Dyslexia: Are We Being Misled By Dyslexic Experts?



Dyslexia

The controversy over dyslexia once again came to the fore recently following the book (to be released later this month) by Professor Julian Elliott at Durham University Elena and L. Grigorenko at Yale University. In their book entitled the Dyslexia Debate, the authors argued that the term dyslexia is mis-conceptualisation of learning difficulty. In other words, people diagnosed as dyslexics have similar learning difficulties to those experienced by non-dyslexics. Instead of identifying some people as dyslexics and offering them special interventions, the authors argued, the same help and support should be given to every person identified with learning difficulty.

Many advocates of dyslexia have considered this conclusion that dyslexia does not exist to be an insult to millions of dyslexics. They feared this report can damage the progress already made in combating dyslexia such as early diagnosis of the condition and subsequent interventions for it. What exactly is dyslexia that is causing this huge controversy?

Dyslexia refers to a general term for disorders associated with difficulty in learning to read or interpret words or letters. This definition tends to present dyslexia as disorders or diseases. However, advocates of dyslexia tend to disagree that dyslexia is a sickness. They seem to argue that dyslexia is a form of weakness in certain abilities rather than a form of sickness. There are many symptoms of dyslexia including difficulty with phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing.

The diagnosis of dyslexia can be done through self-diagnosis. Self-diagnosis of dyslexia happens mostly at universities when year 1 students are given a form to fill stating whether they have learning difficulties. Some students who have not been diagnosed with dyslexia in their earlier studies tend to use this opportunity to declare themselves as dyslexics. While some of this self-diagnosis might be correct, the vast majority of students who diagnosed themselves as dyslexics may not necessarily be dyslexics.

Students may declare themselves dyslexics because they want to enjoy the special privileges accorded to dyslexics at university. Dyslexics, for example, are given more time in exam halls to complete their work than non-dyslexic students. They are also allowed more time to submit their course work than non-dyslexics. In other words, claiming to be dyslexic can be an easy way of learning for some lazy students who cannot cope with demanding academic work.


Dyslexia can also be diagnosed clinically. Clinical diagnosis of dyslexia involves subjecting the suspect to a number of dyslexic tests largely based on IQ tests. Low scores on these tests will indicate that the suspect is dyslexic but higher scores will indicate that the suspect is not dyslexic. However, some people can still be diagnosed as dyslexics even though their IQ scores are higher than the IQ scores of some non-dyslexics. This raises the issue of what makes people dyslexics if their IQ scores are higher than those of some non-dyslexics? Supporters of dyslexics will argue that having low IQ scores is one of the determinants of dyslexia but not necessarily all the determinants of the condition. In other words, a person can be both dyslexic and intelligent.

Arguing that a person can be both dyslexic and intelligent raises the issue about what we mean by the terms "dyslexia" and "intelligence". As mentioned earlier, dyslexia refers to learning difficulty associated with reading and writing. In contrast, intelligence generally refers to the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills well. Based on these, can a person struggling with reading and writing be considered intelligent? If the answer is no, then a person cannot be both dyslexic and intelligent.

However, if the answer is yes, then both the present concept of dyslexia and intelligence should be revised so they can refer to different concepts other than those associated with learning difficulty and the abilities to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.

Some people might question why this debate on dyslexia? Discussing dyslexia is very important because of two reasons. First, the number of people in the UK being diagnosed as dyslexics is on the increase. Between 1994 and 1995, fewer than 5000 UK residents were diagnosed as dyslexics. In 2013, however, this number has risen to over 100000. Similar figures have also been found in places such as USA. 1 in 5 persons in America is said to be dyslexic. There is the fear that these trends are likely to continue at least for the foreseeable future.

The second reason for discussing dyslexia is the cost to tax payers. A lot of resources are spent annually on dyslexia. This includes the time spent on diagnosing people with dyslexia, which can take up to half day. The cost of dyslexia also involves the subsequent interventions following the diagnosis, which can last for many years. It can be argued that in the absence of dyslexia, all of these resources could be used in other areas.

However, if dyslexia is real and can be diagnosed and treated early, a nation can benefit immensely from its dyslexic workforce. Employers tend to prefer people who have good abilities for reading and writing to dyslexics who tend to lack these abilities. It follows from this that if quick and adequate interventions are provided to them, dyslexics can overcome their learning difficulties and improve on their reading and writing skills. Thus, they will become employable and less dependent on the state welfare.