Davi, 14 years old, was always considered a child who was agitated and inattentive. At school, he had difficulty reading and doing activities. Behaviors that were often stigmatized as “lazy to learn” were, in fact, signs of dyslexia, a specific learning disorder that, according to the Brazilian Dyslexia Association, can affect up to 17% of students around the world.
From an early age, Davi's older sister, Ilana Brito, speech therapist and resident at the Multidisciplinary Residency in Health Care for People with Disabilities (RESPCD) at the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD), realized that there was something more specific, which was not limited to desire or “laziness”, in his brother’s school difficulties. Based on the knowledge he acquired during his undergraduate studies and observations of Davi's habits, he convinced his parents to seek specialized care.
“When he turned twelve, the situation became more alarming, because it started to harm his self-esteem, he started to have anxiety attacks, because this frustration of not being able to learn reflected on his entire life. So the family stopped and thought: we have to do something. And then he started undergoing neuropsychological assessment, therapy and psychiatric monitoring”, says Ilana.
Initially, at the age of 13, Davi was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and began an intervention aimed at this disorder. From then on, Davi went through several adaptations at home and at school; However, the family continued to notice persistent difficulties in the child's daily life. It was only after undergoing treatment at the Written Language, Interdisciplinary and Learning Laboratory (LEIA), at UFRN, that the second diagnosis came, of dyslexia, at the age of 14.
According to ABCD Institute and the DSM-5, a diagnostic and statistical manual made by the American Psychiatric Association, dyslexia is characterized by difficulty recognizing and fluency in words in the native language, as well as, generally, decoding problems and spelling difficulties. There are different levels of support, which vary depending on the difficulties of the dyslexic person.
Now, Davi has started the appropriate intervention process that includes a more complete diagnosis that is relevant to his reality. “He is receiving neuropsychological and psychopedagogical support and performs weekly interventions at LEIA. The improvement was absurd, in self-esteem, in performance at school, he no longer feels so frustrated, he can express things better and now uses medication, because we continue with the hypothesis of comorbid ADHD”, explains sister Ilana Brito.
ISD's neuropsychologist preceptor, Caroline Leôncio, explains that, as there is no biological marker for dyslexia, the diagnosis is essentially clinical, made by a multidisciplinary team, and must confirm that learning difficulties are not justified by intellectual, sensory, psychosocial, due to mental, motor or neurological disorders, or as a consequence of lack of learning opportunities or inadequate school education. Persistent difficulties in learning fundamental academic skills from childhood, such as those demonstrated by Davi, are an important starting point for early diagnosis and interventions.
“Each person with dyslexia is unique and has specific cognitive potential, which can be identified through a neuropsychological assessment and, thus, constitute an intervention plan. Studies indicate that it is common, although not a rule, to find in people with dyslexia a resourcefulness in visuospatial skills that involve drawings and visual memory, for example. Knowing a strong point in its operation, it is possible to draw up a strategy plan that is effective for each person”, explains Caroline Leôncio.
The ISD neuropsychologist also draws attention to the impact of disorders such as dyslexia in adult life: difficulties in reading fluency and comprehension can persist and have repercussions on daily and work activities. “For this reason, it is very common for people with Dyslexia to avoid activities that require such skills or to use alternative strategies that compensate for their weaknesses, for example, audiobooks, audiovisual media, among other adaptive coping tools”, he points out.
For Larissa Pessoa, psychologist and resident at ISD, the early diagnosis of learning disorders, not just dyslexia, is fundamental to encouraging cognitive development from an early age and living with the signs and symptoms in order to boost autonomy and potential. Larissa was diagnosed with dyscalculia, a specific learning disorder characterized by difficulty in numerical processing, basic calculations and logical reasoning, at the age of 18.
“The earlier the diagnosis, the earlier the early intervention. For any subject, we have the condition of neural plasticity, which is the brain's ability to make new connections. If dyslexics have access to early intervention, it is possible that we can alleviate the signs and symptoms that this subject will experience”, reinforces the resident.
For Larissa, who is now vice-president of Potiguar Dyslexia Association, information and family support are two crucial points in the process of promoting the quality of life and assistance for people with learning disabilities.
“It is essential to address the lack of information, because the percentage of people with this condition in Brazil is very high. Perhaps if we reinforce what this condition is, we will achieve greater access to education and health. If we create a welcoming environment for these people, they will be able to develop in the best way, and this is a responsibility that does not belong to the family alone, but to teachers, health professionals and civil society in general”, he points out. Larissa.
In Davi's home and daily life, these aspects were not only part of, but also essential in the process of diagnosing and intervening in dyslexia. Confronting the stigma of laziness, which for Ilana Brito is still persistent in society, combined with the act of offering help and closely observing the behavior of children in the family and at school, were necessary insights to reach an answer and solution in improving the child's quality of life.
“It is important that we listen to children. We have a culture of not listening to them, because they are small, because they don't know what they are doing, but on the contrary; It is very important to be heard and understood, and the family, the school, are agents that have to play this role and accept these demands. With Davi, I see that this process was very important, that he was able to open up to us, so that even if late, we were able to be by his side and provide that support”, points out Ilana.
ABOUT ISD
The Santos Dumont Institute is a Social Organization linked to the MEC and includes the Edmond and Lily Safra International Neuroscience Institute and the Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center, both in Macaíba. ISD's mission is to promote education for life, forming citizens through integrated teaching, research and extension actions, in addition to contributing to a fairer and more humane transformation of Brazilian social reality.
