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Dyslexia


Guest birdog

Dyslexia Myth or reality  

14 members have voted

  1. 1. Is dyslexia a real affliction or an education cover up?

    • Myth
      4
    • Reality
      10


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Graham Stringer, MP for Blackley has recently been quoted as saying "The education establishment, rather than admit that their eclectic and incomplete methods for instruction are at fault, have invented a brain disorder called dyslexia,"

I have created a poll to gauge peoples opinions on the matter, personally I think someone was p1ssed off with their scrabble score for "thick" and made up a new higher scoring word.

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A difficulty with the written language.

The main question that comes to mind I suppose is, is this difficulty actually due to the make up of an individuals brain? or has the term dyslexia been coined to cover up inadequacies in the educational system?

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A difficulty with the written language.

The main question that comes to mind I suppose is, is this difficulty actually due to the make up of an individuals brain? or has the term dyslexia been coined to cover up inadequacies in the educational system?

I think a study would need to be done.

They would need to look at -

1) Statistics in other countries

2) Compare schools i.e. schools that have better resources, different areas, deprivation

3) Parental contribution to education

4) Genes i.e. is it in the family

The problem comes that people look at someone who is having problems in school and automatically think dyslexia, it is easier. However, I still think there are people who do genuinely have dyslexia.

What needs to be looked at is if dyslexia is abused in schools i.e. teachers just slapping the term dyslexic onto anyone with problems.

Edited by KMCN
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True all sorts of studies etc would be required but it just seems too easy to explain high levels of illiteracy by inventing an affliction. There has even been a term for numerical difficulties invented, dyscalculia, IMHO people should accept that individuals are better at certain tasks than others. I am not saying this is an intelligence issue, just that some people are better with words and numbers than others are and a lot are just lazy. Without a spell checker my posts on here would be lucky to have 60% of the words spelled correctly but since using the spell checker for everything I do on a PC my spelling has improved no end. I was incredibly lazy at school but managed to get through it with a lot of good pass marks my English was p1ss poor though. I would never try to blame anything other than my laziness for my poor ability with the written language.

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Dyslexia is most definitely real and not a myth. Like other conditions it can range on an almost indeterminable scale from mild to severe.

Where the problem lies - and the same can be said for Autism and conditions such as Bipolar disorder in more recent times - is that it can often be used as an excuse or a convenient diagnosis for those who you might term "thick".

The one concession I would make to the statement above ("The education establishment, rather than admit that their eclectic and incomplete methods for instruction are at fault, have invented a brain disorder called dyslexia") is to say that not all reading problems are dyslexia. Some reading problems are caused by lack of exposure to books and good language models in the home or due to a lack of quality reading instruction in school ..... so its back to the age old debate of 'nature' over 'nurture'... some of it is definitely nature, other times the same symptoms can be produced by 'nurture' (or a lack thereof).

What makes me so convinced it is real? Personal experience, thats what. My sister had dyslexia, and she was not thick. She was classed as having "learning difficulties" when in primary school and once her condition was recognised and her education tailored more to her needs than the 30 other "normal" children in her class she did really well. She was certainly not thick, and although she always read or wrote slowly because of this condition she had no lack of intelligence mentally or verbally ....

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What makes me so convinced it is real? Personal experience, thats what. My sister had dyslexia, and she was not thick. She was classed as having "learning difficulties" when in primary school and once her condition was recognised and her education tailored more to her needs than the 30 other "normal" children in her class she did really well. She was certainly not thick, and although she always read or wrote slowly because of this condition she had no lack of intelligence mentally or verbally ....

If this is so then does it not raise the question whether the teaching methods for dyslexics are in fact the way that all pupils should be taught rather than the methods which are currently used or if in fact each individual pupil should have their teaching program individually tailored?

When I was at college learning my trade I could not get my head around the electrical part of the course at all but I was doing really well in the hydraulics and pneumatics parts, it would have been so easy to claim to be dyselectric but instead a lecturer took me aside and the gist of the conversation was that I should try to visualise a circuit diagram in the same way that I visualised the other diagrams, after that my understanding of circuit diagrams never posed any problems for me. The problem in that case was that it was easier to visualise liquids or gasses passing through pipes than electricity passing through wires.

I guess I am trying to say that I believe it's not really a matter of learning it's more a matter of training your brain how to learn.

Edited by birdog
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If this is so then does it not raise the question whether the teaching methods for dyslexics are in fact the way that all pupils should be taught rather than the methods which are currently used or if in fact each individual pupil should have their teaching program individually tailored?

When I was at college learning my trade I could not get my head around the electrical part of the course at all but I was doing really well in the hydraulics and pneumatics parts, it would have been so easy to claim to be dyselectric but instead a lecturer took me aside and the jist of the conversation was that I should try to visualise a circuit diagram in the same way that I visualised the other diagrams, after that my understanding of circuit diagrams never posed any problems for me. The problem in that case was that it was easier to visualise liquids or gasses passing through pipes than electricity passing through wires.

I guess I am trying to say that I believe it's not really a mater of learning it's more a matter of training your brain how to learn.

I don't think you are looking at the bigger picture, yes we struggle in certain areas. I know in school I struggled with maths but did better in Art etc. As humans in general we all have weaker areas. Someone with dyslexia may not have had issues with any of your course but when writing and reading took slightly longer. You seem to think that if you struggle with one bit that automatically means you can be labelled dyslexic, this is not the case. Most schools will know by the end of first year or sooner if someone has dyslexia, for you it would have been noticed much sooner if this was the case.

Teaching methods for people who have dyslexia would be no use for some people so it would be a waste of school resources.

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If this is so then does it not raise the question whether the teaching methods for dyslexics are in fact the way that all pupils should be taught rather than the methods which are currently used or if in fact each individual pupil should have their teaching program individually tailored?

When I was at college learning my trade I could not get my head around the electrical part of the course at all but I was doing really well in the hydraulics and pneumatics parts, it would have been so easy to claim to be dyselectric but instead a lecturer took me aside and the jist of the conversation was that I should try to visualise a circuit diagram in the same way that I visualised the other diagrams, after that my understanding of circuit diagrams never posed any problems for me. The problem in that case was that it was easier to visualise liquids or gasses passing through pipes than electricity passing through wires.

I guess I am trying to say that I believe it's not really a mater of learning it's more a matter of training your brain how to learn.

I don't think you are looking at the bigger picture, yes we struggle in certain areas. I know in school I struggled with maths but did better in Art etc. As humans in general we all have weaker areas. Someone with dyslexia may not have had issues with any of your course but when writing and reading took slightly longer. You seem to think that if you struggle with one bit that automatically means you can be labelled dyslexic, this is not the case. Most schools will know by the end of first year or sooner if someone has dyslexia, for you it would have been noticed much sooner if this was the case.

Teaching methods for people who have dyslexia would be no use for some people so it would be a waste of school resources.

That's exactly what I am saying, some people have problems reading and writing and it is labelled dyslexia, others struggle in other areas but there is no label for those people. The exceptions perhaps being dyscalculia, and tone deafness as a music teacher of mine once diagnosed me.

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If this is so then does it not raise the question whether the teaching methods for dyslexics are in fact the way that all pupils should be taught rather than the methods which are currently used or if in fact each individual pupil should have their teaching program individually tailored?

Dont think it really works that way. Dyslexic children cannot be 'cured' by adjusting their learning, its a lifelong condition and tailored learning can only make the process of education a little easier or more enjoyable. Unfortunately, unlike you and your circuit diagrams, Dyslexic people dont tend to have 'eureka' moments where everything suddenly clicks into place ... if any do, then I would tend to believe that the individual concerned may not have been dyslexic in the first place.

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I remember seeing something on TV about studies that were being done that were aimed at properly understanding "Dyslexia".

The general jist of the programme was, as has been hinted at above, that the term has become an easy and convenient pigeon hole to slot people with reading and/or writing difficulties in to, but if you took the time to look at cases on an individual basis their was a multitude of reasons behind it. In short, they were putting forward a case which said that dyslexia should be viewed more as a general term for those with difficulties but it should not be deemed a recognised condition in it's own right.

The list of causes was huge.....poor eyesight, colour blindness, problems with certain fonts, problems with certain font sizes, letter/word/line spacing, colour of the text and/or paper, behavioural issues, method of teaching, eye spasms, retinal abnormalities, malformed retinal nerve/nerve connections, hormone imbalances, mental disorders, general laziness, boredom....and those are just the things I can remember.

In some cases they were able to use a few simple tests to narrow down the underlying cause and some solutions were as easy as placing a coloured filter over a page when reading.

One person that was studied and who had been deemed dyslexic was found to have a disorder which was cured by letting her use a keyboard......turned upside down!!! To start with they thought it might have been a result of being a younger sibling who had followed older children's reading at home by standing over books etc, but they ruled this out when it became apparent that she actually viewed the world upside down, mirrored as opposed to rotated, so left and right was still "normal".

So, do I believe Dyslexia exists.....no, not in the way it's perceived as being a label you can attach to someone with reading/writing issues, but I do believe that there's a multitude of conditions/circumstances which cause perfectly intelligent and capable people to struggle with what many consider "normal" and that this is highlighted and causes particular issues for them with reading and writing.

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If this is so then does it not raise the question whether the teaching methods for dyslexics are in fact the way that all pupils should be taught rather than the methods which are currently used or if in fact each individual pupil should have their teaching program individually tailored?

Dont think it really works that way. Dyslexic children cannot be 'cured' by adjusting their learning, its a lifelong condition and tailored learning can only make the process of education a little easier or more enjoyable. Unfortunately, unlike you and your circuit diagrams, Dyslexic people dont tend to have 'eureka' moments where everything suddenly clicks into place ... if any do, then I would tend to believe that the individual concerned may not have been dyslexic in the first place.

I suppose in this discussion I am going to have to bow down and admit a lack of knowledge on the subject to make an informed judgement. I have not really looked into dyslexia in any great depth and have based any previous judgements on personal experience but I intend to have a wee read up on it soon since I brought up the subject it is only right that I should research it a little.

That is one of the reasons I asked for this part of the forum and why I am thankful to you for installing it. Discussions like these are a valuable educational stimulus.

EDIT substituted word resource for stimulus as that is more like what I meant to say.

Edited by birdog
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I have dyslexia....and i can asure you its nothing to do with education. I see words that arent there, the words can (what i can only describe as seemingly jiggle about on the page). I am fine with a few lines of text. But if faced with a book, or a long post on here for eg.....i will either take froever to read it properly, or I will avaoid it altogether. Its a very real problem.

BUT.....i do think it can be banded about willy nilly these days, all to keen to label people. For me, its like ADHD.....the athuorities seem all to ready to brand an unruly child as having ADHD, when the real cause is simply bad/laissez faire parenting

Edited by SMEE
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