Alarmingly high number of Dyslexics in UAE; often labelled as slow and lazy

Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 5, 2016:  Dyslexia has been gaining more awareness and attention over the years, as more information has come to light about this brain related condition. However, until this day, children and adults suffering from the condition are often judged as “slow”, ‘’lazy” or even “unintelligent”. In fact, according to NHS estimates, one in every 10 to 20 people in the UK has some degree of dyslexia; around 10 to 15 per cent of the population in the US is also said to be affected. 

If not diagnosed and addressed, dyslexia can cause children to withdraw and even have issues with self-esteem and acting out. However, awareness about the condition is helping people understand more about what it involves. 

In fact, several celebrities such as director Steven Spielberg, actors Tom Cruise, Abhishek Bachchan, Whoopi Goldberg and Kiera Knightley, Chef Jamie Oliver and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper suffer from this condition that causes problems with reading, writing, spelling and sometimes even speaking.

Dyslexia is often confused with other conditions linked to attention and learning but Dr. Atta Ghassan Atta Al Kaznaji , Specialist – Neurology, Burjeel Hospital Abu Dhabi, explains it simply, “Dyslexia is a neurologically-related disorder; it is often hereditary. In fact, if a family member has the condition, there is a 40-50 per cent chance that one of his close relatives may also have the condition. Studies of children suffering from dyslexia show that the condition is linked to low activity in the left temporal region of the brain linked to areas such as spoken language (phonological information) and another linked to a lower visual pathway.”

Dr. Al Kaznaji said that parents should seek help as soon as they see the following symptoms in their children. “If your child is in kindergarten and has difficulty picking up new words, or recognizing learning alphabets, or has trouble rhyming and learning to count, often struggling to pronounce words; if your child is in grade or middle school and has trouble confusing the order of letters in words; can’t remember facts and numbers, can’t hold a pencil with a proper grip, has trouble with math, learning new unfamiliar words and sounding them out or has difficulties following a sequence of directions; and if your teenager has problems reading out aloud, can’t understand jokes easily, cannot summarize a story or explanation easily, or has trouble learning a new language.”

These symptoms could indicate that your child has dyslexia. “The best way to confirm this is to schedule a meeting with a neurologist and psychologist, who will check everything from their vision and auditory prowess to other skills that confirm the diagnosis. Parents can work closely with a doctor as well as the children’s educators to help the child cope and learn skills to compensate and improve the way they learn and comprehend things. There are several programs that are carried out by early learning centers and schools to ensure that pupils with dyslexia receive the attention they require. Psychological counseling is also a good idea if the child is facing self-esteem issues,” said Dr. Al Kaznaji.

Dyslexia is a lifelong condition but it can definitely be managed. Parents should focus on treating their children with more patience, involving themselves in their child’s learning process to help the child feel normal as against being challenged. Dyslexics have gone on to achieve great success and a lot of them have higher than average intelligence. They have to work harder than others but they can retrain their brains to perform more efficiently when it comes to decoding information linked to visuals and language. “Not everyone is the same. We have to learn to appreciate diversity and to support it instead of considering it a problem,” said Dr. Al Kaznaji.