Reading disorders can affect any age and demographic, causing impaired reading speed, accuracy, and comprehension. There are two types: reading problems and reading comprehension problems, which can be diagnosed in childhood. Treatment options include medication, tutoring, and remedial reading exercises.
Typically characterized by impaired reading speed, accuracy, and comprehension, reading disorders can affect any age and any demographic. When a person has a reading disorder, they usually cannot perform reading tasks equivalent to their level of intelligence. There are two basic types of reading disorders: reading problems and reading comprehension problems. Both types can typically be diagnosed in childhood and treatment options are available.
Reading disorders can significantly interfere with a child’s academic achievement, daily activities, and self-esteem. They are different from other types of learning disabilities such as mental retardation or attention deficit disorder because there is a gap between the expected level of performance and the actual results based on the person’s intelligence. Reading disorders can affect a person to many different levels and extremes. Some researchers say that up to 50 percent of reading disorder cases are hereditary.
Reading problems such as difficulty understanding sounds, letters and words are sometimes called dyslexia. Dyslexia can affect spelling and writing as well. Some symptoms of this type of reading disorder include problems with letter and word recognition, slow reading speed, reversing words or letters when reading, and difficulty speaking words out loud (phonetically).
Reading comprehension problems include difficulty understanding the meaning of words, sentences, and paragraphs. Symptoms of this reading disorder include vocabulary retrieval, memory problems, skipping words when reading aloud, and poor understanding of what has been read. This type of reading disorder can be more difficult to detect than dyslexia and is sometimes misdiagnosed.
There are several ways to detect and diagnose the different reading disorders. Learning to read involves several components, such as eye muscle coordination, visual memory, sequencing skills, integrating visual cues with learned phonics, and associating sounds with meanings. Reading disturbances occur when any part of the process is interrupted. Affected individuals typically have symptoms that include difficulty identifying words, problems with word meaning, problems with spelling, transposing words or letters, and poor understanding.
There are treatment options for reading disorders. A comprehensive assessment of the child’s hearing, vision and intelligence should be made to see if there are any other learning disabilities affecting reading ability. Some children also have autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Once the problem has been identified, a specific treatment program can be created. Treatment may include medications, individualized tutoring, remedial reading exercises, and positive reinforcement.
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