatment. 

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