Why Dyslexia Affects Your Child's Coordination by Diana Vogel

Dyslexia is a learning difference. If your child is diagnosed with dyslexia it doesn't necessarily mean that they aren't intelligent.

Dyslexia affects children's abilities in certain areas including reading, writing, spelling and mathematics, but it can also affect a child's coordination. Studies have been carried out to determine the extent to which reading ability, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, and coordination are inherited. The studies, which were carried out by the Royal Berkshire Hospital, found a direct link between dyslexia and coordination. According to the results, impaired motor coordination is associated with reading related problems.

In the study it was found that hand motor skills, or coordination, are affected substantially by genetics. This argument is further supported by the fact that the intelligence of most dyslexic children is average or above-average, meaning that poor coordination is not as a result of low intelligence. Results also showed that there is a moderate correlation between reading abilities and motor skills. This is because of a type of dyslexia that is related to neurological disruption in the brain. However, the results did not show any relationship between reading abilities and whether the child is left or right handed.

Despite these studies, and other similar studies, there is no conclusive answer as to why dyslexia affects a child's coordination. The human brain is very complex and it might take some years before we are able to figure this out. Coordination doesn't only refer to the limbs. It can relate to coordination between the eyes and the ears. With dyslexia, the eyes and the ears are not in synchrony, which means that they are not in time with each other. This affects coordination since the long delay means that balance is not maintained so if a child sees or hears a vehicle that may knock him down, he may be slow to react.

It is more difficult for dyslexic children to analyze sound than it is for other children. Dyslexia causes disorientation since the child hears sounds but cannot place them accurately or fast enough; this can cause poor coordination. Dyslexia also causes perception problems and this affects coordination. Children with moderate to severe dyslexia may have difficulty with activities that require balancing and coordination, such as riding a bicycle. If your child's balance and coordination is affected by his dyslexia then you need to make his physical education teacher aware of the problem as your child may find certain physical activities more difficult than other children.

About the Author

Author and Founder of KinaLearn Tutoring Centres and Learn@Home Systems to teach Dyslexic and Learning Disability children how to read & write and reestablish their confidence. And it isn't a Learning Disability, it is a Learning Difference!

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