Child and adolescent psychiatry expert Associate Professor Dr. Canan Tanıdır said that Dyslexia (reading disorder), also known as a kind of learning disorder, is seen in 1 out of every 20 children and added: “Dyslexia may cause diseases such as depression, tantrums, school phobia.”

Tanıdır said that Dyslexia may have long-term effects, but the difficulties can be overcome if diagnosed at an early stage and the children received proper educational assistance.

Istanbul Gelisim University Psychology Department faculty member Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Specialist Associate Professor Dr. Canan Tanıdır said that dyslexia is a disease that can be diagnosed during primary school ages. Tanıdır said that there are some certain points that families should consider in order to understand the disease. She continued: “It is possible to observe the symptoms such as difficulty in speaking during pre-school stage, intermixing concepts such as big and small, difficulties in hand skills. Among the primary school children, symptoms would be difficulty in reading, not recognizing letters, intermixing letters like “b, d”, and not understanding what is read. Such intermixing is common among children who are learning to read, however, families should observe their children to see whether these problems continue at advanced stages or not.”

DYSLEXIA IS MORE COMMON AMONG BOYS

Tanıdır stated that, according to studies conducted in  the world without and discrimination of gender, dyslexia was at 5 % (1 in every 20 children) and it was witnessed twice more among boys than girls.

Underlining that families should first apply to children and adolescent psychiatrists when they encounter symptoms, Tanıdır added: “It is very important that the first application be made to a physician. Psychologists and child development experts are also interested in this issue, but it is important to consult a physician first. Because the underlying causes of symptoms may be hearing problems, visual problems or neurological disorders. They may first appear as a learning problem. Children and adolescent psychiatrists should evaluate and differential diagnosis should be made in order to exclude organic causes.”

DYSLEXIA CAUSES DEPRESSION

Tanıdır emphasized that primary treatment of dyslexia is educational treatment and added that patients may, in addition to reading problems, face with other disorders. She said: “Dyslexia brings together problems such as depression, behavior problems, irritability, tantrums, school phobia etc. In general, these children have difficulty in reading, and because of this, they start to lose their confidence because they fail. Patients with dyslexia do not have a problem of intelligence, but because they cannot read, the people around them sometimes make fun of them and their parents can act angrily. In this case, they lose self-confidence and become unhappy children. There is no pharmacological treatment of this disorder. If there are accompanying problems such as a lack of attention, drug treatment can be implemented. Educational and individual programs should be carried out which are unique to each child and directed to the specific area he/she has problems with.”

Associate Professor Dr. Tanıdır said that dyslexia is a genetic disorder. She continued: “In the studies carried out, it was seen that there are other individuals in the family with dyslexia. Parents with dyslexia are more likely to have children with dyslexia. We cannot just say it is a genetic disease, and the environmental factors are also effective in the emergence of the disease.”

”PARENT AND TEACHERS NEED TO SUPPORT EVEN THE SIMPLEST ACHIEVEMENT“

Tanıdır said: “Parents and teachers should be patient and supportive for children with dyslexia. Even the simplest achievement of the child should be supported. Thus, the self-confidence of the child will also be fulfilled. Parents and teachers need to be aware of these difficulties in early childhood and to support them immediately with individual training programs in order to prevent more intensive problems to appear. In this process, parents should receive support from professional trainers and they should be patient. Since these children have difficulty in reading and learning, their parents can sometimes get angry and say degrading words while they help them study. Such behavior should be avoided, as they may disrupt the parent-child relationship, as well as reinforce the feelings of inadequacy in the child. All efforts of these children and their achievements should be supported and child should believe that he/she can be successful.

Children with dyslexia do not have intelligence problems, so they continue their education in normal classes. They are not failed in the classroom when they have difficulty and when their reading is delayed. These children need to be supported. It is very important for teachers to encourage these children. Supported children can adapt more easily to life in the future.”