08/09/05 - Is Dyslexia a Myth?

In the programme, which looks at the causes and treatment of poor reading, at least three academics call into question the value of separating those with difficulty in reading into dyslexics and "ordinary poor readers", when the treatment is the same for both groups.

But the suggestion has angered many dyslexic people and dyslexia organisations, who say the argument is damaging and unhelpful.

The widening gulf between academics and those who teach dyslexic people has resulted in a call for the term to be consigned to medical history books and a rethink on the treatment of all people who have difficulties reading.

The Channel 4 documentary will present the argument that dyslexia is a myth. The programme's producer, David Mills, said yesterday that the assertion that people with poor reading skills but high IQs should be diagnosed differently from other poor readers was wrong.

"You cannot separate a group of poor readers and say they are dyslexic, but if we clump all poor readers together you are then labelling 20% of kids with a disability."

One of the programme's contributors has written about the condition in this week's Times Educational Supplement. Julian Elliott, professor of education at the University of Durham, said that despite 30 years in the field he has little confidence in his ability to diagnose the condition.

"Dyslexia persists as a construct largely because it serves an emotional, not scientific, function. Forget about letter reversals, clumsiness, inconsistent hand preference and poor memory - these are commonly found in people without reading difficulties, and in poor readers not considered to be dyslexic ...

"Public perceptions often link reading difficulties with intelligence and, in our culture, an attribution of low intelligence often results in feelings of shame and humiliation.

"It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the widespread, yet wholly erroneous, belief that dyslexics are intellectually bright but poor readers would create a strong, sometimes impassioned demand to be accorded a dyslexic label.

"Yes of course, some children will require special resources and dispensations, but we certainly don't need spurious diagnoses of dyslexia to achieve such ends."

It is thought that about 375,000 schoolchildren suffer from dyslexia, which requires skilled specialist teaching.

Those with a diagnosis are often provided with teaching aids and are given extra time in exams, leading to claims that parents want a diagnosis to get an unfair advantage.

About 4% of the population are thought to suffer from a severe form of dyslexia.

A spokeswoman from the British Dyslexia Association said it had been inundated with calls from people worried about their own condition.

"This is very damaging and insulting to the people who are trying to overcome their dyslexia - a condition which is widely known to be a neurological disorder," she said.

John Rack, head of research at the Dyslexia Institute in York, said the scientific basis for dyslexia was well established.

"We know which of the chromosomes are involved and some of the genes that are involved, as well as some of the brain differences you observe when looking at a dyslexic child," Dr Rack said."

But Michael Rice, a dyslexia and literacy expert from the Institute of Criminology at Cambridge University, said the term dyslexia could soon be a thing of the past. "People feel a sense of justification when they are diagnosed, and it becomes almost defining of who they are. It gets them off the hook of great embarrassment and feelings of personal inadequacy," Dr Rice said.

Well-known people who are dyslexic include Sir Richard Branson, Jamie Oliver and the swimmer Duncan Goodhew, who said: "I don't think it is very helpful to argue about terms when we should be looking at the solutions. It is a neurological problem, a neurological deficit which ruins many people's lives."

� Dispatches: Dyslexia Myth will be shown tonight on Channel 4 at 9pm