Deep dyslexia
Encyclopedia
Deep dyslexia is a form of alexia (acquired dyslexia)
that disrupts reading processes that were functioning normally before the individual suffered a head trauma to the dominant hemisphere (usually left). Deep dyslexia
may occur as a result of a head injury, stroke
, disease, or operation.
The term dyslexia
comes from the Greek
words ‘dys’ meaning ‘impaired’, and ‘lexis’ meaning ‘word’ and is used to describe disorders of language concerning reading and spelling.
errors or semantic paralexias when reading aloud (e.g. view → “scene). Other characteristics of deep dyslexia include visual errors (eg. thing → “think”) and deviational errors (e.g. alcohol → alcoholic) as well as poor reading of function words, more difficulty reading abstract than concrete and highly imaginable words, a complete inability to read non-words, severe impairments when writing to diction and writing spontaneously, and in many cases an impairment in short term memory, or digit span .
paralexias also demonstrate all of the other symptoms. This has resulted in deep dyslexia being considered a symptom-complex and has led to much research into why this variety of symptoms may co-occur in so many patients
Alexia (acquired dyslexia)
Alexia occurs when damage to the brain causes a patient to lose the ability to read...
that disrupts reading processes that were functioning normally before the individual suffered a head trauma to the dominant hemisphere (usually left). Deep dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
may occur as a result of a head injury, stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
, disease, or operation.
The term dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
comes from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
words ‘dys’ meaning ‘impaired’, and ‘lexis’ meaning ‘word’ and is used to describe disorders of language concerning reading and spelling.
Classification
Deep dyslexia is mainly characterised by the occurrence of semantic readingReading (process)
Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols for the intention of constructing or deriving meaning . It is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas...
errors or semantic paralexias when reading aloud (e.g. view → “scene). Other characteristics of deep dyslexia include visual errors (eg. thing → “think”) and deviational errors (e.g. alcohol → alcoholic) as well as poor reading of function words, more difficulty reading abstract than concrete and highly imaginable words, a complete inability to read non-words, severe impairments when writing to diction and writing spontaneously, and in many cases an impairment in short term memory, or digit span .
Signs and symptoms
While the symptoms of deep dyslexia are different and independent impairments of reading, it is rare to find an individual who only displays some of the characteristics of it; indeed, most patients presenting with semanticSemantic dyslexia
Semantic dyslexia is, as the name suggests, a subtype of the group of cognitive disorders known as Alexia . Those who suffer from semantic dyslexia are unable to properly attach words to their meanings in reading and/or speech...
paralexias also demonstrate all of the other symptoms. This has resulted in deep dyslexia being considered a symptom-complex and has led to much research into why this variety of symptoms may co-occur in so many patients