Accommodations for College Students With Dyslexia

Introduction to Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a common disability that affects a significant number of students in the general population. An individual who has this neurobiological disorder can experience difficulties in decoding the pronunciation of written words as well as in encoding the words they are trying to spell. Given these challenges, a student can have difficulties learning to read and write, which may hinder educational achievement. However, given that this disorder is so common in both children and adults — with some research indicating that it affects between ten and fifteen percent of the entire school-aged population — there have been many attempts to create intervention programs to help mitigate the effects of dyslexia on language learning and educational performance (Youman & Mather, 2013).

Defining Dyslexia: Competing Perspectives

Researchers have studied dyslexia for over a century; however, a precise definition of exactly what the disorder entails has yet to reach consensus in the field. The manner in which the brain processes language is immensely complex, and this complexity serves as a significant barrier to understanding how deviations from normal language acquisition and processing may occur. Although researchers have been unable to fully establish the neurobiological processes that occur in individuals with this disorder, most scientists agree on the characteristics and symptoms when they manifest. The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) has provided a definition that describes dyslexia as a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin, characterized by difficulties with the accurate recognition of language as well as poor spelling ability (Youman & Mather, 2013).

Dyslexia has also been defined as a language-based learning disability characterized by difficulties with sounding out words, fluent word recognition, and reading comprehension skills (Handler, 2016). There are various theories about the physical processes that account for these deficits, and it is also possible that different types of neurobiological deficits manifest in the symptoms of dyslexia. For example, some hypotheses state that the deficit is auditory in nature, while others believe it occurs in other language processing centers. While there is yet no full understanding of the cause of dyslexia, or agreement on its definition, it is certain that many individuals experience persistent problems in learning to read for no apparent reason (Benfatto et al., 2016). The inability to develop a precise definition or fully understand the biological processes that account for the disorder is largely responsible for the wide range of uncertainty in estimates of the affected population.

Neurobiological and Physical Basis of Dyslexia

Despite this ambiguity, researchers have been able to use brain scans and imaging studies to investigate brain development and function. These studies show a corresponding physical basis for dyslexia in language-related areas of the brain and have found that the brains of persons with dyslexia function differently than those of typical readers; people with dyslexia likely use different neural pathways to process language (Handler, 2016). Furthermore, although dyslexia is fundamentally a language-based learning disability, some research suggests that tracking eye movements during reading can be highly predictive of individual reading ability and that eye tracking can be an efficient means of identifying children at risk of long-term reading difficulties (Benfatto et al., 2016). Other research has indicated that this condition has no correlation to intelligence, although it is likely a heritable trait that is also associated with prematurity, neurological problems, and developmental or language delays (Handler, 2016).

Works Cited

Abreu, M., Hillier, A., Frye, A., & Goldstein, J. (2017). Student experiences utilizing disability support services in a university setting. College Student Journal, 323–330.

Benfatto, M., Selmyr, G., Ygge, J., Pansell, T., Rydberg, A., & Jacobson, C. (2016). Screening for dyslexia using eye tracking during reading. PLoS ONE, 1–16.

Handler, S. (2016). Dyslexia: What you need to know. Contemporary Pediatrics, 18–24.

Youman, M., & Mather, N. (2013). Dyslexia laws in the USA. Annals of Dyslexia, 133–153.