What is dyslexia? - Kelli Sandman-Hurley

什麼是失讀症？- 凱利‧桑德曼-哈利

譯者: Ou Chih-Hong 審譯者: Bighead Ge

Take a moment to read the following.

花幾秒鐘看一下這篇文章

How was that?

你覺得如何？

Frustrating?

很挫折？

Slow?

看很慢？

What were those sentences about?

這些句子在講什麼？

They're actually a simulation

其實這是一個模擬

of the experience of dyslexia,

失讀症的體驗

designed to make you decode each word.

你得解碼每個單字

Those with dyslexia experience that laborious pace

失讀症患者每次看東西時

every time they read.

都是這麼累

When most people think of dyslexia,

大多數人想到失讀症

they think of seeing letters and words backwards,

就認為失讀症患者會把字母看相反

like seeing "b" as "d" and vice versa,

像是b看成d等等

or they might think people with dyslexia

或是他們覺得失讀症患者會把單字看反

see "saw" as "was".

像是把saw看成was

The truth is people with dyslexia

事實上，失讀症患者

see things the same way as everyone else.

看到的事物就和大家一樣

Dyslexia is caused by a phonological processing problem,

失讀症是處理音韻所造成的問題

meaning people affected by it

也就是說失讀症的人

have trouble not with seeing language

看文字並沒有問題

but with manipulating it.

問題出在該怎麼處理

For example, if you heard the word cat

舉例來說，你聽到貓這個字

and then someone asked you, "Remove the 'c',"

有人和你說，把ㄇ這個音拿掉

what word would you have left?

那會剩下什麼音？

At.

ㄠ

This can be difficult for those with dyslexia.

失讀症患者對此就有困難

Given a word in isolation,

你單獨給失讀症患者一個詞

like fantastic,

譬如"絕妙的"（fantastic）

students with dyslexia need to break the word

失讀症患者得把這個字拆開

into parts to read it:

才看得懂

fan,

絕(fan)

tas,

妙(tas)

tic.

的(tic)

Time spent decoding makes it hard

花這些時間去解讀

to keep up with peers

讓他們很難跟上進度

and gain sufficient comprehension.

以及充分了解這個詞

Spelling words phonetically,

從發音部分去拼字

like s-t-i-k

像是把ㄍㄣ

for stick

當成棍

and f-r-e-n-s

把皮友

for friends

當成朋友

is also common.

這些問題都很常見

These difficulties are more widespread and varied

這些問題比一般人想像中的

than commonly imagined.

還要廣泛以及不同

Dyslexia affects up to one in five people.

每五個人就有一個人得到失讀症

It occurs on a continuum.

失讀症有多種變因

One person might have mild dyslexia

一個人患有輕微失讀症

while the next person has a profound case of it.

下一個人就會比較嚴重

Dyslexia also runs in families.

失讀症也會遺傳

It's common to see one family member

常常看到一個家庭成員

who has trouble spelling

在拼音方面有困難

while another family member

而另一位家庭成員

has severe difficulty decoding even one syllable words,

連拆解一個詞都非常吃力

like catch.

像是「抓」這個字

The continuum and distribution of dyslexia

失讀症的變因以及遺傳性

suggests a broader principle to bear in mind

給了我們一個要謹記在心的原則

as we look at how the brains of those with dyslexia

當我們看著失讀症患者的大腦

process language.

在處理語言的時候

Neurodiversity is the idea

就是神經多樣性

that because all our brains show differences

我們的大腦無論在結構或是運作上

in structure and function,

都會有些不同

we shouldn't be so quick to label

我們不該一看到別人與我們不同

every deviation from "the norm"

就把他們貼上標籤

as a pathological disorder

像是病態失調

or dismiss people living with these variations

或是趕走有這些病因的人

as "defective."

稱他們為有缺陷的

People with neurobiological variations like dyslexia,

神經生理異變的人像是失讀症患者

including such creative and inventive individuals

包含一些具有創意以及創造力的人

as Picasso,

像是畢卡索

Muhammad Ali,

穆罕默德·阿里

Whoopi Goldberg,

琥碧·戈柏

Steven Spielberg,

史蒂芬·史匹柏

and Cher,

以及雪兒

clearly have every capacity

這些人很明顯都各有能力

to be brilliant and successful in life.

把他們的人生活得光彩成功

So, here's the special way

這個方法很特別

the brains of those with dyslexia work.

這些人的大腦與失讀症合作

The brain is divided into two hemispheres.

大腦可以分為兩個半球

The left hemisphere is generally in charge of language

左半球基本上負責語言

and, ultimately, reading,

以及閱讀這部分

while the right typically handles spatial activities.

右半球就負責處理空間性的活動

fMRI studies have found

功能性磁振造影研究發現

that the brains of those with dyslexia

失讀症患者的大腦

rely more on the right hemisphere and frontal lobe

較依賴右半球以及前額葉

than the brains of those without it.

和一般人相比之下

This means, when they read a word,

換言之，當他們看到一個字

it takes a longer trip through their brain

他們的大腦需要花比較長的時間

and can get delayed in the frontal lobe.

前額葉也會造成速度較慢

Because of this neurobiological glitch,

因為生理神經有點小問題

they read with more difficulty.

他們閱讀會比較困難

But those with dyslexia

但是患有失讀症的人

can physically change their brain

可以改變他們的大腦

and improve their reading

改善他們的閱讀

with an intensive, multi-sensory intervention

透過密集，且多種感官啟發

that breaks the language down

將語言拆解成小單為

and teaches the reader to decode

教失讀症患者去解碼

based on syllable types and spelling rules.

根據音節的類型以及拼音規則

The brains of those with dyslexia

失讀症患者的大腦

begin using the left hemisphere

開始使用右半球

more efficiently while reading,

在閱讀時，更有效率地使用

and their reading improves.

他們的閱讀能力也改善了

The intervention works

多重感官啟發

because it locates dyslexia appropriately

因為它將失讀症確切地

as a functional variation in the brain,

定位為大腦中的功能差異

which, naturally, shows all sorts of variations

基本上，各種類型的差異

from one person to another.

每個人都有

Neurodiversity emphasizes this spectrum

神經多樣性強調的是

of brain function in all humans

所有人類中，大腦的運作範圍

and suggests that to better understand the perspectives

以及讓我們更了解

of those around us,

周遭的人的思考方式

we should try not only to see the world through their eyes

我們不該只是從他們的眼睛去看這世界

but understand it through their brains.

而是從他們的大腦去了解世界