Understanding the Social-Emotional Effects of Dyslexia
Written by Sara Jutcovich M.A.
Anyone who has ever taught students to read knows that reading is complex. It is even more complex for students with dyslexia. Dyslexia is common and affects about 20% of the population and also represents 80-90% of all those with learning disabilities (The Yale Center For Dyslexia & Creativity, 2022). Students with dyslexia have trouble matching the letters they see on the page with the sounds those letters and combinations of letters make. As a result, reading is challenging. While people with dyslexia may read at a slower rate, they are often fast and creative thinkers with strong reasoning abilities. In fact, many people at the top of their professional fields are dyslexic. While we know that dyslexia is an “unexpected difficulty in reading” and is not connected with overall intelligence, the impact on a student’s social and emotional well-being can be very serious (Shaywitz, 2003). As educators we must understand the neurological differences and the impacts on learning, as well as the social and emotional implications that dyslexia can have.
Research is clear that dyslexic students need systematic and explicit reading instruction so they can develop and improve their reading skills. While we focus on our instruction, we also need to address students’ feelings and attitudes about themselves as learners. School can be a very frustrating and painful experience for a student with dyslexia. Their struggles with reading and writing can affect all aspects of their day and start to interfere with their relationships with adults, peers, and themselves. Students may experience anxiety, anger, poor self-esteem and self-image, and depression. If school constantly makes a student anxious, they can begin to fear it or avoid it.This avoidance behavior can be misunderstood as laziness or defiance. Students with long-term anxiety are at greater risk for depression. Students often feel angry that they are experiencing these frustrations and challenges. According to IDA, “Social scientists have frequently observed that frustration produces anger. This can be clearly seen in many children with dyslexia. Anger is also a common manifestation of anxiety and depression” (International Dyslexia Association, 2022). A student with dyslexia may have poor or low self-esteem. These social-emotional effects are very real for our students and as educators, administrators, and families of students with dyslexia it is crucial for us to understand these implications.
On a positive note, adults with dyslexia who have developed a sense of emotional well-being tend to have things in common. One that stands out is that early in their lives they had someone who was extremely supportive and motivating. This has direct implications for our work as educators. We can help our students academically and also socio-emotionally (International Dyslexia Association, 2022).
Here are 5 tips for educators and families to support our students with dyslexia:
Listen to our students - It may be hard for our students to communicate their feelings to us so we need to help them learn how to talk about their feelings. Listening to our students about how they learn best and what their interests and passions are can give us a great deal of insight into who they are.
Give a clear explanation of dyslexia and the possible challenges - By doing so, we can empower our students to understand how their brain works and what works best for them as learners. It can also help combat any misconceptions that students may start to manifest, for example, that they are “lazy”. Being upfront with our students can have a great impact on their level of trust and also help students come to accept their disability. Our students need to understand that their brains aren’t wrong or defective, but simply different.
Reward the effort, not just the product - This is a good reminder for all our students. Rewarding the effort and the process can build our students’ self-esteem and also empower them to try new things. If we only reward the product or outcome, we are contributing to a fixed mindset. We want to promote a growth mindset and show our students that they can learn more if they work hard and persevere (Dweck, 2016).
Help students set goals - We want our students to have goals for themselves and continue to make progress. We can help students set goals so they can be successful in their learning.
Celebrate the successes - Children with dyslexia are capable, creative, and curious learners. We need to remind our students that while some things might be harder, like decoding and spelling, their brains are unique and that gives them an advantage in other ways. In the book, Dyslexia Advantage, Dr. Brock Eide and Dr. Fernette Eide discuss unlocking the hidden potential of the dyslexic brain. They go on to say, “Trying to understand what dyslexia is all about while overlooking the talents that mature individuals with dyslexia characteristically display is like trying to understand caterpillars while ignoring the fact that they grow up to become butterflies” (Eide & Eide, 2023). This will be a joint effort but together with families, teachers, and students, it is something we can achieve together.
This is our call to action. We need to look at the whole child and address the academic and social emotional impacts of dyslexia. We need to provide high-quality, effective reading instruction while simultaneously supporting our students on a social and emotional level. Resiliency is defined as the ability to withstand and recover quickly from difficult and challenging circumstances. When students with dyslexia are resilient, they can face their challenges and find ways to handle them. Students can become more resilient when they are encouraged, motivated, and engaged. “The teaching and supporting of resiliency and promoting self-esteem are crucial for success” (Butler & Edmonson, 2009). While we cannot remove all the struggles and challenges our students will face, these supports will improve their social emotional well-being and remind them they will be butterflies.
References
Butler, C. & Edmonson, S. L. (2009). Fostering resiliency: Making schools a better place for students with dyslexia. In Achiles, C. M., Irby, B. J., Alford, B., & Perreault, G. (Eds.), The 2009 Yearbook of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (109-118). Lancaster, PA: DEStech Publications, Inc. - https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED523726.pdf
Dweck, C. S. (2016). Mindset: The new psychology of success (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Penguin Random House.
Eide, B., & Eide, F. (2023). The dyslexic advantage: Unlocking the hidden potential of the Dyslexic Brain. Hay House Inc.
International Dyslexia Association. Social and emotional problems related to dyslexia. (2022, January 24). https://dyslexiaida.org/social-emotional/
Shaywitz, S.E. (2003). Overcoming dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.model of reading. Journal of Educational Psychology.
The Yale Center For Dyslexia & Creativity. Dyslexia FAQ. (2022). https://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/dyslexia-faq/