Identifying and Understanding the Characteristics of Learners with Dyslexia

 

Introduction

As educators we serve a variety of learners and implement practices that will best support their growth.  Students may come to us like a scattered puzzle, and it may be up to us to piece together all their characteristics and qualities to have a more complete view of what tools, resources, and practices could help them to get the most out of their learning experiences in the classroom.  In this first blog post we will explore the characteristics that could be present in learners who may have dyslexia.  We will discuss the research that mentions certain neurological, literacy, genetic, gender, and sociocultural characteristics that may be present in learners with dyslexia.  By examining these characteristics, it is our hope that educators may feel more knowledgeable about what factors that could be present in our students that are currently in our classrooms, or future students to come. 

Neurological and Literacy Characteristics

Studies in neuroscience have given researchers and educators a glimpse of what happens in the brains of learners with dyslexia.  In a meta-analysis by D’Mello and Gabrieli (2018), it is explained that there are specific brain differences in the typical learners’ brains versus those who are dyslexic.  Learners with dyslexia who had undergone neuroimaging were found to have structural and functional brain differences such as “reduced functional activation, reduced gray matter, and reduced strength of white matter tracts in the left hemisphere.” (p. 801).  These specific neurological differences are then explained to be contributors to the behavioral differences in literacy learning.  The differences discussed by the researchers also explain that dyslexic brains present impairments in phonological awareness and fluency, while having very little association to low IQ levels (D’Mello and Gabrieli 2018, p. 801).

In a study by Beringer, et al. (2015), the researchers compared behavioral and cognitive assessment approaches to diagnosing learners with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and oral and written language learning disabilities.  The authors found that in practitioner approaches to diagnosing dyslexia, such as literacy and behavioral assessments, the differences in the learning disabilities were strengthened when combined with neuroimaging.  This conclusion helps educators to understand that learners with dyslexia are distinct in their literacy abilities, difficulties, and brain function when compared to other learning disabilities.  The study found that literacy impairments in phonological word coding and orthographic coding were more prevalent in learners with dyslexia.

These studies and their results are helpful in informing educators of the neurological factors that are happening in the brains of our students who are exhibiting difficulties with literacy learning.  Specifically, for learners with dyslexia, their brain differences cause impairments in their phonological and orthographic processing.  These processes are crucial in how literacy learners connect phonemes to graphemes (sounds to letters) and how these are represented.  Knowing this, educators can begin to reflect on their own teaching practices and how they may support or hinder dyslexic learner’s literacy development. 

Genetics, Gender, and Sociocultural Characteristics

As educators, we may be faced with learners who enter our classrooms who have a family prevalence of learning difficulties.  Because of the neurological characteristics mentioned earlier, it is important to understand whether there may or may not be genetic factors that cause some learners to be predisposed to having dyslexia.  A study performed by Thompson, et al. (2015) followed students who had a familial risk of dyslexia from ages three to eight and administered screening and diagnostic assessments to predict and identify learners with dyslexia. The researchers conclude that learners who have members of their families that have been identified or diagnosed as having dyslexia, are at risk for having dyslexia themselves.  This was found to be a stronger predictor of reading difficulties than the observation of language delays in young learners, because of the eventual entry into schooling and exposure to formal language learning.  

Differences in genders have also been seen to be a characteristic of dyslexia because of the higher frequency of males diagnosed with dyslexia than females.  Arnett, et al. (2017) attempt to explain why this discrepancy exists through their study.   Through assessment and observation, the researchers found that males exhibited “slower and more variable processing speeds and worse inhibitory control,” than that of females in the study.  It was also found that these differences could be offset by their higher verbal reasoning skills.  Interestingly, the authors refer to a previous study that identified processing speeds as a factor to males more commonly being diagnosed with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.  These results show that neurological differences in the brains of males and females may be considerations of characteristics for learners with dyslexia.

Sociocultural characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status are factors that have been considered and researched in relation to the prevalence of diagnoses of dyslexia.  Odegard, et al. (2020) discusses the recent advocation into early identification of dyslexia and examines in their study the sociocultural differences that may be characteristics of dyslexia.  The study found that African American and Hispanic students were less likely to be classified as having dyslexia, even when the study controlled for their free and reduced lunch status.  These results show that there are possible biases in identification when it comes to race and ethnicity of students versus their socioeconomic status. 

Learning about student’s genetic, gender, and sociocultural differences may help educators to understand that some students in their classrooms have characteristics that predispose them to being identified with having dyslexia.  Students who have hereditary risks for being dyslexic give educators cause to build strong family connections to understand home literacy experiences and difficulties in reading to provide home-to-school supports.  Gender differences allow educators to understand the possible prevalence of dyslexia in males over females, but also allows educators to be critical of this in that females can have dyslexia and should not be disregarded when having difficulties in reading.  Sociocultural characteristics are important to understand that race and ethnicity are not factors when considering prevalence of dyslexia diagnoses, but that there is some evidence to suggest that lower socioeconomic status could be.

Conclusion

Overall, evidence from all of these studies show that there is not one singular characteristic that is present and can be used to identify and diagnose a student with dyslexia.  Brain imaging, literacy assessments, genetics, gender and sociocultural considerations can all be used together in understanding whether a student may or may not be at-risk of having dyslexia.  These are some of the puzzle pieces must be carefully considered and evaluated when trying to build a picture of a learner.  When all the pieces fit together, then we can begin to determine a plan of action to support our students in the classroom with best practices that are differentiated to their needs and ultimately help them to become successful literacy learners.  

References