Dyslexia groups attack 'poor readers' claim (added 02/09/05)
PA News
Published:
02 September 2005
Up to six million people in the UK struggle with the everyday task of reading and writing as they battle against dyslexia.
But today they are being told that the condition, which comes from the Greek for "difficulty with words", is nothing more than an emotional construct.
Professor Julian Elliott, who teaches at Durham University, has written in the Times Education Supplement, saying that poor readers wanted to be called dyslexic because of a "widespread, but wrong, perception that dyslexics are generally intellectually bright".
He added that after 30 years in the field he had "little confidence" in his ability to diagnose it.
But the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) disagrees, saying it is a clearly diagnosable condition - with 4% of the population being severely dyslexic and a further 6% with mild to moderate problems.
Brain imaging techniques have shown, according to the BDA, that dyslexic people process information differently.
Dyslexia has been diagnosed in people of all abilities, from those who cannot read to those with university degrees.
Described by the NHS' official website as one of the most common learning disabilities, dyslexia can vary in severity from person to person, prompting minor difficulties with spelling or even severe problems with reading itself.
The condition is also said to be more common in males than females, tends to run in families and continues into adult life.
It is also not a new problem, the BDA points out, with famous sufferers including inventor Leonardo da Vinci and children's author Hans Christian Anderson.
The Dyslexia Institute, which runs 26 centres across the UK to help people of all ages, is similarly scathing in its dismissal of Prof Elliott's claims.
Laura Sercombe, the head of the charity's southern region, which covers southern England, the Midlands and Wales, says: "These comments are not helpful at all.
"They make me very sad because [dyslexia] is an internationally-accepted disability that affects a large proportion of the population.
"We don't need somebody saying that it doesn't exist because it is perpetuating the myth that it's an excuse."
Pointing out that dyslexia affects people of all races and all religions in all areas, Ms Sercombe believes views such as those expressed by Prof Elliott grab the headlines because they pander to people who are entirely ignorant of dyslexia's impact.
Asked what proof exists to back up the mainstream stance that dyslexia is a real condition with very real symptoms, she adds: "The real evidence that we see is the progress that individuals have made.
"When a young child or an adult can't read and you work with them and you make progress, and then they can read - that's real evidence.
"We believe we are doing a good job and changing people's lives.
"We have made a lot of progress in the past 30 years but there are still a lot of people that don't understand dyslexia and that there are things that can be done to help."
