FISK 

 
 
 
Carla Cristina Alves Favoretto de Souza 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FINAL PROJECT 
DYSLEXIA 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Praia Grande - SP 
2018 
FISK 
Dedication 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“I dedicate this project to my son, 
his lovely heart and amazing mind 
inspire me to learn everyday more.” 
 

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 Thanks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I would like to thank God for giving me  
an opportunity to improve by doing what I love.  
I thank my teacher Alberto for inspiring me to get 
better not just as a student but also as a teacher. 
And specially my family for all the support  
and patience while I was working  
on this project. 

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 SUMMARY 
 
INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………. 4 
1. Making Dyslexia clear……………………………………………………… 5 
1.1. The very first beginning…………………………………………. 5 
2. Warning signs ………………………………………………………………… 7 
2.1. Development…………………………………………………………. 7 
2.2. Health……………………………………………………………………. 7 
2.3. At learning process………………………………………………… 7 
2.4. Social Environment……………………………………………….. 8 
2.5. Taking a look as a Dyslexic…………………………………….. 8 
3. How to get a specific diagnosis?.............................................. 9 
3.1. Here are 4 types of tests for Dyslexia………………………. 9 
3.1.1. Phonological awereness……………………………….. 9 
3.1.2. Decoding……………………………………………………… 9 
3.1.3. Reading Fluency and Comprehension…………… 10 
3.1.4. Rapid Automatized Naming Test………………….. 10 
4. Therapies………………………………………………………………………. 11 
4.1. Speech-language pathologist………………………………… 11 
4.2. Psychologists……………………………………………………….. 11 
4.3. School………………………………………………………………….. 12 
4.4. Family…………………………………………………………………. 12 
5. Being Famous and Dyslexic……………………………………………. 13 
5.1. Muhammad Ali…………………………………………………….. 13 
5.2. Thomas Edison…………………………………………………….. 13 
5.3. George Washington……………………………………………… 13 
5.4. Orlando Bloom…………………………………………………….. 13 
5.5. Jim Carrey……………………………………………………………. 14 
5.6. Jennifer Aniston…………………………………………………… 14 
5.7. Albert Einstein…………………………………………………….. 14 
5.8. Leonardo Da Vinci………………………………………………… 15 
6. How about a game?.................................................................. 15 
6.1. Choose T true or F false………………………………………… 15 
7. Reference………………………………………………………………………. 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Introduction 
 
What could you say about these people? 

 
Mohammad Ali Thomas Edison George Washington 

 
Orlando Bloom Jim Carrey Jennifer Aniston 

  
John Lennon Albert Einstein Leonardo da Vinci 
 
Would  you  say  these  geniuses  and  incredibly  talented  people  could  be 
known  as  unintelligent  or  incapable  of  learning?  That  would  be  impossible 
and unacceptable. 
All  of  them  are/were  dyslexic.  It  didn't  really  matter  because  their  lives 
spoke and for some still speak through their actions and abilities. 
 
Why does it matter now?  
It  matters  a  lot  when it causes consequences like being avoided in social and 
pedagogic environments. 
Before  writing  had  become  the  basis  of  humanity  educational  system,  we 
could say that dyslexia didn’t exist.  
It  didn't  because  people  had  their  intelligence  measured  by  their  abilities 
and  ideas.  They  often  had  the  easiness  to  understand  things  that  to  others 
could  be  hard  to  imagine.  More  than  understanding,  this  kind  of  learning 
was and is the most appreciated inside every type of creative context. 
Dyslexia  and  its  different  perspective  make  this  kind  of  people  highlight 
from everybody else. 
Even  if  Dyslexia  had  nothing  to  do with problems about intelligence and the 
capacity  of  learning,  people,  in  general, tend to relate it with laziness or any 
kind of syndrome.  

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1 - Making Dyslexia Clear 
 
Dyslexia  is  the  name  given  to  a  different  way  of  how  some  brains 
understand  new  phonetic  information.  It  is  a  different mode of thought and 
understanding that reacts into confusion. 
 
A  Dyslexic  Brain  uses  a 
small  area  to  capt  and  to 
transform  the  phonetic 
information  into 
comprehension.  You  must 
make  this  brain  access  all 
the  areas  it  should  be 
already accessing. 
 
 
Technically  it's  not  associated  with  any  brain  damage or nerve damage. Nor 
is it caused by a malformation of the brain, ear or eyes.  
It  is  related to how a brain processes language into communication, feelings 
and how such communication is understood.   
Insufficient  teaching,  unhealthy  environment  and  emotional  problems  can 
lead to a cognitive disorder, also related to Dyslexia. 
Although the brain can be taught, giving the stimulation it needs. 
 
1.1 - The Very First Beginning  
 
It all starts early inside a child's brain. Before the first year of life, a baby can 
already  fill  in  perceptions  recognizing  objects  by  developing  creativity  and 
artistic talents. It may become Dyslexia later.  
 
The  baby  only  has  the  needing  of 
learning  a  few  words,  not  much, 
since  he/she  percepts  the 
environment  in  a  unique  way. 
Conceptually different. 
Once  this  baby  turns  into  a  child,  a 
sequence  of  expectations  will  begin 
to  appear.  In  kindergarten  or  even 
before,  writing  and  reading  will  be 
taught.  As  lessons  presented,  the 
brain,  which  had  already  developed  its  perspective  on  how  to  comprehend 

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new  information,  has  difficulties  with  written  language,  composed  of 
phonetic symbols and letters, seeing it as a puzzle.  
 
Disorientation  gets  detected  by  the 
brain,  reacting  automatically,  trying 
to  change  its  perception,  failure  is  a 
sure  thing  to  happen.  Getting 
frustrated  after  several  tries,  this 
child  gets  upset  suspecting 
something  is  not  right,  getting  it 
confirmed  by  the  reaction  of  the 
teacher,  classmates  and  eventually 
the  parents.  Everybody  around  gets 
upset too, so now we might have behavior problems. 
If  all  those  people  are  prepared  enough  to  identify  every  sign,  it  will  be  the 
beginning  of  a  different  way  of  teaching  and  learning,  helping  the  brain  to 
percept  all  the  new  phonetic  information  the  way  it  did  before  all  the 
confusion happened. 
When  that  is  not  the  case,  the  child  will  find  a  way  to  trick  on  the  reading 
and  writing,  by  memorizing,  avoiding  or  asking  for  others  to  do  it. 
Self-esteem  will  suffer  making  this  little  one  become  a  grown  person  that 
feels  shameful  about  the  inability  of  reading  and  writing  well,  even  if  the 
person can stand out about other subjects or in a job, his/her personality can 
turn into introspective and secretive. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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2 - Warning signs 
 
The  characteristics  can  vary  person-to-person, 
day-a-day or even minute-to-minute.  
The  only  consistent  fact  about  Dyslexia  is  the 
inconsistency. 
 
 
 
2.1 - Development 
○ Unusually early or late developmental stages.  
■ Talking 
■ Crawling 
■ Walking 
■ Bedwetting (beyond appropriated age) 
 
2.2 - Health 
○ Prone to ear infections 
○ Sensitive to foods, additives, and chemical products.  
 
2.3 - At Learning Process 
○ The  person  usually complains about getting confused by letters, 
numbers, words, sequences, or verbal explanations; 
○ Repetitions,  additions,  transpositions,  omissions, 
substitutions,  and  reversals  with letters, numbers and/or words 
commonly appears. 
○ Feeling  or  seeing  non-existent  movement  while  reading, 
writing,  or  copying  confuses  the  comprehension.  Complain 
about  having  difficulty  with  vision,  even  if  eye  exams  don’t 
reveal a problem. 
○ Symptoms  as  dizziness,  headaches  or  stomach  aches  while 
reading. 
○ Get easily distracted by sounds losing attention. 
○ Struggle  about  putting  thoughts  into  words;  speak  hesitantly; 
leave  sentences  incomplete; stutter under stress; mispronounce 
long  words,  or  transpose  phrases,  words,  and  syllables  when 
speaking. 
○ Think primarily with images and feeling, not sounds or words.  
○ Excellent  long-term  memory  for  experiences,  locations,  and 
faces. 
○ Poor  memory  for  sequences,  facts,  and  non-experienced  new 
information. 

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 2.4 - Social Environment  
○ Keep things in extreme order or disorder. 
○ Can be the class clown, trouble-maker, or too quiet at school. 
○ Strong  sense  of  justice;  emotionally  sensitive;  strives  for 
perfection.  
○ Can be an extra deep or light sleeper. 
○ Have unusually high or low tolerance for pain. 
 
Symptoms  increase  dramatically  with  confusion,  time  pressure,  emotional 
stress, or poor health.   
 
2.5 - Taking a look as a Dyslexic 
 
Only  a  dyslexic  could  tell  you  exactly  how  it  feels  to  read,  write  and 
comprehend  a  text,  but  this  assessment,  made  by  a  kid,  makes  it  a  little  bit 
easier to understand how difficult Dyslexia can be. 
The  image  below  tries  to  elicit  what  you  would  see  if  you  were 
Dyslexic: 

 
 
 
 
 
 

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3 - How to get a specific diagnosis? 
 
Looking  for  the  right  group  of  specialists  is  highly  recommended.  A 
neuropsychologist, a speech-language pathologist, a psychopedagogue, and 
a phonologist are the appropriate ones to diagnosis Dyslexia. 
Nowadays  there  are  tests  developed  to  identify  which  skill  is  more  affected 
and  how to treat it. The tests work just as a part of the evaluation. More tests 
may  also  be  asked,  as  such  hearing  and  seeing  exams.  The  exact  test  used 
depends on the evaluated person and on the age. 
 
3.1 - Here are four types of tests for Dyslexia: 
 
3.1.1 - Phonological awareness 
It measures a person’s ability to isolate and work with sounds. 
Phonological processing skills are the foundation for reading skills.  

The  evaluator  might  say  “ba”…“ana”  and  ask  you  to  fill  in  the  middle 
sound.  Middle  sounds  are  the  most  difficult  part.  Younger  kids  are  given 
easier  words  on  the  test.  As  kids  get  older  the  words  have  more  syllables, 
and the difficulty increases. 
 
3.1.2 - Decoding  
Test of Word Reading Efficiency-2 (TOWRE-2) 
 
This  example  is  one  among  other  options, 
each  one  is  used  for  a  different  kind  of 
decoding. 
It  measures  a  person’s  ability  to  decode 
words  quickly  and  accurately.  It  also  tests 
the ability to recognize familiar words. 

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Younger  kids  can appear to be reading at grade level when they’re really not. 
That  may  be  because  they’re  memorizing  words  instead  of  applying  the 
rules of phonics. 
 
3.1.3 - Reading fluency and comprehension 
Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT-5) 

 
It  measures  how  accurately  and fluently you can read aloud a paragraph and 
comprehend it.  
Reading  comprehension  tests  require  you  to  read  words  in  context.  This 
assesses their “real world” ability to read. 
Some  people  seem  to  read  at  grade  level  in  life.  But  sometimes  if  they  get 
clues  that  can  figure  out  the words and the meaning of what they’re reading 
this level may not be real.  
 
3.1.4 - Rapid Automatized Naming Test 
 
It  measures  how  quickly  and  easily 
you  can  quickly  name  common 
letters,  numbers,  objects,  and 
colors  on  a  page.  This  skill  is  linked 
to  reading  fluency.  Being able to see 
an  object,  symbol,  or  word on paper 
and  name  it  quickly  means a person 
can  retrieve  phonological 
information  instantly  and 
automatically.  People  with  dyslexia 
typically  lack  this  ability.  That  is 
one of the most important tests to define if you are Dyslexic.  
 

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After  all  those  specific  tests,  and  after  seeing  and  hearing  exams,  you  are 
able to start a therapy, specifically on the areas you are weaker. 
Once  diagnosed,  the  dyslexic  can  focus  on  getting  better  in  each  area,  once 
at a time. 
 
4 - Therapies 
 
Dyslexia  has  several  kinds  of  programs  designed  to  help, Orton-Gillingham 
(OG) is the basis for most of those programs. 
This  multisensory  technique  has  been  used  to  teach  the  sounds  of  the 
letters,  while  it  stimulates  drawing  it  in  shaving  cream,  for  example. 
Approaching  more  than  one  area  of  sensitivity,  it  is  also  structured  and 
sequential,  being  considered  the  golden  program  to  help  people  through 
learning  and comprehending, doctors and also schools use it. It is an intense 
program, taught one-on-one or in small groups to increase the success. 
 
4.1 - Speech-language pathologist 
 
A  routine  with  this  type  of  specialist 
can  improve  almost  immediately 
self-esteem,  such  as  the  results about 
reading  and  writing.  After  becoming 
more  and  more  confident  about 
comprehending  what  you  read  and 
write, all aspects start getting better.  
 
 
4.2 - Psychologists 
 
Dealing  with  differences  and  all  the 
frustration  Dyslexia  can  cause  in 
social  life,  at  school,  at  work  or  even 
with  all  the  family  pressure  is  an 
essential part of the therapy process. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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4.3 - School 
After  the  diagnosis,  the  school  will 
provide  special  education  with  a 
specialized  teacher,  as  reading  and 
learning  specialists,  and classes apart that 
can help to improve all the skills needed. 
 
 
 
4.4 - Family 
Being  supported  by  those  who  you  care  is 
as  important  as  the  other  parts  of  the 
therapy.  If  one  part  stops  doing  the 
necessary  all  the  rest  is  not  going  to have a 
good  result  the  way  it  should.  All  family 
has  to  participate  and  encourage  every 
time  is 
possible. 
Some  of  the  multisensory  techniques  can 
also  be  used  at  home,  with  painting, 
play-doh  or  anything  that  can  provide  a  fun 
moment  even  if  the  goal  is  to  increase  the 
comprehension  about  reading  and  writing. 
Supporting  and  reinforcing  are  ways  to 
make  all  family  help  and  still  enjoy  some 
time together. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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5.Being Famous and Dyslexic 
 
 
5.1 - ​"I never said I was the smartest,  
I said I was the greatest." 
Muhammad Ali 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5.2 - “My mother was the making of me. She was so 
true, so sure of me; and I felt I had something to live 
for, someone I must not disappoint.” 
Thomas Edison 
 
 

 
5.3 - George Washington 
 

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 5.4 - Orlando Bloom 

 
5.5 - Jim Carrey 
 

 
5.6 - Jennifer Aniston 
 

 
5.7 - Albert Einstein 
 

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5.8 - Leonardo Da Vinci 

6 - How about a game? 

Let’s check your knowledge about Dyslexia.  
 
6.1 - Choose T true or F false: 
A. There  is  no  difference  between  a Dyslexic student and a Non-Dyslexic 
student having issues to learn reading or writing.( ) 
B. Dyslexia and Non Intelligence are synonymous. ( ) 
C. There is a cure for Dyslexia.( ) 
D. It’s impossible to have good grades being Dyslexic.( ) 
E. A Dyslexic can require more time to make a test.( ) 
 
How many questions could you answer right? 
I’m  sure  you  did  great,  but  if  you  didn’t, don’t give up yet, be curious, study 
more, learn more and see what you may never seen before. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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7 - Reference: 
https://www.dyslexia.com/about-dyslexia/understanding-dyslexia/education-vs-
child-development/ 
https://www.dyslexia.com/davis-difference/davis-theory/the-cause-of-dyslexia/ 
https://www.dyslexia.com/about-dyslexia/understanding-dyslexia/ 
https://www.dyslexia.com/about-dyslexia/signs-of-dyslexia/test-for-dyslexia-3
7-signs/ 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyslexia#Diagnosis 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3079378/ 
https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/evaluations/types-of-tests/tests
-for-dyslexia 
http://www.centrosei.pt/blog/16mitoseperguntassobredislexia/ 
https://geon.github.io/programming/2016/03/03/dsxyliea 
 
 
 

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