Medical Issues

Medical Issues Related to Reading

If your child is experiencing difficulty in learning how to read, it may be helpful to consult your pediatrician. By talking with your child’s teacher and pediatrician, you can work together as a team to best diagnose and prescribe the most effective intervention to help your child in his or her efforts to read. Following are some of the more common physical conditions associated with reading problems:

Vision

Sometimes something as simple as a pair of glasses may be what is standing in the way of success in reading. There are two types of professionals when it comes to the eye. An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor who may prescribe eyeglasses, contact lenses, treat diseases of the eye, and prescribe medicine. An optometrist is not a physician and can not prescribe medicine or treat diseases but can prescribe eyeglasses and contact lenses and treat functional aspects of vision.

Hearing

Think for a moment about the experiences your child has at school. Imagine the things that they see, smell, touch, taste, and hear. Now imagine that your child is having a hard time hearing the teacher’s instructions and presentation of material. For children to develop language, the ability to hear accurately is crucial. Children who have mild hearing loss often are overlooked and you may need to advocate for your child in this respect.

If your child has a hearing exam, he or she will wear a set of headphones and be exposed to a variety of sounds produced by a pure-tone audiometer. This device produces pure sounds. Your child will then identify which sounds he or she hears. The audiologist (a specialist who assesses hearing loss and can prescribe hearing aids) will then identify which sounds your child is able to hear and which he or she cannot and make the appropriate accommodations.

If your child suffered from or still suffers from frequent ear infections, it might be wise to have his or her hearing tested. When an ear infection occurs, fluid builds in the ears and can distort sound. If your child has frequent ear infections, he or she may have spent a significant amount of time hearing distorted sounds. Communicating with your child’s pediatrician is important.

Speech and Language

Language is a code consisting of a group of rules that include:

• The Meaning of Words

• Making New Words

• Combining Words

• Knowing How and When to Use Words

If a child has difficulty understanding this language code, she may be experiencing a receptive language problem. If a child does not know enough of the rules to express her thoughts, ideas, and feeling, then she may be experiencing an expressive language problem. One problem can exist without the other.

Possible indicators of a language problem include:

• Reading difficulties

• Difficulty with auditory and/or visual retention

• Dysnomia (inability to recall a certain word)

• Decreased Vocabulary

• Inappropriate social skills

• Decreased comprehension and use of humor

• Disorganized

• Spelling difficulties

• Difficulty with word order

• Difficulty with language content

• Difficulty using correct grammar, tense

• Difficulty knowing the sound system of rules which dictate how sounds combine to form words

• Incorrect use of language according to context

Speech involves moving the correct body parts (mouth, tongue, etc) at the right time, in order for language to sound correct when it is produced. Possible indicators of a Speech Disorder include:

• Stuttering

• Dysarthria (slurred speech)

• Misarticulations (producing sounds incorrectly)

• Voice problems such as hoarseness, pitch, or inflection

Either of these problems can contribute to reading difficulties. A comprehensive evaluation by a speech-language pathologist is the first step to diagnosing and improving speech and language problems. For more information contact:

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) at http://www.asha.org/

Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that delays the learning of literacy such as reading, writing, spelling and sometimes often math. Even when a person has learned to read and write, he/she may have trouble developing these skills to a high level. This problem with controlling verbal codes in memory is neurological based and tends to run in families. The effects of dyslexia are best treated by a multidisciplinary team of skilled experts.

 Recognizing Dyslexia (All Ages)

• Was he/she late in learning to talk, or with speaking clearly?

• Is there anyone else in the family with similar problems?

• Does he/she have trouble carrying out three instructions in sequence?

• Does he/she have particular trouble with reading or spelling?

• Does he/she put figures or letters the way? For example: 15 for 51, 6 for 9, b for d, or was for saw?

• Does he/she read a word then fails to know it further down the page?

• Does he/she spell a word several different ways without knowing the correct spelling?

• Does he/she have a poor concentration span for reading and writing?

• Does he/she confuse left and right?

• Does he/she have trouble taking notes or copying?

• Does he/she have trouble with writing essays, letters or reports?

 If the answer to most of these questions is yes it would be wise to speak to your Primary Care Physician.

Helping Your Dyslexic Child

The most important thing parents can do is to build up the damaged confidence and self-esteem of their child. Make sure he/she knows that he/she is loved and that this love is not dependent on how well he/she does at school.

Helpful Tips

* Reassure him/her that their troubles are not their fault.

* Be very encouraging and find things he/she is good at.

* Praise him/her for all their effort and hand work.

* Give support in homework (but don’t write their essays).

• Most importantly: Make sure that he/she receives the specialist teaching that will make such a difference in his/her ability to cope.

For more information about dyslexia and other learning disabilities, contact:

Learning Disabilities Association of America at http://www.ldanatl.org/

 LD OnLine at http://www.ldonline.org/

Attention Deficit Disorder

It is important to note here that this diagnosis is a medical diagnosis. If your child is tested for a learning problem at school, your child WILL NOT be evaluated for this disorder. You must visit your pediatrician or a psychiatrist to have this diagnosis made.

There are two types of attention deficit disorder:

• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is characterized by inattention and impulsivity.

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) includes the behaviors described above and includes a hyperactivity component.

When one thinks about a child with ADD or ADHD, images of children who cannot sit still, pay attention, or disrupt class may come to mind. This may not be the case. Children who are quiet and never cause problems at school may also be diagnosed with ADD. These children still do not pay attention, but do so in non-attention seeking ways. For example, a child may appear to be daydreaming. This child is frequently overlooked when making a diagnosis for ADD.

More familiar examples of ADHD might include inability to complete tasks, difficulty concentrating, acting before thinking, problems with organization, and constant running and climbing. A child with ADD may exhibit these behaviors but will lack the hyperactivity component: constant running and climbing, being in constant motion.

For more information contact:

Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (C.H.A.D.D.) at http://www.chadd.org/

Other Factors Contributing to Reading Difficulties

Prenatal Influences

Reading and other academic problems can also be influenced by prenatal complications. These are associated with maternal drug consumption that includes alcohol, prescription and non-prescription drugs and cigarette smoke.

Perinatal Influences

Perinatal refers to the birth process itself. Complications during birth such as a prolonged labor and injury from medical instruments may cause problems in learning. Children who are born prematurely oftentimes experience some of these same problems as well.

Postnatal Influences

Children can experience problems in learning that are related to what happens after a child is born. Children who experience stroke, high fever, encephalitis, meningitis, and head trauma may all experience learning problems. The most common of these is head trauma. This can lead to acquired cerebral palsy. It is estimated that over 1 million children each year sustain a head injury related to accidents involving cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and falls. For this reason, make sure your child is restrained appropriately in the car, and wears protective headgear (helmet) when riding on a motorcycle or bicycle.