Learning Problems-The-

Therapy for dyslexia

Synonyms in a broader sense
Extracurricular therapy and support opportunities
Psychotherapeutic and curative forms of therapy

Synonyms in a broader sense

Dyslexia, LRS, Reading and spelling weakness, reading and spelling weakness, reading and spelling weakness, dyslexia, dyslexia.

definition

Targeted therapy for an existing dyslexia is understood to be individually appropriate support based on support diagnostics and constantly evaluated in the interests of the child (= individual performance level is constantly monitored and the therapy is adapted to the changes).

Therapy can be done in different ways. School, extracurricular and domestic forms of therapy are conceivable, which are geared to the individual areas of error, and therapy of the child's psyche is often necessary, since frequent experiences of failure can further fuel the fear of failure. It is not uncommon for learning blocks to appear.

Summary

Therapy can never be static, it has to be always on the conveyor diagnostics and thus align with the individual problems. The more specific attention was paid to the individual problems in advance, the more targeted the individual support can be.

As part of the individual therapy orientation special attention must also be paid to the possible causes. Very often the occurrence of dyslexia is more diverse as a result Weaknesses of perception not be ruled out. As a result, the components of perception must also be promoted and trained in a special way.

One speaks of one Combination of symptom and cause therapy.

While the cause therapy aims more at the level of perception, the symptom therapy starts with the symptoms, consequently with the errors, which are categorized accordingly.

Often times, psychological therapy can also be added to the two directions of therapy. This is particularly recommended if the child's psyche already appears to be very attacked, for example when a lack of self-esteem and / or school frustration are noticeable.

Causal therapy

The Causal therapy represents a possible form of dyslexia therapy. Based on the fact that certain areas of perception in dyslexics are often not trained appropriately for their age and can also be made responsible for the development of dyslexia, one tries to start with cause therapy precisely in these areas. The cause therapy is therefore primarily one Form of therapy that addresses the causes of dyslexia. Since these are the areas of perception in a special way, it is primarily a direction of therapy that aims at training perception. Regardless of possible successes, the Training in central perception and processing according to Warnke, as well as that Perception tracing according to Prof. Fischer called.

Symptom therapy

The Symptom therapy starts with a child's individual symptoms and tries to improve it with the help of various measures. Just as individually as the symptoms appear in individual cases, such a form of therapy must also be aligned in a special way and specifically target where assistance and support is necessary.
As a rule, it is a pure symptom therapy a form of therapy that tries to improve a child's reading and / or spelling skills through targeted exercises and systematics. In our opinion, however, it should be taken into account that the therapy of the symptoms does not only degenerate into more additional exercise, which additionally challenges the children and, under certain circumstances, additionally humiliates them through further experiences of failure.

Targeted and individually adapted then symptom and cause therapy do not necessarily have to be in total contrast to one another, rather symptom therapy can also include the areas of perception.

further therapy methods

In the case of a central disorder in processing what is heard (hearing processing disorder), further alternative forms of therapy offered. Examples are the sound therapy according to Tomatis, or Volf or Johanson.

Hearing training using the Tomatis method
Sound therapy according to Volf
Therapy according to Johanson

school therapy and support

The school can provide essential information on individual therapy. Due to the daily contact and the large number of observations of the learning (starting) situation, a typology of errors is possible regardless of the test results, so that an evaluation of the individual changes would be easy to implement. However, individual support at school is problematic because there are usually many children to be supported individually within a class.

Of the Resolution of the Conference of Ministers of Education (= Conference in which all education ministers of the individual federal states take part) from 2003 considers diagnosis, advice and support for children with problems in reading and / or spelling as a task for schools. The areas conspicuous in the context of the diagnosis should be integrated into a support plan that should provide concrete statements and assistance on “therapy”.
Children who suffer from significant problems in the written language area should also be given additional support.
The decision of the Standing Conference (KMK) is regulated individually by decrees within the federal states. A regulation cannot therefore be described uniformly. Information about the respective regulations and innovations can be obtained, for example, from the websites of the individual ministries of education.

In Hesse, there is a new decree regarding the compensation for disadvantages for pupils with particular difficulties in reading and / or spelling. This decree also applies to children with math problems (dyscalculia / weaknesses in numeracy). In addition to the Funding diagnostics and the Creation of individual support plans for example also the Forms of compensation for disadvantages regulated. Disadvantage compensation means not necessarily note protection. There are different, pedagogically far more sensible ways to act in this regard. It seems important that the measures to support and to compensate for disadvantages are in harmony with each other, represent a kind of support concept.

Even if we consider therapy and support in school to be very appropriate and useful, it is clear to us that a larger number of support hours should actually be targeted so that such individual support can be placed on a solid basis.

Extracurricular therapy and support opportunities

The extracurricular therapy and the promotion of individual learning problems are usually borne by the parents in terms of costs; in some cases, a youth welfare office can provide a Application for payment of the therapy costs be asked. From a purely legal point of view, this is the so-called "Integration aid", which is regulated according to §35a SBG VIII. The decision is made individually (individual decision) after receipt of the entry for integration assistance.
Out-of-school therapy and support can be particularly advisable if psychological and emotional problems arise in the child due to school failures (lack of self-esteem, self-doubt, school frustration, school anxiety, ...). As a rule, these problems are certified by the treating pediatrician.
The individual decision of the youth welfare office usually also implies a conversation with the class teacher in which the school support is discussed and analyzed. If it becomes apparent that, due to the severity of the dyslexia, school support alone is not enough, extracurricular therapy can be prescribed. If this is the case, the youth welfare office pays the therapy costs regardless of the parents' income.

DANGER: As a rule, however, therapy is required for one therapists recognized by the youth welfare office occur! In addition, it makes sense that Out-of-school therapy and school therapy in harmony with one another stand. In our opinion, contact between school and therapist should take place at regular intervals!

The Problem of extracurricular therapy and support is hidden in our opinion in the following points:

How do I find a well-structured funding scheme?
How can it be guaranteed that therapy and support are based on the school's learning content?
Does it also support forms of teaching and learning that are used in schools?
Does the extracurricular support offer consultation and contact with the school in order to work as holistically as possible in the interests of the child and geared towards the learning content of the school?
How does extracurricular support guarantee a constant new focus on the individual problems of my child (evaluation?)
Does the extracurricular support also support the learning of learning strategies (HOW? Am I learning correctly?) Or is it aimed solely at additional practice in problem areas (in the sense of tutoring)?
Does the extracurricular therapy also address my child's psyche or do I need further therapeutic measures in order to be able to help my child as sustainably as possible (Occupational therapy; psychotherapeutic measures; Building self-confidence, ...)

domestic promotion

In addition to the two options mentioned, parents are always tempted to encourage the child at home. We believe that one holistic promotion, for example through the integration of school, extracurricular and domestic support nothing stands in the way and this can sometimes be the most successful therapy as long as it is STANDING IN HARMONY and the domestic support does not consist in simply going through certain content for the umpteenth time and indirectly even more pressure exercise on the child. Especially if the child is already suffering from fear of failure, self-doubt and anxiety, it is in our opinion better to support the child on a psychological level and to leave the support of the individual school problems to experienced hands.

In summary, it can therefore be stated that domestic support can be carried out in various ways. In addition to additional scholastic support, it is possible to support the child's psyche through understanding, warmth and security. Home support can be multi-layered, but in our opinion it should not be carried out alone, but rather in consultation with the school or an extracurricular therapy. Only through cooperation can the child's complex problems be treated in a meaningful way.

Psychotherapeutic and curative forms of therapy

Behavior therapy
Behavioral therapy is a form of psychotherapy based on the theoretical concepts of psychological learning and behavioral therapy. Unlike in the context of depth psychology, for example, the subconscious plays a rather subordinate role. According to the theoretical foundations of behavior therapy, mental disorders arise due to incorrect learning and corresponding reinforcement mechanisms and are not in early childhood, i.e. in the subconscious.
The aim of behavior therapy is to investigate, discuss and change behavior in certain situations in a problem-oriented manner. This is done in different ways, e.g. B. by operant conditioning. Since the problem behavior shown is partly determined and forced by inner attitudes, techniques such as self-confidence training are used.

Occupational therapy
Ergotherapy is a therapeutic application with the aim of healing motor disorders, disorders of the sensory organs as well as the mental and psychological abilities of a patient to such an extent that independence in daily life (kindergarten, school, work, everyday life) is restored can be considered.
Concepts according to Bobath or Ayre are used as well as concepts according to Frostig, Affolter, etc.

No matter which approach you follow, the starting point is the same: You start from the given conditions of the child. The child should be picked up where it is. Deficiencies must be recognized and incorporated into the therapy accordingly.
A distinction is made between, for example, forms of treatment that are based on sensorimotor - perceptual treatment and thus aim at the coordination of movement sequences, visual - auditory perception and fine motor skills. Typical representatives of this direction are Affolter and Ayres, but also Frostig.

Depth psychological treatment
Depth psychological treatments are usually used when conflicts or developmental disorders occur. Based on current problems, the patient should be enabled through the sessions to help himself. The therapist guides the patient in a targeted manner so that helping people to help themselves can be defined as the primary goal of depth psychological treatment.
A deep psychological form of treatment requires a trusting relationship between therapist and patient. This is the only way to guarantee that work is goal-oriented, that new (stage) goals are always formulated and that work is carried out to achieve the goals. Success and failure of reaching is always the focus of the call psychological discussions.

Educational advice

Educational counseling can be used in different cases and always when problems arise for children, adolescents and parents. As a result, educational counseling must cover a wide field in order to be able to offer a wide range of help.
As a rule, parents turn to the various contact points for help. In the course of an initial discussion, problems are described and possible causes discussed. The educational counselors are bound to confidentiality, so honesty should come first in the discussions. Details are only exchanged with the youth welfare office, school or kindergarten if parents give their approval.
Depending on the problem at hand, the initial consultation can be followed by a diagnostic survey in order to investigate the causes more precisely. Psychological examinations and a wide variety of psychotherapeutic and therapeutic approaches (individual, group, family therapy) are also conceivable.
Educational counseling centers are set up across the board so that a contact point can be found in the immediate vicinity. There are different organizations that offer this advice, e.g. the Caritas Association, the Arbeiterwohlfahrt, the youth welfare office, the diaconal work, etc. Due to the parents' legal right to educational counseling, which is regulated in the Child and Youth Welfare Act, counseling as such is free.