Consequences of dyslexia
Common problems
A major problem occurs in education. At school, a child is supposed to read and write a lot. In all subjects the consequences of dyslexia should be considered, spelling and reading problems occur not only in language subjects.At secondary school, dyslexic children often have difficulties with foreign languages and subjects that require reading and studying long texts. If possible, it is wise to pay extra attention to these problems with mathematics and other subjects.
Another common problem is that dyslexic children have studied well enough, but don't understand a test or are unable to put their answers into words. Dyslexics often perform at lower levels than may be expected from their intelligence.
Social-emotional problems
Dyslexia can have severe influence on the self-confidence of children. It may lead to frustrations when a child have sufficient intelligence but fails at technical reading, whereas classmates do so more easily. Motivational problems may occur as well. Dyslexic children lose their motivation to keep practising their reading and writing skills, whilst practice is required to acquire a nescessary level.It appears that it is harder for dyslexic people to find their way in society. Changing studies or jobs regularly is not encouraging for their self-confidence. Some dyslexics suffer from a very negative self-image, feeling afraid of being thought to be dumb. They encounter misunderstanding, shame and uncertainty. Some may live in a social isolation, which implies that they experience difficulties in maintaining relationships or functioning in a society that requires a lot of communication. Sometimes they appear very dependent on a relationship or show unstable behaviour, such as not replying to e-mails or not finishing certain tasks.
Dyslectics often are unaware of their own strengths, focusing on their problems rather than their qualities. Fear of failure is often experienced by dyslexic people as well.
Prejudices
There are many prejudices against dyslexia. Dyslexic children are not lazy, nor lack intelligence and foremost are not pretending a disorder caused by parental pressure. Oftentimes, they are talented on other areas.Consequences for parents
For parents it is obviously harder to raise a child that has dyslexia. Tension may occur at home. Parents always want what is best for their children, and low results at school may be a cause for frustrations. Children are unable to live up to the standards of their parents, the latter of whom are under pressure when they decide to take up the task of helping their children with writing and spelling. Practising too much is frustrating, because often little progress is made. Pupils are supposed to practise a lot at school and being under pressure at home may soon lead to irritations. It is therefore important that parents try to make their dyslexic children accept and handle their disorder.Miscellaneous problems
Dyslexia often occurs in a combination of disorders, such as speech and language disorders, motor disorders, ADHD (attention and concentration problems, hyperactivity and impulsive behaviour) or other learning disorders such as dyscalculia.As mentioned earlier, fear of failure may show in dyslexics. Fear of failure implies that someone has the feeling their actions will not work out even before they have started and that they are unable to live up to someone else's standards.