Dyslexia and emotions

[thetwigletsmum]

My 8yr old daughter is being tested inchool soon for dyslexia after having pushed for ages. I am just wondering if any other parents have any advice regarding the emotional side of it. For example my daughter is extremely sensitive and cries a lot, she is excessively tired all the time and has such poor organisational skills. She'll forget some items on a short list I give her or even when she gets dressed she'll forget to out her vest on or wash her face. I just wonder whether a child as emotional as this could have dyslexia or dyspraxia or whether thats just the way she is. I have read about early puberty but she is showing no other signs of this and both myself and my mum started puberty in our early teens and I have been told you tend to follow the females in your family. I do everything I can to support and encourage my daughter but Im at my wits end.

thetwigletsmum

Dyslexia is only about having problems with reading writing and spelling.
Dyslexia is about having problems with a man made communication system the visual notation of speech, or decoding and recoding the graphic symbols society chooses to represent the sounds of speech.
There are two types of dyslexia. Alexia, acquired dyslexia, which is the result of a brain injury, substance abuse, Stroke, Dementia, or a progressive illness. Developmental Dyslexia has a genetic origin, and three cognitive subtypes: auditory, visual, and attentional. Which means that an auditory processing disorder (listening disability), a visual processing disorder, an attention disorder, or any combination of the three can cause the dyslexic symptom.

Most who have Developmental Dyslexia have been subconsciously aware of their underlying cognitive deficit / disability that causes their dyslexic symptom almost since birth and have been developing and running alternative compensating skills and abilities to work around their disability. These coping strategies have to be run in the working memory, which is much like the RAM of a computer with limited capacity, and where we have to run the programs we need to perform our daily tasks and routines. And if you have to run coping strategies in our working memory then something else has to make way, other wise like if you overload the RAM of your computer it will crash, we prioritise how we use our working memory subconsciously, and what usually makes way is our self organisational skills and abilities, as you have described.
The main priorities for use of working memory are to keep us going so dealing with illness and stress take higher priority than running coping strategies, so try to work with your DD and do things her way, the way she is able to do things to reduce her stress, because she can not do things like others.

You will need to identify the specific disability or disabilities which are causing your DD's dyslexic symptom, as each type of underlying disability requires different types of support.

TTM - read 'is that my child'.

Almost no kid has just dyslexia, mostly they also have symptoms of ASD/ADHD/ dyspraxia as well- exactly like you describe.

But don't worry - once you've got your head round her problems there is heaps and heaps you can do for her.

Thanks for all your advice. I never thought about dyspraxia as being a possible cause as well as dyslexia. I need to keep that in mind and await for results of her screening.

Hi TTM, I just wanted to ask, is your Dd hypermobile by any chance.
I am asking because my Dd3 is [she also has ASD] and she struggles with excessive tiredness.

Her body is so floppy and her joints are so bendy that she has to work really hard just to stay upright.

Take no notice of me if she isn't .

that's really interesting about no-one having 'just' dyslexia

DS2 was assessed for dyslexia when he was about 8yrs old (he's 24 now) but his dyslexia wasn't deemed severe enough to warrant help in school

DD (4.8yrs) is having assessments under CAMHS and we've been repeatedly asked if there are any family members with ASD...is there firm evidence that dyslexia is most often co-morbid i can refer too at all?

JaneMare

Developmental Dyslexia is not a condition it is rather a spectrum of cognitive subtypes or underlying conditions, and these underlying conditions can also contribute to the ASD spectrum, the multiple issues that combine to trigger the autistic behaviour traits. And the real problem in he UK is a lack of qualified professionals able to provide a diagnosis of these cognitive issues who work as part of flexible multi - discipline teams able to assess and diagnose each potential child's potential range of issues.

Developmental dyslexia has three cognitive subtypes, auditory, visual, and attentional, which means that an auditory processing disorder, a visual processing disorder, an attention disorder, or any combination of the three can cause the dyslexic symptom. These clinically diagnose medical issues have more symptoms that just the dyslexic one. Each one have a different range of issues.

ASD is diagnosed based on groups of specified observed behaviour traits, and it has only been in more recent times that research has begun to unpick the multiple issues which can cause ASD. Links have been made to ADHD, and links to auditory issues causing the language and communication problems.

Unfortunately there are no clinical or medical diagnostic test for either Dyslexia or ASD. And in the case of dyslexia never likely to be as it is only a shared symptom of other disabilities. ASD is the subject to continued debate and discussion amongst international researchers, who are talking about future Autisms as the learn more of the possible diagnostic variations.

All who have a diagnosis of dyslexia really do need to identify the underlying cause or causes of their dyslexic symptom as these issues tends to have more serious symptoms than the dyslexic one.

You could have a look at the CiteULike Developmental Dyslexia research paper library and the CiteULike Autism research paper library both have genetic origins hence the questions about a possible family history, regarding these issues

thanks dolfrog

from the little you've said (i understand how expansive and even fluid the evidence and research is) it's definitely worth mentioning about DS with DDs practitioners then

i know that an adult cousin of mine has what his family called 'dyslexia' and lots of social issues too, we're not close so not really in a position to ask much, but i'll see if i can find out if he ever went through a formal process also.

really helpful,

apols to dolfrog i don't know why i put 'from the little you've said'

teach me to MN while eating breakfast - sorry