Building a Childs Self Esteem - Coursework Example

Just like any dyslexic child I met, Kate looked with an obvious nervousness when faced with a stranger, especially a teacher. She shared what other dyslexics possess, low self-esteem (Thomson and Hartley 1980; Rosenthal 1973; Gurney 1988) due to the label she was given by her social environment, that of being dyslexic. This label, which should relate only with the way Kate reads and writes, has affected not only her performance in school but her self esteem as well. The same label, if not eradicated, could negatively impact her whole personality and eventually compromise her future.

Many dyslexic children like Kate are suffering from the same situation. Dyslexia, commonly known as the difficulty to read and write (Hultquist 2008), is usually associated with poor academic performance (Ridsdale 2004 p. 249; Chapman et al. 2003 p. 700). Unable to read and write at average speed, children with dyslexia are often considered as having a low intelligence quotient. Worst, they are sometimes called ‘hopeless’ (Mortimore 2008 p. 77) or ‘stupid’ (Pollack 2005 p. 92). Such labels lead dyslexic people to develop poor self-esteem, which can ultimately lead to nearly irreversible problems in school such as loss of interest or habitual absences (Fairhurst and Pumfrey 1992 p. 326).This reflection paper contributes to the current literature regarding ways to improve reading among the dyslexic by enhancing their self-esteem.

It aims to provide further hope for dyslexic children, their parents and teachers by narrating teaching experiences and strategies in successful one-on-one reading classes.For a better understanding of the issue, it is best to provide a working definition of dyslexia. According to the Singleton (2000) of Orton Dyslexia Society, dyslexia is ‘a neurologically-based, often familial disorder which interferes with the acquisition and processing of language’. This means that dyslexia is often inherited, and is limited to the linguistic area of intelligence.

Such a definition further suggests that dyslexia is neither a debilitating condition that may worsen each day nor a deadly communicable disease.