What is dyslexia?

What is dyslexia?

To provide an accurate assessment of dyslexia; one must first provide an agreed upon operational definition of dyslexia; for how can we assess the existence of something if we do not know what it is? Dyslexia has enjoyed an immense interest from various and diverse stakeholders such as researchers, psychologists, educators, parents, policy makers, physicians, and individuals with dyslexia since it was first coined by the German Ophthalmologist, Rudolph Berlin, in 1895. Although it was first discussed in medical circles, by 1940s educational experts started to pick up the pace and explored dyslexia and its various manifestations. Along the way, several definitions of dyslexia were proposed as a direct result of the diverse disciplines and backgrounds of the individuals engaged in investigating the condition.

The International Dyslexia Association adopted on November 12th, 2002, the following dyslexia definition: “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge”.

Learning at the Lighthouse Centre

Learning at the Lighthouse Centre

The Lighthouse Centre offers specialized reading, writing, and spelling intervention support programmes in both English and Arabic for individuals with dyslexia and related language disorders.

It also offers cognitive brain training programmes to improve memory, attention, and speed of processing. The intervention programmes are based on the principles of the well-established Orton-Gillingham approach and are evidence-based.

The programmes are particularly suited for individuals with dyslexia but can help everyone and are very useful for individuals with reading and writing challenges.

Learning at the Lighthouse Centre

The Arabic Online Dyslexia Screener

Arabic Online Dyslexia Screener

The Arabic Online Dyslexia Screener aims to screen for dyslexia through the online administration of 7 sub-tests. The screener provides a Dyslexia At Risk Indicator and a severity index. In case there is a risk of dyslexia, the screener will confirm it and estimates its severity. The screener is useful in providing quick and easy indicator for parents at home or educators at schools who can take quick decisions to monitor the performance of students at risk and intervene early when necessary.

The Arabic dyslexia online screener produces an instant report that can be saved and shared about the performance of the child in both Arabic and English and can therefore be utilized by schools in their admission process and in their progress monitoring efforts to follow up with those who need help and support in their Arabic reading.

Dr. Gad Elbeheri

Dr. Gad Elbeheri

  1. Dr. Gad Elbeheri is a Board Member of the International Dyslexia Association (https://dyslexiaida.org/board)
  2. Dr. Gad Elbeheri is the Chair of the International Dyslexia Association’s Global Network Executive Committee (https://dyslexiaida.org/global-network)
  3. Dr. Gad Elbeheri is a Board Member of the Learning Disabilities Association of America (https://ldaamerica.org/about-us/board-of-directors)
  4. Dr. Gad Elbeheri is a Fellow of the Institute of Linguists (https://instituteoflinguists.com)
Dr Gad

Application Form

Application Form

If you are seeking to apply to one of our services; whether on behalf of someone else or for yourself, kindly fill in our admission application form by pressing the link below. This will provide us with as much information as possible and enable us to support you fully. Once the application form is received, we can then book you in for an initial consultation and start the process! There are also separate application forms that are specific to our life skills and life coaching programmes.

Application Form

Impact

Number of registered on the site so far:

Schools

38 Schools

Students

3972 Students

Teachers

518 Teachers