This week, Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Jennifer Longoria about dyslexia in children and the importance of early detection and support. Dr. Longoria is an Associate Professor in Pediatrics and a board-certified pediatric neuropsychologist at MUSC Children’s Health.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. It's estimated that dyslexia affects 15 to 20% of children in the U.S., and early identification is an important step to help children with this learning disorder. Doctor Jennifer Longoria is here to talk about the details. Doctor Longoria is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and a board-certified pediatric neuropsychologist at MUSC Children’s Health. Doctor Longoria, tell us briefly about dyslexia.
Dr. Longoria: Dyslexia is a term that we use to describe children and adults who have significant difficulties with reading. Clinically, we would call this diagnosis a specific learning disorder with impairment reading. Essentially, both terms mean that the individual has significant difficulties decoding words, reading fluently, understanding what they read, and also spelling.
Conner: What are some of the common signs of dyslexia in a child, and at what age might parents see these possible symptoms?
Dr. Longoria: Symptoms of dyslexia typically are going to present in early elementary school. Children are going to have difficulties learning the alphabet, recognizing what each letter looks like and sounds like. And as you ask children to start building on those skills, to decode small words, to read quickly, you're going to notice that that's very effortful and difficult for them.
Conner: Do any certain groups of children have increased risk for learning difficulties in reading?
Dr. Longoria: Children who have a family history of learning difficulties are more likely to have dyslexia. We also see increased rates of dyslexia in individuals who have a history of ADHD, or children who have had language delays. And for our kids who are medically complex, they also have increased risk of difficulties with reading.
Conner: Why is early diagnosis of dyslexia especially important?
Dr. Longoria: We really want to catch dyslexia cases early because there's a pretty big shift in learning that happens for elementary aged kids. When they're first in elementary school, they are learning to read. But around third grade, they transition from learning to read, to reading to learn. So over time, children have more responsibilities to learn from written text, things like reading worksheets and textbooks. And so eventually they will fall behind if they're required to extract new information from written text only.
Conner: What is the first step for parents if they have concerns about possible signs of dyslexia?
Dr. Longoria: If your child is in a public school, start by talking to the school psychologist. Public schools are required to evaluate your child, if you submit a request in writing, and they can determine if your child would benefit from services. If you have a child who is medically complex or they have a developmental history of ADHD or language delays, talk to their pediatrician or medical specialist to find out if an evaluation would be warranted.
Conner: What approaches are helpful for children who are diagnosed with dyslexia?
Dr. Longoria: We want these kids to have access to early, high quality, evidence-based intervention, and that they're tailored to each individual learner. And typically, we'll start by helping kids develop automaticity with recognizing and naming letters and sounds. And then from there, we want to work to improve their speed and their comprehension and their spelling.
Conner: Doctor Longoria, thanks for talking with us about dyslexia.
Dr. Longoria: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.
Conner: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
