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. 2006 Nov;11(9):581-7.
doi: 10.1093/pch/11.9.581.

Perspectives on dyslexia

Linda S Siegel  1
Affiliations

Perspectives on dyslexia

Linda S Siegel. Paediatr Child Health. 2006 Nov.

Abstract
in English, French

Dyslexia, or a reading disability, occurs when an individual has significant difficulty with speed and accuracy of word decoding. Comprehension of text and spelling are also affected. The diagnosis of dyslexia involves the use of reading tests, but the continuum of reading performance means that any cutoff point is arbitrary. The IQ score does not play a role in the diagnosis of dyslexia. The cognitive difficulties of dyslexics include problems with speech perception, recognizing and manipulating the basic sounds in a language, language memory, and learning the sounds of letters. Dyslexia is a neurological condition with a genetic basis. There are abnormalities in the brains of dyslexic individuals. There are also differences in the electrophysiological and structural characteristics of the brains of dyslexics. Physicians play a particularly important role in recognizing children who are at risk for dyslexia and helping their parents obtain the proper assessment.

La dyslexie, une déficience de lecture, se produit lorsque l’individu éprouve d’énormes difficultés dans la vitesse et l’exactitude du décodage des mots. La compréhension de texte et l’épellation sont également touchées. Pour poser un diagnostic de dyslexie, il faut utiliser des tests de lecture, mais en raison de la séquence d’exécution de la lecture, toute limite d’inclusion est arbitraire. Le QI n’a rien à voir dans le diagnostic de dyslexie. Les troubles cognitifs des dyslexiques comprennent des troubles de perception du langage, de reconnaissance et de manipulation des sons fondamentaux d’une langue, de mémoire de la langue et d’apprentissage du son des lettres. La dyslexie est un trouble neurologique aux fondements génétiques. On remarque des anomalies dans le cerveau des dyslexiques, de même que des différences dans les caractéristiques électrophysiologiques et structurelles de leur cerveau. Les médecins jouent un rôle particulièrement important dans le dépistage des enfants vulnérables à la dyslexie et dans l’aide aux parents afin qu’ils obtiennent une évaluation convenable.

Keywords: Dyslexia; Learning disabilities; Reading disability.

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