DYSLEXIA in adults: Symptoms and Treatment

We usually associate dyslexia with people who are in infancy or early childhood. adolescence, but dyslexia is not only suffered in these two stages, but can also be suffered in the adulthood. For this reason, we consider it necessary to write about dyslexia in adults in this Psychology-Online article: dyslexia in adults: symptoms and treatment. Where we will see the specific characteristics of dyslexia in adults and also specific exercises to treat and improve dyslexia in adults.

Index

1. Dyslexia in adults: definition
2. Symptoms of dyslexia in adults
3. Treatment of dyslexia in adulthood
4. Exercises for dyslexia in adults

Dyslexia is a neurobiological disorder that affects the acquisition and comprehension of reading. Therefore, people with dyslexia show difficulties in both reading and writingBecause when people write, they are also forced to read.

Dyslexia usually appears when the person is in the process of learning the reading, but if it is not treated appropriately throughout childhood, it is common for their aftermath

Here we explain in depth what is dyslexia, whose symptoms, types and causes.

Here are the symptoms of dyslexia in adults:

• Difficulties in understanding texts or low reading comprehension: this difficulty is more or less complicated depending on the complexity of the text.
• Reading is a tiring and unpleasant activity.
• Difficulty reading aloud or with the presence of other people listening.
• Have a headache when reading.
• Difficult to read handwriting.
• Spelling mistakes and difficulty recognizing them.
• Low oral and written expression.
• Insecurity and low self-esteem.
• Lack of attention.
• Incorrect position when holding the pencil.
• Difficulties of laterality, that is, to distinguish the right from the left.
• Difficulties in mathematics.
• Lack of techniques or strategies to study.
• Memory difficulties to remember specific data or names.
• Invent the reading of unfamiliar words.
• Organization difficulties.
• Writing difficulties: adding, inverting, substituting and / or deleting letters or words.

Dyslexia is usually detected when the child is in the process of learning to read, so early treatment is recommended. On the other hand, if it is detected in adulthood, it will probably be due to the fact that the person was not educated or is illiterate. In the event that dyslexia is detected in adulthood, or that at this same age the difficulties originated in the stage still persist child or adolescent, it will be more difficult to carry out the treatment, but even so, it is recommended to treat it with the help of specialists.

Although the disorder is the same, the evolutionary stage makes it appear differently. Therefore, it will be important to carry out a specific treatment for adults, which will be different from how is dyslexia treated in adolescents or in children.

Adults who suffer from dyslexia tend to show emotional symptoms (anxiety, frustration, low self-esteem, sadness, ...) since constantly, in their daily life, they face obstacles that cause them these frustrations and feelings of sadness. In addition, these emotional symptoms are also affected by the little knowledge of people regarding the dyslexia in adults, since in general, people associate dyslexia with ages between childhood and adolescence. Thus, this ignorance causes a lack of support, understanding and understanding on the part of the people around the patient, whether they are family, friends or work colleagues.

For this reason, it is advisable to work, on the one hand, all those aspects related to writing and reading (spelling, comprehension, expression ...) and, on the other hand, the emotional symptoms already mentioned.

There is no specific treatment for adult dyslexia, but here are some exercises that may be useful to improve your situation. It should be noted that there are exercises that encompass more than one aspect that must be addressed.

1. Reading comprehension exercises

For example, working with fragments of popular and traditional stories is a good exercise to improve dyslexia in adults. These are stories of which the patient may already know her story. From the reading of some fragments, the patient should answer comprehension questions evidencing that she has understood the text. If we wanted to increase the degree of difficulty, we would try to work with fragments of stories made up or not known by the patient. This exercise can be generalized and not only work with stories or stories, songs, poems, movies, among others, can also be useful. With this exercise we want the patient to be able to improve your fluency when reading, improve the ability to interpret and understand what she has read, improve her oral expression and even be able to show her opinion regarding what she has read.

Another example of exercises for reading comprehension is the identification of differences, that is, finding the differences between two very similar texts. In this exercise to work on dyslexia in adults, the patient must read two texts that represent the same story and be able to find the different details that there are.

2. Spelling exercises

Exercises to practice spelling and the movements necessary to write each letter. For example, practice with calligraphy notebooks and read a lot. This exercise to work dyslexia in adults can be done independently. But it can also be used as an activity that the specialist sends the patient as homework, as if it were homework. So that when the patient returns to consult with the homework done, he can have a conversation with the specialist about the book that he had to read and write an abstract which will then be corrected by the specialist, pointing out to the patient the mistakes he has made and positively reinforcing the achievements that she has made.

Another example related to this type of exercise would be make dictations to correct misspellings. In this case, it would also be a matter of showing what the patient has done wrong but also what he has done well, in order to improve his self-esteem and his tolerance for frustration.

3. Exercises related to the world of work

As they are adults, it could also be interesting to work on the curriculum vitae, the cover letter or tasks of the specific professional field of the adult patient with dyslexia.

4. Exercises related to self-esteem

As we mentioned previously, it is essential to also work on the personal and emotional side in adults with dyslexia. It is important that the patient becomes aware of their personal strengths and weaknesses. The patient can write a list where you identify your strengths and weaknesses. Once the list is finished, the patient should come up with ideas that he thinks will be useful to strengthen the weak points of the list. In this way, the patient can strengthen his self-esteem, acceptance of the disorder and tolerance, while improving his writing skills.

5. Group sessions

Create group spaces where patients, for example, can explain their experience, how they act when frustrated, what strategies they use to strengthen their tolerance for frustration, including others. Group sessions can also be used to practice reading in front of other people to lose the fear of reading in public, as well as to do group exercises, such as self-esteem dynamics for adults.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Dyslexia in adults: symptoms and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

• Andalusian Dyslexia Association (ASANDIS). (2010). General Guide to Dyslexia.
• Haber, N. (s.f.). Dyslexia in adulthood. Center for behavioral intervention, psychology cabinet.
• Montalván, M. (2008). Perceptual disorders of dyslexia: proposal of corrective exercises. University of Azuay.
• Portellano, J.A. (2005). Dyslexia, in all ages.