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The Battle over Dyslexia

theguardian.com

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Re: The Battle over Dyslexia

#51

Post by bsder »

nullsense wrote: post #49
bsder wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm a dyslexic, and I was given extra attention is school that significantly helped me. And I suspect that is probably true for most "dyslexics". I have a pet suspicion that there is an actual dyslexia but that most diagnoses are simply a manifestation of 2 standard deviations of "everybody's brain is wired slightly differently and some things require more effort." One of my relatives is really good at mathematical…

And only 3 standard deviations is actually a disability?

2SD vs 3SD is a big deal in biological organisms.

If we look at height, that's a 6'7"/5'1" male or a 6'1"/4'8" female.

At those numbers, the probability that there is a medical issue--malnourishment/endocrine problems/Marfan's syndrome, etc.--starts being non-trivial.

Re: The Battle over Dyslexia

#52

Post by gonzo41 »

MivLives wrote: post #2

As someone who was diagnosed with dyslexia, and went to a special school because of it, a lot of things in this article brought back memories. I'm unsure how others are taught to read or spell, but the school I went to used an almost extended alphabet. Where combinations of english letters like CH were taught as if they were the roots of spelling. It did seem to work I went from three grades under my reading level to…

I'm dyslexic and my learning to read happened in a burst from ages 11 to 13. I got a lot of extra attention at school which was mostly around drilling phonics, like shhh sounds with ti, si, ci. And learning strategies on decomposing words.

One one of the really impactful things I did that contributed to large improvements in my reading and spelling was working on a computer based system. It had you type words that you watched change color on screen whilst TTS spoke the word back to you. This was combining fine motor control, visual perception and hearing into all into how I was learning. It was a game changer for me. At the time, mid nineties this would have been pretty cutting edge software in the education world. I'm not sure what things are like now but I was thinking about it the other day just how lucky i was with that.

Re: The Battle over Dyslexia

#53

Post by keithnoizu »

bluGill wrote: post #16
bjo590 wrote: post #14

> The method for diagnosing dyslexia, known as the discrepancy model, was relatively straightforward: test a child’s IQ and their reading age, and if there was a discrepancy between the two – average-to-high IQ, low literacy – that child was dyslexic. Elliott felt unsure about these assessments. The children he tested for dyslexia all struggled to read and write – that much was clear – but their literacy difficulties…

We do have a term: slow to learn to read. We don't need dyslexia or some more specific term unless those terms can be used for better treatment. In this case dyslexia is too specific: kids who don't fit the definition are being actively harmed because the treatment would help them just as much as it fit those who it helps. It may well be dyslexia (or a more specific term) may mean some other treatment can be helpful…

I was diagnosed, with dyslexia, dyscalculia and disgraphia, although for better or worse I also tested as profoundly gifted.

I think it boils down to, is there a structural difference in the brain that if studied can give insights into learning differences and optimal approaches to addressing learning differences and potential areas where a person with dyslexia or some underlying structural difference might have natural advantages. Such as the theory that dyslexics tend to think visual-spatially rather than lexically which could be advantageous for various engineering and business disciplines where being able to easily think about complex structures from different angles is beneficial.

Although the remedial approaches to addressing difficulties in reading may work equally well for individuals who experience difficulties for disparate causes, if there is in fact an opportunity to glean information on these types of fundamental difference in how the mind works that would likely pay dividends as the students progress into higher education and their careers.

Re: The Battle over Dyslexia

#54

Post by keithnoizu »

mjevans wrote: post #37
bjo590 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Dyslexia also has an IQ component which means those with low IQ are not dyslexic even if they otherwise have the same symptoms. A person with IQ 100 (or whatever the mean IQ is) learning to read slower than average is different than a person with IQ 60 learning to read slower than average. You cannot completely remove the IQ component.

Their point might be that the ability to read, has a non-zero influence on how intelligence as well knowledge; both of which are what IQ tests try to measure. The two signal values are related to an unknown degree.

And it shouldn't really. Assuming dyslexia is the result of structural differences in how the brain operates and not simply that a person is behind the curve on reading ability.

If say dyslexia behind the scenes looked something like the difference between being left handed or right handed, a persons natural athletic skill (IQ) might improve their odds of throwing a good right handed pass yet regardless of athletic skill their outcomes would be better throwing left handed.

Re: The Battle over Dyslexia

#56

Post by Buge »

slg wrote: post #28
bluGill wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We do have a term: slow to learn to read. We don't need dyslexia or some more specific term unless those terms can be used for better treatment. In this case dyslexia is too specific: kids who don't fit the definition are being actively harmed because the treatment would help them just as much as it fit those who it helps. It may well be dyslexia (or a more specific term) may mean some other treatment can be helpful…

Personally getting diagnosed with dyslexia was a huge help to me. Like the article mentions it allows a mindset change when you can put a name to why you can't do something despite a tremendous amount of effort that other people can seemingly do easily. It also becomes a valuable tool to help protect yourself when needed. There were multiple times in my elementary and middle school years in which the ADA needed to be…

Instead of throwing out the benefits that you got from a dyslexia diagnosis, couldn't those benefits be also given to all students with with reading troubles? That's what the article is saying. I bet those bad teachers were also harmful to many other students with reading troubles.

Re: The Battle over Dyslexia

#57

Post by C1sc0cat »

Article seems to be by a cherry picked outsider to allow the powers that be dodge their requirement to support neurodiverse students.

Also the article is using decades old definitions of dyslexia as difficulty reading and an average or high IQ

And the journalist doesn't have a background in disability reporting "Sirin Kale is a London-based journalist specialising in women's rights, politics, music, lifestyle, and culture"

Having a non expert waltz in and comment on say the BLM / Institutional Racism would not be acceptable in 2020.

Re: The Battle over Dyslexia

#58

Post by C1sc0cat »

bjo590 wrote: post #14

> The method for diagnosing dyslexia, known as the discrepancy model, was relatively straightforward: test a child’s IQ and their reading age, and if there was a discrepancy between the two – average-to-high IQ, low literacy – that child was dyslexic. Elliott felt unsure about these assessments. The children he tested for dyslexia all struggled to read and write – that much was clear – but their literacy difficulties…

Its not just dyslexia as a single thing any more dyslexia is one of a group of neurodiverse conditions.
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