Who is Qualified to Diagnose Dyslexia?

Series Summary

Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects the development of the left temporal lobe, the area of the brain related to language and speech. People afflicted with dyslexia often have difficulties connecting word sounds and syllables with the written text form, and they also can have difficulties with memory and information retention. A hereditary condition, dyslexia cannot be prevented or cured, but early diagnosis and proper treatment can help the individual to overcome it and lead a healthy, normal life. In this free video series on learning disabilities, an award-winning scholar of dyslexia treatment discusses this condition. Learn about dyslexia, and uncover common misconceptions about its symptoms. Discover the causes and treatments, and get information about testing and diagnosing dyslexia at an early age. Early detection is critical for overcoming this impairment, but more knowledge about its effects and effective treatments helps individuals cope normally in day-to-day life.

Video Transcript

"A special concern of school administrators, principals and superintendents particularly, is the question who is qualified to make a diagnosis of dyslexia. The important thing to remember is that dyslexia is a condition that effects learning primarily, and specifically school learning. And so while many people believe that only medical people are qualified to diagnose dyslexia, actually the best qualified are people who know very well what is involved in learning to read, to write, and to spell. So if we think about those characteristics that are most impaired for someone who has dyslexia, then we might think of a combination of people such as reading teachers, school psychologists, special educators. People who know for example how to administer tests to determine how well a child currently reads. Who is able to look at the relationship between what a child has been taught versus what he has learned or she has learned. And is able to look at characteristics of how easily or how quickly new information related to reading and spelling can be learned. So people who are familiar with the normal progress in reading are best able to recognize children who are not progressing normally. And if those people have the skills to administer the specialized kinds of tests to look at aspects of language and reading. These are the people who are best qualified."