Word blindness, also known as text blindness, is an acquired neurological condition that can cause a person to lose the ability to read or have limited comprehension. It is caused by brain damage, often from injury or stroke, and can be associated with other symptoms such as agraphia and aphasia. Treatment can be challenging, and support from specialists and family members is important. Dyslexia, a processing disorder that can make it difficult to understand printed material, is sometimes referred to as “speech blindness.” Students with reading difficulties should seek assessment and treatment from a learning disability specialist.
Word blindness is an acquired neurological condition that makes people unable to read. In some cases, people lose the ability to read completely, while in other cases, their comprehension is severely limited, with patients only understanding basic words in written text. This condition is also known as text blindness, alexia or visual aphasia and can be combined with other symptoms as well.
More classically, word blindness is caused by injury to the brain or a stroke that causes damage to the brain. The left back of the brain is typically affected, as this is the region that processes visual information such as text. Because brain damage is rarely exactly selective, verbal blindness is often accompanied by an assortment of neurological symptoms.
Some people with the condition also experience agraphia, the inability to write. In other cases, patients may write well, but are unable to read what they have written. Word blindness can also be associated with aphasia, an inability to communicate coherently, and some patients have difficulty understanding other people’s spoken communications. Because this condition involves brain damage, treatment can be challenging, with doctors focusing on rehabilitation in the hope that the brain can repair itself.
Alexia can be extremely upsetting, which can add to the difficulty of treatment, as the patient attempts to cope with the trauma of suddenly being unable to read. Support from family members and specialists can be vital in ensuring that patients’ needs are met, and the services of an experienced neurologist are also helpful in treatment.
Some people also use the term “speech blindness” to refer to people with severe dyslexia, a processing disorder that can make it difficult to understand printed material. In the case of dyslexia, a wide assortment of treatments can be used to address and eventually overcome the obstacles posed by the disorder, with many dyslexics becoming highly successful individuals.
Students with learning disabilities may develop some form of word blindness in this regard, due to a variety of factors. Students who have reading difficulties should be referred to a learning disability specialist for assessment, diagnosis, and treatment recommendations. The sooner these issues are addressed, the better the results will be. If a student with dyslexia or another learning disability escapes the cracks, she will not have the ability to get an education, which would be a great loss.
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