Dyslexia

A Practitioner's Handbook

Gavin Reid

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781118980125
• Edition: 5
• Topic: Développement personnel
• Subtopic: Compétences de rédaction et de présentation

Newly updated, Gavin Reid's best-selling handbook remains an essential resource for those helping dyslexic individuals of all ages, from preschoolers to adults in the workplace.

• Combines theoretical explanations, the latest research, and practical solutions with a focus on inclusion and meeting the individual's needs
• New and expanded coverage includes: multilingualism; the use of technology; co-existing conditions such as dyspraxia, dyscalculia, and ADHD; and positive dyslexia
• Assembles the latest policies and best practices for dyslexia from around the world, and makes current debates regarding education and literacy accessible to trainees and practitioners

Chapter 1
Defining Dyslexia

This chapter will:

• discuss the purpose of a definition for dyslexia;
• provide pointers to indicate the current breadth of research in the area of dyslexia, which will be followed up in Chapter 2;
• examine the factors that influence the development of a working definition of dyslexia;
• look at the implications of DSM-5 for the use of the term ‘dyslexia’;
• highlight the impact of different perspectives and agendas in developing an operational definition for dyslexia;
• provide a focus on the area of positive dyslexia, looking at what they can do, not what they can’t do.

As indicated in the last point above, it is important to focus on the positive aspects of dyslexia. One of the earliest pioneers in this area was Tom West, whose landmark book In the Mind’s Eye (1997) provided a launch pad for a new wave of research into the positive aspects of dyslexia. Perhaps one of the more refreshing statements regarding the potential attributes of people with dyslexia is made by West himself when he says: ‘it is becoming increasingly clear [that much of the success attributed to people with dyslexia¹] is because of the dyslexia not in spite of it’ (West, 2014, p.78). West goes on to say that for years now we ‘have too often focused on fixing the problems—and have totally ignored the development of talents’ (p.87).

Dyslexia is often seen as a hidden disability and the estimates from a range of sources suggest that 10–15% of the population have dyslexia and around 4–5% severely.

It is important to be clear when defining dyslexia; and a working definition must take the positive and creative aspects into account. Too often definitions can be general, vague and essentially serve little purpose. They can also be misinterpreted and misused. Definitions need to be contextualised so they are relevant to the teaching and learning context. This chapter will provide clarification on the use of definitions and highlight the need to consider a working definition for dyslexia.

Defining Dyslexia

The questions one needs to ask are—do we really need to define dyslexia and can we really encapsulate the features and the feelings that accompany dyslexia in a single statement? These points can be considered when one asks people with dyslexia questions such as ‘what is dyslexia?’ and ‘what does it mean to you?’ As part of the research for this book I asked some children and adults those questions! There was a considerable range of responses. Some of the responses are shown below.

‘A problem transferring my knowledge into written work.’

‘For me it is frustration at not being able to complete tasks on time.’

‘Being different from everyone else.’

‘Wanting to read books but not getting past the first page.’

‘Having a bad memory and being so disorganised.’

‘Feeling different from everyone else.’

‘Inconsistency in my work—some days I get it right and other days I get the same thing wrong.’

‘I find it difficult to listen to the teacher for more than a few minutes.’

The following comment came from a teacher who is dyslexic.

I do not define dyslexia as a bad aspect of my life, I would not be the person I am today if I did not have dyslexia as a part of my genetic and biological makeup. My characteristics of dyslexia have moulded my personality and the experiences and choices I have made in my life, for the good and for the bad. The negative aspects of dyslexia for me is the frustration, confusion and embarrassment I feel when I am involved with tasks which will highlight my difficulties—those which involve memory recall, sequencing, numbers and spelling. I will forget how to do things or misinterpret the instructions, particularly if they were given recently and quickly. The difficulties in being able to remember numbers is real and can cause problems, for example I do not know my parents’, partner’s or children’s telephone numbers. I also find it very difficult to find my way around the alphabet and this affects me on a daily basis. However, it is important to try and keep dyslexia in perspective and see the positive effect it can have on my life. I feel I can empathise with my pupils and their parents/carers. It helps me to keep working to create accessible teaching resources and approaches; perhaps it feeds my creativity and the speed of ideas, planning and focus which I have. These benefits outweigh the negative aspects because they have enabled me to create effective strategies which help me to carry out the vast majority of tasks and responsibilities I have. Despite the embarrassment dyslexia can and does cause me, I function quite well in this society. But I appreciate that I am fortunate and have opportunities and support which others may not.

Reading through these statements one is struck by the emotional feelings attached to them—and that is the problem with a definition of dyslexia: it provides a definitive and descriptive response to what for many can be an area of emotional stress and personal conflict. Yet for education and research purposes a definition is necessary: it is necessary to assist in developing identification and diagnostic criteria and to inform intervention. Definitions can help to provide a label. For many parents a label is necessary as it can help to kickstart the support process. For adults with dyslexia it can help them develop self-knowledge and eventually coping strategies. For teachers it can provide explanations as to why the child may not be responding to the intervention provided. A definition therefore can be an important catalyst in this process. This is why it is important to emphasise the positive aspects of dyslexia. A good source of information is the Dyslexia Advantage website (http://community.dyslexicadvantage.org).

This website highlights why it is important to understand the advantages of dyslexia and helps children and adults gain personal insights into their own learning traits, thereby providing the means for them to become independent, more insightful and more successful learners.

The problem, however, lies in the lack of a universally accepted definition of dyslexia. The recent revision of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM-5) (American Psychological Association, 2013) is unlikely to help the cause much as ‘specific learning disorder’ is now the generic term to be used for reading, writing and mathematical difficulties. There are certainly sub-categories, but the authors of the DSM see the generic term as a positive aspect and believe that it is less restrictive and less limiting than previously. DSM-5 indicates that the diagnosis requires persistent difficulties in reading, writing, arithmetic or mathematical reasoning skills during the formal years of schooling. Symptoms may include inaccurate or slow and effortful reading, poor written expression that lacks clarity, difficulties remembering number facts or inaccurate mathematical reasoning.

A very crucial comment is made in the factsheet that accompanies DSM-5 when it indicates that the DSM-5 Neurodevelopmental Work Group concluded that the many definitions of dyslexia and dyscalculia meant those terms would not be useful as disorder names or in the diagnostic criteria.

It is true there are many different definitions of dyslexia, but there are many dimensions to dyslexia—dyslexia is not represented by a single entity (or caused by a single gene). Dyslexia is multifaceted and that can explain why a single, universally accepted definition has not yet been achieved. It can be argued, however, there is some agreement on the constellation of factors that can contribute to dyslexia, but controversy surrounds the respective weighting of these factors. For example, the range of factors that can be associated with dyslexia includes the following:

• Structural and functional brain-related factors (Galaburda and Rosen, 2001; Hynd et al., 1995).
• Genetic factors affecting the developmental migration of magnocells in utero and influencing their subsequent function (Stein, 2008).
• Genetic correlations (Gilger, 2008).
• Procedural timing of sequences in task accomplishment (Fawcett and Nicolson, 2008).
• Processing speed (Wolf and Bowers, 2000).
• Inter-hemisphere transfer (Breznitz, 2008).
• Difficulty in automatising skills (Fawcett and Nicolson, 1992).
• Working memory difficulties (Jeffries and Everatt, 2004).
• Phonological deficit (Snowling, 2000).
• Language features—orthographic transparency (Wimmer, 1993; Share, 2008; Everatt and Elbeheri, 2008).
• Comorbidity between learning disabilities (Bishop and Snowling, 2004; Visser, 2003).
• Literacy achievement levels and the role of IQ in diagnosis (Siegel and Lipka, 2008; Joshi and Aaron, 2008; Wagner, 2008).
• Positive skills (West, 2014; Nicolson et al., 2012; Nicolson, 2014).

These points above illustrate the diversity found among the dyslexic population and are some of the factors that can influence our understanding of dyslexia. Each can have an impact on how dyslexia is perceived and how assessment and intervention are portrayed.

Purpose of Definitions

Definitions of dyslexia, particularly those used by education authorities, school districts, voluntary organisations and associations are abundant, and some will be shown here. Often they serve a particular purpose and it is possible to categorise the type of function they serve.

• Allocation—Used to allocat...