Dyslexia is NOT a disability, really it isn't!

ValarMorghulis

Dyslexia is described as a reading disability, and reading is a man made task, much like driving a car, and so having problems reading or more specifically dyslexia is more an impairment. But the issues which cause that impairment are disabilities, similar to many of the issues which make driving a car difficult or impossible.
The problem with defining dyslexia has been the time taken by international research to identify and define the underlying disabilities which can cause the dyslexic symptom. If you like when we invented text etc we forgot to write a corresponding owners manual, and this is having to be done thousands of years later retrospectively, and they are still researching how the brain really works, and how we learn to read lol.

Dyslexia is very often listed as a co morbid with ASD.

Still believe that a Dx of Dyslexia alone is an impairment rather than a disability

thanks dolfrog will check them out tomorrow when I've had some shut eye, must get to bed. much appreciated.

lisad123

you might like to have a look at the Wikipedia Auditory processing disorder which has recently been edited by Prof. Dorothy Bishop, which indicates some possible links between dyslexia and autism.
and I may as well include a link to the Wikipedia Dyslexia article as that is the topic of this thread.

I think it is an Impairment rather than a disability.

It's certainly not made my life easy, it's hard to organise myself and work sometimes and oh so when I can't spell the word I want to use. I am by no means think!!

I would be careful OP, autism is a processing and wired brain type thing and is very much a disability.

MusicLover

you might like to have a look at a some related online research paper libraries
CiteULike Alexia (acquired dyslexia)
CiteULike Developmental Dyslexia
and CiteULike Reading: Acquiring and Developing the Skills and Abilities
which may be of some interest.

If you look up the word 'disability' in the dictionary it says....something that disables someone. Which in hindsite can be true to dyslexics.
But maybe people think of the word 'disability' & think of someone in a wheelchair etc but that is a physical disability.
Sometimes its how the word is used in todays day of age.
Its how each individual feels abt the word being used to describe them.
The word inability could be used in the same way but some may not see it that way either.
I work with adults with learning disabilities & the scales from person to person vary greatly as they do with dyslexia.
But dolfrog you explained it so well-thankyou, I'm learning more each day about dyslexia now which can only be a plus for my DD.

Dyslexia is a man made problem, about having problems with a man made communication system, the visual notation of speech, or having problems decoding and recoding the graphic symbols society chooses to represent the sounds of speech. As such Dyslexia is a Social Construct.
There are two types of dyslexia. Alexia, acquired dyslexia, which is the result of brain injury, substance abuse, stroke, dementia, or a progressive illness. And Developmental Dyslexia which has a genetic origin. Developmental Dyslexia has three cognitive subtypes auditory, visual, and attentional. Which means that an auditory processing disorder (listening disability), a visual processing disorder, an attention deficit, or any combination of the three can cause the dyslexic symptom.
So dyslexia in itself is not a disability, but the symptom of one or more potential disabilities, which in turn means each dyslexic needs to identify the underlying cause of their dyslexic symptom.
I am dyslexic, and auditory processing disorder (APD) is the cause of my dyslexic symptom, but also causes many more serious communication issues.

Think how may times you've had to read today...

Looking what time it is to know when to get up or get out?
Looked at a computer? a book? a newspaper? passed an advert?
Think how much text is on a TV - what if you can't read that?
Taken a pill and read the label?
Try cooking without reading - not even sell-by dates.
Got on a bus, a train?
Driven a car? Parked a car and looked at the parking regulations?
In a shop - looked at the prices, the small print?
I could go on...

Think about it before you say dyslexics aren't disabled

I think I get where OP is coming from. The term 'disabled' has been so badly used hasn't it? Full of stereotypes and in fact, its a lazy word used to group people with far reaching disabilities together. Sort of a herding word.

This is the thread i started in the 'behaviour/development' thread......sorry to hijack this thread btw

My DD is nearly 9 & Ive had my concerns since she started school as she struggled from day one. She found the phonics really hard & no matter how many times I tried to teach her ways to learn it, it never sank in. By the time, she was getting into yr 2 I decided to go online to see if I could help her that way. I went on a great site called ?Easyread? which helped her so much but I couldn?t afford to keep it up but for 3 or 4 months it helped her at least get to grips with phonics.
Anyway, the older she has got the more concerned I?ve become. I have mentioned my concerns to her previous teachers who informed me that she will catch up?blah blah! When DD started in Yr4 last Sep I spoke to her teacher about it on parents eve to which she told me?. ?a lot of parents want to label their children, the trouble these days is that they do too much for their kids therefore making the kids lazy & not wanting to do anything for themselves?! I was livid & firmly told her that I have never done everything for either of my children as I have always encouraged them to be independent from an early age!
Since then I have moved DD to another school, but only because ?cut backs? caused the school bus to be discontinued!
DD mentioned to me last week that the words in her book were jumping around on the page which finally made me realise that she may have dyslexia. So I went to the Library to read up on it & try & help her myself as much as possible.
My DH is dyslexic (not diagnosed) & his DD & DS from previous relationship have both been diagnosed with Dyslexia.
My DD is a very happy go lucky girl with a wicked sense of humour, she is very placid with a gentle nature & my worry is that she is now getting embarrassed that she is in the low groups of literacy & numeracy, she won?t read out aloud. She doesn?t read so bad really, its getting it down on paper that she struggles. She will spell ?Girl? as ?Gril? etc...
DD also is very forgetful, Klutzy, still dresses back to front, has poor concentration & memory. She really struggles to take in information & has to be constantly reminded about things. She forgets to bring home her lunch bag & jumper nearly everyday. She forgets to hand in letters that I write for teachers etc too.
Anyway I?ve booked her in for an eye test at an opticians that also tests for dyslexia, although she is not having the dyslexia test that day, her test wil be an hour long & with the lady that does the dyslexia test.
All I want is a little help for my DD so she doesn?t struggle with her work & become embarrassed that she isn?t at the same level as her piers. I don?t want her to get to high school & try to hide it like my DH did.
Do you think Im over reacting or do the teachers just have a way of making you feel that you are?

I have read this thread with great sadness
I have just this morning started a thread in the 'development' thread due to my concern over my DD maybe being dyslexic.
Im not sure if Id call it a disability myself but like others have said it can depend on the indivual person & how severe their dyslexia is.
Ive witnessed (12yrs) my DH's embarrassment that he has lived with since being at school due to his dyslexia & how hard it has affected him in life, with jobs & application forms etc. He has relied on me a great deal to help him through his worry of & not understanding of it, as he, like alot also slipped throught the net as did his mum who cant write & can barely read who have both tried to hide their inability to this. Both of who have grown up feeling they are thick as no matter how aware people are of dyslexia there is alot of ignorance & stigma to it.
I feel for anyone that has it inc my dd. What I am now going to become is a pushy parent as I dont ever want my DD to go through what her dad & nana have been through. Its discusting & ignornant.
There are lots of celebrity's with dyslexia who have overcome it &not let it control their lives. Look at Richard Branson......need I say more?

Dear goingmadinthecountry does your son have a statement how easy was his challenge taken into consideration when doing 11+?

if someone with no legs, learns to walk on their hands, are they still disabled? They are still doing what the rest of us are doing but just in a differnt way.....

ElbowFan that article is really interesting, it's basically what the educational psychologist said about me, my brain was so used to working around things rather than going straigh from A-B like normal that I got quite good at it and still achieved well with some extra skills from my "wiring". I never had any support but by the time I was identified as a candidate I was mitigating too well (left exams after an hour and got As etc, so no need for extra time,
...)

I think it is a disability if it disables you. The spectrum is so wide though that not everyone with dyslexia will be disabled. I teach a woman who is dyslexic and it disables her. She is a very intelligent woman and does lots in her community, vocally. She lives in a socially deprived area of London, has 2 children with dyslexia. She slipped through the net at school and can't even write the names of her children. She has absolutely no sound/symbol recognition. If I ask her to write 'dog' she can't. She can't access the written word. Letters from the council, letters from school, letters from utility companies.

She is a lovely, lovely woman who wants to work and help her children.She often comes tome in tears because she has had a letter she cant read or because her son is struggling at school and she can't help him with his homework. In spite of her severe dyslexia she fought for her son to be statemented and to get him into her first choice of school. It took her a long time but she did it.

So, in her case I think it is a disability. Except she gets no DLA. If she could get a grant for a text to speech gadget it would greatly improve her ability to connect with the written word and help her to manage her life in a more 'functional' way.

I guess because ds is doing OK at grammar school he doesn't seem to have a problem. Watch him make 26 attempts to write a birthday card to a girl!

I do appreciate that there are far worse problems out there by the way, but having been told his verbal reasoning and understanding of language is in the top 2% by a psychologist, it doesn't seem fair not to let him have a chance to achieve his potential. You have to be a pushy mum!

POstbellum - I definitely regard my boys with ASD as disabled. They cannot lead a "normal" life or access education without extreme adaptations.

I would see it as a disability - but what's negative about that?
And a learning disability doesn't make someone 'thick'
It is an Educational Special Need - and with the right help and support and learning method, can be addressed.

Your dad needs a wheelchair to get around, a dyslexic person needs a particular method of support to manage learning to read and write.

Hi again,

I totally agree that dyslexic children need to read and write but there are many teachers who are critical of there being too much emphasis on SATS with a cost to creativity etc. Children at junior school could be writing incredibly original and creative pieces of work but receiving no recognition for it because of their dyslexic difficulties.

Yes, secondary school is better, but dyslexic children still have to write and read otherwise if they don't jump through the hoops of specific GCSEs etc, so many career opportunities are closed to them.

Yes, I prefer specific learning difficulty - that does apply to my son. I feel that to say he has a disability is disingenuous to those with greater difficulties.

Thanks for the article. My son is very bright and creative but the education system, particularly junior school, has had problems accommodating him as there is so much emphasis on the 3 Rs and no emphasis on creativity, originality or content!

Secondary school is much better!