Interview with Alfonso Cruzado: what is dyslexia like?

Psychologist Alfonso Cruzado explains the ways in which dyslexia affects people.

Of all the disorders that significantly influence our ability to learn and take advantage of education, dyslexia is one of the most common. Perhaps that is why it is also one of the most talked about in popular culture.

Unfortunately, the fact that this disorder is relatively "mainstream" causes many false beliefs about it to circulate. For this reason, on this occasion we interviewed Alfonso Cruzado, a psychologist with extensive experience in the treatment of learning disorders, to dispel some myths about dyslexia..

Interview with Alfonso Cruzado: better understanding dyslexia

Alfonso Cruzado Cardona is a General Health Psychologist expert in child and adolescent psychotherapy and adult psychotherapy, and attends both in person at his office in Ceuta and through online therapy. Here he talks about the particularities of dyslexia, and how it affects people who develop this disorder.

What is dyslexia and what are its main symptoms?

Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by a difficulty in reading, without neurological alterations that can justify it.

It is a disorder of neurobiological origin, and affects approximately 10% of people. The greatest difficulties are observed in reading and writing, which has a direct impact on academic performance and motivation. It also affects other areas such as working memory, attention, coordination or spatial-temporal orientation.

Normally, when we talk about dyslexia, its incidence in children and adolescents is mentioned. Are the cases in which it affects adults rare?

It is a chronic disorder, that although it can be observed in the infantile stage, it is usually diagnosed after the age of 7, when it is understood that the child has already acquired literacy.

Being chronic, once it is detected, it accompanies you for life, reaching into adulthood, so it is not uncommon to find adults with this difficulty.

Currently there is a commitment to a more complete attention to diversity, and that makes that these difficulties are detected in childhood, but it should be noted that there are many adults with this disorder, and without diagnosis.

What other psychological disorders, if any, is dyslexia often confused with?

It is a disorder with a very clear profile and it is difficult to confuse it. Even so, sometimes, when the diagnosis is early, it can be confused with a SLD (Specific Language Disorder). The difference to take into account is that in dyslexia, the alteration is in written language, both in reading and writing, and in SLD usually begins in oral language.

From what you have seen as a psychologist, do families generally take their children to psychotherapy for the first time suspecting that they are dealing with a case of dyslexia?

In the vast majority of cases, it is in the school and family environment where it is usually detected, and when they come to consultation for evaluation it is simply to confirm suspicions.

I must say that I have also come across cases of children who came with an attention deficit, and in the end, it was a learning difficulty.

What can be the consequences of not treating cases of dyslexia as soon as possible?

Where there may be a greater incidence is in academic performance. These are children with slow reading speed and comprehension difficulties.

This problem, if not treated in time, will make the child not achieve their academic goals, and may even lead to early school dropout. These are children whose intellectual capacity is not affected, so feelings of frustration and low self-esteem appear.

What are the phases of psychotherapy applied to young people with dyslexia?

Intervention should focus on working on the four main processes involved in reading (learning the alphabetic code, syntactic and semantic processes and reading comprehension), in addition to reading speed. Each child is different, so a personalized program should be developed according to his or her difficulties.

In addition to this intervention, we must not forget the emotional aspect, so that children do not give up and show their full potential.

And what should be the role of parents during this process of professional support for children with dyslexia?

The greatest help that parents can show to their children is empathy and support. It is a disorder that is not visible to the naked eye, and it is common for children who develop it to see that they are reproached for not studying enough. Parents have to be patient on countless occasions, and understand them and make them see that, with effort, they will be able to achieve everything they set their minds to.