1enunderstanding dyslexiadysvet by DysVET dyslexia awareness books

Understanding Dyslexia by Dr Ian Smythe

2 April 2013

ÂŠ Ian Smythe 2013

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Understanding dyslexia

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Understanding dyslexia

Contents

Learning Objectives

Introduction Checklist The purpose of a definition The definition The definition â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Alternatives Explaining differences The percentage of dyslexia? Gender bias Dyslexia is more than a reading and writing difficulty Talents, Creativity and dyslexia Famous dyslexics Comorbidity - 0.5

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The purpose of this module is to provide a basic understanding of what is dyslexia, and some of the discussion points around it. This will set the scene for the following modules, and allow individuals to contextualise to the wider discussions. Every attempt has been made to make it accessible to the reader, with links to additional online resources being provided where appropriate.

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Introduction It does not matter if you are dyslexic, if you supervise a dyslexic individual, you support them, or they are a family member or friend, before you read the rest of this module, try the questionnaire below. This is a simplified version of a standard adult dyslexia questionnaire, the full version of which you will find online if you follow the links at the bottom of this page.

Understanding dyslexia

Key Points Dyslexia is about more than reading and writing difficulties.

1. 1. Do Do you you confuse confuse visually visually similar similar words words such such as as cat cat and and cot? cot? 2. 2. Do Do you you lose lose your your place place or or miss miss out out lines lines when when reading? reading? 3. Do you confuse the names of objects, for example, 3. Do you confuse the names of objects, for example, table table for for chair? chair? 4. 4. Do Do you you have have trouble trouble telling telling left left from from right? right? 5. 5. IsIs map map reading reading or or finding finding your your way way to to aa strange strange place place confusing? confusing? 6. 6. Do Do you you re-read re-read paragraphs paragraphs to to understand understand them? them? 7. 7. Do Do you you get get confused confused when when given given several several instructions instructions at at once? once? 8. Do you make mistakes when taking down telephone messages? 8. Do you make mistakes when taking down telephone messages? 9. 9. Do Do you you find find itit difficult difficult to to find find the the right right word word to to say? say? 10. How often do you think of creative solutions to 10. How often do you think of creative solutions to problems? problems? 11. 11. How How easy easy do do you you find find itit to to sound sound out out words words such such as as e-le-phant? e-le-phant? 12. When writing, do you find it difficult to organise thoughts 12. When writing, do you find it difficult to organise thoughts on on paper? paper? 13. Did you learn your multiplication tables easily? 13. Did you learn your multiplication tables easily? 14. 14. How How easy easy do do you you find find itit to to recite recite the the alphabet? alphabet? 15. How hard do you find it to read aloud? 15. How hard do you find it to read aloud? The purpose of reading those questions was to highlight that dyslexia is not just about reading and writing. It affects all parts of ones life. So even if you are in a job that does not involve, for example, writing reports, it does not mean that you will not have problems with dyslexia. If dyslexia was a problem at school, then despite all the strategies that may have developed, that dyslexia is still around. The good news is that while it still remains, it can often be harnessed as an asset.

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Checklist â&#x20AC;&#x201C; www.dotr.im/dysvet0101 Radio broadcast â&#x20AC;&#x201C; www.dotrim.im/dysvet0102

It is a lifelong issue. There are often strengths that can be utilised.

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Understanding dyslexia

Purpose of a definition If we are to understand why there is a lack of agreement on the definition, we need to understand why this happens. The main reason is that there is no authority that everybody turns to. At best, they are usually government review boards that look for consensus. But then where does that consensus come from. And it, in turn, must be biased, since that board can decide who to ask, and whose definition is accepted. Robinson (1950) suggests the reasons to provide a definition include not only how a word should be used, but also provide a set of conditions in which something occurs.

Classical concepts: What is a square? A square maybe be defined as 1)Having four sides 2)The sides are of equal length 3)The sides are joined at right angles. 4)It is closed.

With reference to dyslexia, Miles (1995) wrote that definitions should: giving a guide to diagnosis finding a watertight legal description that will automatically give entitlement to special help or provision showing off one’s pet theory and trying to impose it on others. Unfortunately these are, at best, optimistic since a pragmatic guide to diagnosis is nothing but a guide without cut-off meaningful criteria, which are not included in the definitions.

If an object has those four characteristics is a square.

Definitions are a balancing act of try to match the single word with the collection of words that form the definition.

And if you call something a square, it must have those characteristics.

Dyslexia

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For dyslexia, it is not so easy to balance the two sides, since it is more closely related to “family resemblances” than clearly definable criteria.

For a more in depth discussion, try an internet search using the term Paradoxes in the Deﬁnition of Dyslexia

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Understanding dyslexia

The definition

Whose definition?

Dyslexia is a difficulty in the acquisition of fluent and accurate reading, spelling and writing skills, that is neurological in origin.

Since there is no recognised authority on dyslexia, there are many different versions. And each person will choose the one that suites them best. Thus parents, NGOs, teachers, psychologists, researchers, employers and education authorities may all have their own needs and their own definition.

This may be caused by a number of underlying cognitive skills including phonological processing, orthographic processing and memory. The manifestation in any individual may be dependent upon not only their cognitive profile, but also the language in question.

The definition used above has three separate parts, and may be seen as an amalgamation of the definitions proposed by the Health Council of the Netherlands, the British Psychological Society and the International Dyslexia Association. While the vary in detail, the first paragraph above is generally agree by all. The definition provided here may be seen as consisting of three parts: 1)The symptom based definition, providing the main characteristics. 2)The second paragraph states that there are potentially multiple causes. 3)The last paragraph reminds us that dyslexia happens in all countries and languages, but it will vary depending on the language used. As several commentators have noted, it is the lack of agreement around the definition that as been the biggest barrier to scientific progress in this field.

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WHOs definition Since there is no Contrary to what you may read on the internet, the World Health Organisation does not define dyslexia. However, it does provide definitions for Specific Reading Disorder and Specific Spelling Disorder. Those attributed to WHO are actually by Critchley.

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The definition – The alternatives Dyslexia can be reviewed in many different ways. When taken from an international perspective, it is clear that while difficulties appear in all languages, they way they are conceptualised will be dependent not only upon the needs of the specific researcher but also the language in question. Below is a “map” that highlights how other countries prefer to identify more specific areas, that allow for targeted interventions.

Understanding dyslexia

Which is the master? “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean different things.” “When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – that’s all.” From “Through the Looking Glass” by Lewis Carroll

Difficulty or Difference Many individuals suggest that for them dyslexia is a difference (neuro-diversity) and not a difficulty or disability. In a social model of support we should cater for these differences, and adjust learning and other areas to accommodate all dyslexic individuals. While this is to be applauded, it does mean that under current (and foreseeable) funding regimes, the dyslexic individual will not be able to access support funding streams since they are for those who have difficulties.

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Choices If government are asked to choose between funding a few people who are disabled, and all those who are different (i.e. everybody) which option will they choose?

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Understanding dyslexia

Explaining difference

Difference

One of the biggest difficulties faced by the dyslexia community is that it is defined by symptoms which may have a variety of causes. That is, when talking about medical conditions, there is usually a single term that leads to a clear intervention. Where the term encompasses a less distinct group, then the remedy is often less clear. The symptom of dyslexia, a difficulty in acquiring reading and writing skills, can be caused by many underlying cognitive differences.

We understand that people come in all shapes and sizes.

One of the outcome of this is the diversity of difficulties that any individual may have. Indeed, it is possible to find twins who both have the same levels of difficulties, but need very different support because the underlying causes are so very different.

And just because we know their height does not mean we know their glove size .

Below is a graph that shows responses by six individuals to questions about likes, difficulties, strengths and weaknesses. If dyslexia has a single cause, one would expect them all to have the same problems. Clearly from this graph, every dyslexic individual is different

Or shoe size. We accept it because we can see it. In the same way, there is variability in the physical construction of our brain. But we just do not see it.

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Understanding dyslexia

Dyslexia in percentage terms Most people agree that 10% of the population is dyslexic. However, that is a number agreed by consensus. Since the definition does not provide criteria, then it is for society to agree what is the acceptable prevalence of dyslexia. It may be argued that a lower number will reflect only those with severe dyslexia, while a higher number would become meaningless, and lead to a rightful questioning of the authors intentions. Prof Maggie Snowling says (2000) that statistically 2.28% of any given population will be two standard deviations or more below the mean in a normal distribution. So if we set the definition at two standard deviations, then we will have 2.28% are dyslexic. The percentage quoted is a reflection of the choice of where to make the cut.

Dyslexic

Non-dyslexic

Gender bias There is a perpetuated myth that there are more dyslexic boys than girls. (And obviously, therefore more dyslexic men than women.) However, re-evaluation of the evidence over the past 20 years has shed light on why those myths appeared. The main cause of bias has been the selection criteria. Basically, boys tend to be more disruptive than girls when failing amongst their peers, and therefore were more like to be referred to psychologists.

Links

Hawke JL, Olson RK, Willcut EG, Wadsworth SJ and DeFries JC(2009) Gender ratios for reading difficulties. Dyslexia, Vol 15 p239-242 Web link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dys.389/abstract

Gender difference: Not quite so simple Although much of the discrepancy between genders can be put down to â&#x20AC;&#x153;sampling biasâ&#x20AC;?, there is some research evidence that suggests it may not be so simple. Researchers in 2009 found that while the average for males and females were the same, there was a greater spread of results among the boys. This means, at least theoretically, that if you set the lower criteria, you will end up with more boys in the group than girls.

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Understanding dyslexia

Dyslexia is more than a reading and writing difficulty

Overlapping difficulties

Most people concentrate on the reading and writing difficulties of the dyslexic individual. But there are also many other difficulties that may be a direct or indirect consequence not only of those reading and writing skills but also the underlying cognitive difficulties.

Dyslexia is caused by a combination of cognitive difficulties. However, those difficulties are not necessarily restricted to the areas of reading and writing.

For example, most dyslexic individuals have trouble with study skills, which may be said to include the key areas of Reading and writing Listening and not taking Examinations Time management Organisation While there is an element of reading in each of these, there are also cognitive functions, such as memory skills, which underpin the skills development. While most individuals learn these skills implicitly, for the dyslexic individual they need to be taught explicitly?

Many dyslexic individuals also have significant issues with motor difficulties (dyspraxia) and maths difficulties (dyscalculia). Both of these also rely on some of those cognitive areas utilised in literacy tasks. These include memory and motor (for handwriting and speech).

Tying laces and dyslexia Most people find it curious that difficulties in tying shoe laces can be an indicator of a reading and writing difficulty. The reason is that both require the transfer of a set of skills from the practice, to short term, and then long term memory. Probably they have a common controller in the brain.

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Understanding dyslexia

Talents, creativity and dyslexia

Just a hypothesis

Consider life as like a journey along a motorway. But for the dyslexic individual, the way is blocked. But there is always a way around, and it is the role of the teachers, tutors and others working with dyslexic individuals to help them find the way. But in finding that new and novel way, they explore new areas not seen by others, find new solutions to the problem. And finding a new solution to a given problem is a good definition of creativity.

In a presentation by Dr Ian Smythe, the issues around dyslexia and visual talents were (provocatively) addressed. Below is the summary of findings.

Einstein Leonardo

Edison

Branson

Chicken and egg Do dyslexic individuals become talented because of their dyslexia, or in spite of their dyslexia? Do dyslexic individuals have inherent additional skills that take advantage of the different brain wiring that causes the dyslexia, or is it some form of compensation strategy. That is, there are two possibilities: a) That they have spare time that others would dedicate to reading and writing, and therefore can develop different talent, or b) the desire to find an alternative to show they still are talented. It is the later that has driven a lot of dyslexic champions.

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Hypothesis 1 – Dyslexic individuals are not visually talented. They can be but it depends on the individual. Hypothesis 2 – There is no scientific evidence to suggest that they are. At best you can say it is not proven. Hypothesis 3 – There is no (logical) reason why dyslexic individuals should be higher skilled in this area. Science has yet to provide the logic. Hypothesise 4 - The related myths are perpetuated based on false assumptions. Correct Hypothesis 5 – Dyslexic individuals can have an advantage because of their lack of literacy skills. Correct

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Famous dyslexic individuals On the internet there are many lists of famous dyslexic individuals. But are they all dyslexic, and does this suggest that being dyslexic means that you are more likely to be highly talented? And to what extent to those talents mask the underlying difficulties? Take for example Einstein. He had many traits to that seem like dyslexia. But perhaps he just had talents in other areas that he preferred to explore, making it look like literacy difficulties rather than actual difficulties. An extended report in the Journal of Learning Disabilities suggested that if he was dyslexic, then the case is not proved.

Understanding dyslexia

Famous dyslexic people Actors Orlando Bloom, actor Tom Cruise, actor Keira Knightley, actress Authors Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer Agatha Christie, author Businessmen Richard Branson, entrepreneur Richard Rogers, architect Charles Schwab, founder of U.S. brokerage firm Inventors Alexander Bell, telephone Thomas Edison, light bulb Music business Noel Gallagher, musician Cher, singer and actress

Creativity through compensation strategies The logic is as follows: People who are not dyslexic develop their reading skills, and by necessity neglect other areas. People who are dyslexic are limited in their potential to develop their literacy skills, and therefore have time to develop alternative skills as well as a desire to shine in another area.

Sportsmen Steven Redgrave, rower Jackie Stewart, racing driver Other Jamie Oliver, chef Pablo Picasso, artist and sculptor Steven Spielberg, film director

Links

Famous dyslexics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_diagnosed_with_dyslexia Photo credit: Petr Kratochvil http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=8612&picture=albert-einstein

Further reading Adult Dyslexia Questionnaire. Developed by Ian Smythe in collaboration with John Everatt. Affolter, F. (1972) Aspekte der Entwicklung und Pathologie von Wahrnehmungs-funktionen. In. Sindelar, B. (1994) TeilleistungsschwĂ¤chen. Eigenverlag, Wien. Ayres, A. J. (1972) General principles and methods of intervention. In. Sensory Integration and Learning Disorders. Western Psychological Services, Los Angeles. 113-133. Ayres, A. J. (1979) Sensory Integration and the Child. Western Psychological Services, Los Angeles. Cardon, L.R., Smith, S.D., Fulker, D.W. Kimberling, W.J., Pennington, B.F. & DeFries, J.C.(1994) Quantitative trait locus for reading disability on chromosome 6 . Science 266 , 276 -279. Chase, C. & Tallal, P. A. (1992) Learning disabilities: Cognitive aspects. In. Squire, L. R. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Learning and Memory, Macmillian Publishing Company, New York. Dejernine J. (1895) Anatomie des Centres Nerveux. J. Reuff, Paris. Frances-Williams (1970) Children with Specific Learning Difficulties. Pergamon Press, Oxford. Frostig, M (1993) Frostigs Entwicklungstest der visuellen Wahrnehmung. 7 th ed. Lockowand. Geschwind, N. (1979) Asymmetries of the brain. New developments. Bulletin of the Orton Society, 29, 67 -73. Grigorenko, E. L., Wood, F. B., Meyer, M. S., Hart, L. A., Speed, W. C., Shuster, B. S., & Pauls, D. L. (1997) Susceptibility loci for distinct components of developmental dyslexia on chromosomes 6 and 15. American Journal of Human Genetics, 6 0, 27-39. Hallahan, D. P. & Cruickshank, W. M. (1973) Psychoeducational foundations of learning disabilities. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall. Hinshelwood, J. (1895) Wordblindness and visual memory. Lancet 2. In. Hinshelwood, J. (1917) Congenital word-blindness. Lewis, London. Kirk, S. A. & Bateman, B. (1962) Diagnosis and remediation of learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 29, 7 3-78. Morgan, W. P. (1896) A case of congenital word-blindness. British Medical Journal, 2. 48-53. Morton, J. and Frith, U. (1995) Causal modelling: a structured approach to developemntal psychopathology, in: Psychopathology, New York: Wiley, PP, 357â&#x20AC;&#x201C;3900 Pennington, B.F. (1990) The genetics of dyslexia. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 31 193-201. Smith, S.D., Pennington, B.F., Kimberling, W.J. & Ing, P.S. (1990) Familial dyslexia: use of genetic linkage data to define subtypes. J. Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, Mar; Vol. 29 (2), 204-213.

Tafti MA, Hameedy MA, and Baghal NM (2009) Dyslexia, a deficit or a difference: Comparing the creativity and memory skills of dyslexic and non-dyslexic students in Iran Non-dyslexics outperformed dyslexics significantly in visual-verbal memory of words for concrete objects. Dyslexic students performed significantly better in visual and audio memory of concrete words compared to abstract concepts; their visual-spatial memory was better than their visual-semantic memory, and their pictorial memory was also better than their verbal memory. Dyslexic students scored higher than non-dyslexics for original thinking and equally as high in overall

Riley H, Rankin Q, Brunswick N, McManus IC and Chamberlain R (2010) Inclusive Practice: Researching the Relationships between Dyslexia, Personality, and Art Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Drawing Ability Results indicate that whilst in general drawing ability seems not to relate to dyslexia, higher drawing ability does appear related to the personality measure of conscientiousness, and also both to sex (in the biological sense, males drawing better than females) and to gender (those who perceive themselves as more masculine drawing better, whether they are male or female). Poor drawers are less good at accurately copying angles and proportions, and their visual memory is less good.

Does dyslexia can the visual advantages in society. By Dr Ian Smythe, University of Wales, Newport, UK despite more than 100 years of academic debate there is still no certainty as to what is or is not dyslexia. While quantum physics produces testable hypotheses and occasionally seminal equations that stand-up to the scrutiny of time, such as Einstein equation of general relativity and Schrödinger's wave equation, the field of dyslexia sadly lacks such clarity. One of the consequences of this is the problem of therefore unequivocally identifying underlying causes and relationships with with other cognitive functionality such as visual skills. "When I is a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather scornful tone, "it is just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "well you can make words mean different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty which is to be the master – that's all." If we consider what is the definition we may say that it is like a balance on one side of which is the term we are defining and on the other side of the characteristics that make up that definition the two sites in a good definition should balance out. Within the classical definition for objects such as the square the square may be defined as an object that has foresight of equal lengths corners at 90° and is closed. The square must have almost characteristics and even it has always characteristics it is a square. However due to the very nature of dyslexia there are not defining characteristics as it is a combination of underlying cognitive deficits that will lead to The Simpsons in the definition. In his review of concept with respected games, Wittgenstein (1953) refers to ''s family resemblance' is rather than specific properties. It is this notion of a family resemblance it's with overlapping similarities that may be more appropriate for dyslexia the classic interpretation of a concept. If we look at a representative definition of dyslexia (Smythe, 2006), we shall see a symptom-based definition. Dyslexia is a difficulty in the acquisition of fluent and accurate reading and writing skills. The difficulties are dependent not only on the individual cognitive difficulties but also the language in question. By definition the only thing that is required to define somebody as dyslexic are those attributes noted in the definition, i.e. a difficulty in the acquisition of fluent and accurate reading and writing skills. However if we look at a model of reading (Smythe, 2010), we can identify a large number of potential cognitive processes that may impact upon the reading and writing process. The failure of any one of those may lead to reading and writing difficulties. In the model (see figure 1), it is possible to identify the two sensory inputs and modalities processing required in reading and writing. On one side we have a sound base processing system, and on the other we have a visual-based processing system. Much of the research to date in the field of dyslexia has concentrated on the processing of sound. It may be conjectured that in the visual domain we have had millions of years to refine the process and through Darwinian selection processes we have optimised the ability to analyse store and synthesise visual input. Thus all the processes that are orthography (visual) have had an opportunity to optimise through a process of natural selection. However in reading and writing team processes are to analyse and synthesise auditory input. These are processes we do not use outside of literacy needs. It is possible therefore that while difficulties may appear in any cognitive process, there is greater likelihood that the problematic areas will be concentrated in the sound based processes. In this paper, we shall review five hypotheses. Hypothesis one – dyslexic individuals are not visually talented. Hypotheses to – there is no scientific evidence to suggest that they are. Hypothesis three there is no logical reason why dyslexic individuals should be higher skilled in this area. Hypotheses for – the relating mess up perpetuating based on false assumptions. Hypotheses five dyslexic individuals have an advantage because of their lack of literacy skills. Research results in order to test these hypotheses and identify if they are urban myths will have some measure of scientific basis, they stay here renew or research was carried out. However it should be noted that the quality of the research was, at best, variable. A diversity of methods of identifying if somebody was dyslexic makes comparisons between reported research problematic. Von Karolyi (1998) had mixed results, while winner Crawley and modelling ski (2000) suggested that there was no clear link between dyslexia and visual – spatial talents. However they did suggest that the speed of identification of 'is impossible figures' is was better for dyslexic individuals the non-dyslexic individuals. However, it may be argued that this is not a real-world situation, and the validity of such results may be questionable in more realistic environments. Tafti, Hameedy and Baghal (2009) compared the creativity and memory skills of dyslexic and nondyslexic students in Tehran. They found that nondyslexic individuals outperform dyslexic student significantly in visual – global memory of words for concrete objects. Dyslexic students perform significantly better in visual and auditory memory of concrete words compared to latch rack concepts. Their visual – spatial memory was better than their visual – semantic memory, and their pictorial memory was also better than their verbal memory. Dyslexic students scored higher than non-– dyslexic students for original thinking and overall they were equal. In Icon Minds, Jackson (2004) discussed the work of Steffert, highlighting that she concluded that 'is while most art design students display strong visual – spatial abilities, the most innovative students were often those with dyslexia.) dyslexia personality and student drawing ability in arts department. Significantly they report that whilst in general drawing ability seems not to relate to dyslexia higher drawing ability does appear to be related to personality measures of conscientiousness and also boasts a sex (in the biological sense, males during better than females) and agenda (those who perceive themselves more masculine draw better, whether they are male or female. Poor drawers are less good accurately copy angles and proportions, and their visual memory is less good. One of the difficulties faced by researchers is what Smythe referred to as the Heisenberg dyslexia principle. In quantum physics, is Eisenberg's uncertainty principle states that you cannot accurately know the speed (or momentum) and the position of a particle at the same time. Eisenberg suggested that the very act of observation changes the result, making precision impossible in the testing process, one can find analogies: one you cannot test without giving instructions to in providing instructions, you are implicitly teaching three if you are teaching during testing, you are influencing the measurement of that skill (Smythe, 2010). In the same way that the very process of testing may include a teaching input, so to the selection process in research on dyslexia will affect the nature of the outcomes. For example, by Snowling thrifts and Brunswick (1996) clearly identified significant processing differences between dyslexic and nondyslexic students. However, close analysis shows that the selection process included a need of proven dyslexia and having had that these 10 years of specialist intervention. Berninger et al (1993) was able to demonstrate using FM R I a modification of brain patterns after an intensive teaching of just 12 weeks. This suggests that the differences noted between dyslexic and nondyslexic individuals may be a consequence not of inmate neurological differences but due to the extended period of specialist teaching that would have been different to the control cohort. An alternative approach to what appear to be insurmountable research issues is to attend a visual representation which is showing in the accompanying figures. If we hypothesised that there are notionally to areas to which an individual may be ascribed, literacy and visual, where the allocation is dependent upon the relative scripts of the individual in those two areas. There will also be an overlap where individuals have an equal amount of strength in both places. So in figure 2 weavings e-group and as for areas those with literacy strap those with visual spreads those with literacy and visual spreads and those with spreads in neither area. Figure 3 suggested academic group which have a bias towards the literacy strap as a consequence have less strength in the visual areas. Put another way, why do teachers have the positions they do? In order to have that goal they have to pass academic exams. This is by definition means they must be good at reading and writing. And of course the fact that they are good at the skills mean that these skills are the ones that they will use most went teach. Those that don't have strong literacy skills are going to be biased towards the visual side by definition (see figure 4). If we look at the individual, rather than group level, (see figure 5) we can see an alternative interpretation. Let us consider that every individual has an equal quantity of visual skills. Added to that are literacy skills that may run from zero for the highly dyslexic individual to very high for the highly literate individual. This is shown graphically in figure 5.

In this paper, we shall review five hypotheses. Hypothesis one – dyslexic individuals are not visually talented. Hypotheses to – there is no scientific evidence to suggest that they are. Hypothesis three there is no logical reason why dyslexic individuals should be higher skilled in this area. Hypotheses for – the relating mess up perpetuating based on false assumptions. Hypotheses five dyslexic individuals have an advantage because of their lack of literacy skills. Research results in order to test these hypotheses and identify if they are urban myths will have some measure of scientific basis, they stay here renew or research was carried out. However it should be noted that the quality of the research was, at best, variable. A diversity of methods of identifying if somebody was dyslexic makes comparisons between reported research problematic. Von Karolyi (1998) had mixed results, while winner Crawley and modelling ski (2000) suggested that there was no clear link between dyslexia and visual – spatial talents. However they did suggest that the speed of identification of 'is impossible figures' is was better for dyslexic individuals the non-dyslexic individuals. However, it may be argued that this is not a real-world situation, and the validity of such results may be questionable in more realistic environments. Tafti, Hameedy and Baghal (2009) compared the creativity and memory skills of dyslexic and nondyslexic students in Tehran. They found that nondyslexic individuals outperform dyslexic student significantly in visual – global memory of words for concrete objects. Dyslexic students perform significantly better in visual and auditory memory of concrete words compared to latch rack concepts. Their visual – spatial memory was better than their visual – semantic memory, and their pictorial memory was also better than their verbal memory. Dyslexic students scored higher than non-– dyslexic students for original thinking and overall they were equal. In Icon Minds, Jackson (2004) discussed the work of Steffert, highlighting that she concluded that 'is while most art design students display strong visual – spatial abilities, the most innovative students were often those with dyslexia.) dyslexia personality and student drawing ability in arts department. Significantly they report that whilst in general drawing ability seems not to relate to dyslexia higher drawing ability does appear to be related to personality measures of conscientiousness and also boasts a sex (in the biological sense, males during better than females) and agenda (those who perceive themselves more masculine draw better, whether they are male or female. Poor drawers are less good accurately copy angles and proportions, and their visual memory is less good. One of the difficulties faced by researchers is what Smythe referred to as the Heisenberg dyslexia principle. In quantum physics, is Eisenberg's uncertainty principle states that you cannot accurately know the speed (or momentum) and the position of a particle at the same time. Eisenberg suggested that the very act of observation changes the result, making precision impossible in the testing process, one can find analogies: one you cannot test without giving instructions to in providing instructions, you are implicitly teaching three if you are teaching during testing, you are influencing the measurement of that skill (Smythe, 2010). In the same way that the very process of testing may include a teaching input, so to the selection process in research on dyslexia will affect the nature of the outcomes. For example, by Snowling thrifts and Brunswick (1996) clearly identified significant processing differences between dyslexic and nondyslexic students. However, close analysis shows that the selection process included a need of proven dyslexia and having had that these 10 years of specialist intervention. Berninger et al (1993) was able to demonstrate using FM R I a modification of brain patterns after an intensive teaching of just 12 weeks. This suggests that the differences noted between dyslexic and nondyslexic individuals may be a consequence not of inmate neurological differences but due to the extended period of specialist teaching that would have been different to the control cohort. An alternative approach to what appear to be insurmountable research issues is to attend a visual representation which is showing in the accompanying figures. If we hypothesised that there are notionally to areas to which an individual may be ascribed, literacy and visual, where the allocation is dependent upon the relative scripts of the individual in those two areas. There will also be an overlap where individuals have an equal amount of strength in both places. So in figure 2 weavings e-group and as for areas those with literacy strap those with visual spreads those with literacy and visual spreads and those with spreads in neither area. Figure 3 suggested academic group which have a bias towards the literacy strap as a consequence have less strength in the visual areas. Put another way, why do teachers have the positions they do? In order to have that goal they have to pass academic exams. This is by definition means they must be good at reading and writing. And of course the fact that they are good at the skills mean that these skills are the ones that they will use most went teach. Those that don't have strong literacy skills are going to be biased towards the visual side by definition (see figure 4). If we look at the individual, rather than group level, (see figure 5) we can see an alternative interpretation. Let us consider that every individual has an equal quantity of visual skills. Added to that are literacy skills that may run from zero for the highly dyslexic individual to very high for the highly literate individual. This is shown graphically in figure 5.

Hypotheses Hypothesis 1 – Dyslexic individuals are not visually talented. THEY CAN BE, BUT DEPENDS ON THE INDIVIDUAL Hypothesis 2 – There is no scientific evidence to suggest that they are. CORRECT Hypothesis 3 – There is no (logical) reason why dyslexic individuals should be higher skilled in this area. CORRECT Hypothesise 4 - The related myths are perpetuated based on false assumptions. CORRECT Hypothesis 5 – Dyslexic individuals have an advantage because of their lack of literacy skills CORRECT Conclusions everybody's different everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses. Indeed it may be argued that those very teachers who have strengths in reading and writing which allow them to be teachers have a deficit or disability in their visual skills. However, since the route to gainful employment is through academic qualifications, which are highly dependent upon reading and writing, the impact of Paul visual skills is minimal. Ironically, the one time they could require those visual skills is when teaching those who have difficulties with reading and writing. This paper does not intend to undermine the idea that many dyslexic individuals have visual skills. However it does highlight the currently there is a lack of value research to confirm the dyslexic individual has visual, artistic or creative skills that are greater than those of the nondyslexic individual. While there is little constructed validity in Gartner's multiple intelligences, the ideas contained therein are worthy of greater attention, especially with respect to the dyslexic individual. Currently the educational process is dominated by learning outcomes (exam certificates) that require good reading and writing skills. The identification of needs still focuses on deficits. In an age where we can take advantage of the diversity of nonacademic skills, perhaps now is the time to re-evaluate the identification and support process, and look for strengths that notionally runflat gardeners multiple intelligences rather than failures in the traditional academic areas of reading and writing. But

Can you be dyslexic in one language and not another? Klien and Lee (1972) found around 5% of English/Chinese bilingual students in the research group had these problems. Karanth (1992) reported cases of dyslexic bilinguals â&#x20AC;&#x153;in whom learning to read English as compared to Kannafa and Hindi were differently affected.â&#x20AC;? Leker and Biran (1999) described a patient with a particular acquired reading difficulty in Hebrew who showed no difficulties when reading in English. Wydell and Butterworth (1999) found an English boy in Japan who she described as having these issues. Miller-Guron and Lundberg (2000) reported individuals would could learn to read and write in English relatively better than in Swedish, even though Swedish was their first language. Caglar-Ryeng (2010) report a girl finding English easier than Norwegian.

UN Declaration of Human Rights Resolution 217 Article 26 “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory.” Unfortunately, they missed the point – education should be appropriate.

Salamanca 1994 • every child has unique characteristics, interests, abilities and learning needs • education systems should be designed and educational programmes implemented to take into account the wide diversity of these characteristics and needs ... a need to take full account of individual differences (Statement 21) ... adapting to the needs of the child (Statement 28) ... providing additional assistance and support to children requiring it (Statement 29) ... identifying difficulties and assist pupils to overcome them (Statement 31) ... appropriate teacher training (Statement 42)

e) If you are born with dyslexia, how can you be "at risk of dyslexia"?

Some suggest an individual is “at risk of dyslexia” However, dyslexia is a lifelong condition, and therefore you are born with it. “At risk” suggests that it will appear in future. It may be more accurate to say “at risk of reading and writing difficulties”

Smythe (2012) Assessing strengths and weaknesses. Dyslang Module 6

8. Do teachers impact upon research results?

In October 2007, the BDA Management Board approved the following definition: Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that mainly affects the development of literacy and language related skills. It is likely to be present at birth and to be life-long in its effects. It is characterised by difficulties with phonological processing, rapid naming, working memory, processing speed, and the automatic development of skills that may not match up to an individual's other cognitive abilities. It tends to be resistant to conventional teaching methods, but its effect can be mitigated by appropriately specific intervention, including the application of information technology and supportive counseling.

Dyslexia is a difficulty in the acquisition of literacy skills that is neurological in origin. It is evident when accurate and fluent word reading, spelling and writing develops very incompletely. It may be caused by a combination of difficulties in auditory and visual processing, working memory, and analysis, synthesis and storage in the orthographic and phonological lexica. The semantic and motor systems may also be implicated. The manifestation of dyslexia in any individual will depend upon not only individual cognitive differences, but also the language used.

Dyslexia is a difficulty in the acquisition of fluent and accurate reading and writing that is neurological in origin. Ian Smythe, 2005 Dyslexia is a difference in acquiring reading, spelling and writing skills, that is neurological in origin. European Dyslexia Association, 2007

Survey results What is the true percentage of dyslexia? 1. Makita in 1968 found that few children were identified by teachers as having ‘dyslexic’ difficulties. The question asked was: Do you have children in your class which shows specific difficulties in learning “reading” with ordinary teaching methods regardless of their normal intelligence?

Defining dyslexia

NICHD/IDA Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and / or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge."

Defining dyslexia (NICHD/IDA)

• Does not include difficulty in acquisition. • "often unexpected". How does one know what to expect in relation to other cognitive abilities? • Appears to suggest a discrepancy criteria between phonological components and some other unidentified cognitive components. It suggests that if you know one cognitive ability, you can predict what the level of the other should be. The fault with this logic is that in stating there is an unexpected difference means that one ability is not able to predict the other.

• It states despite “effective classroom instruction”. It may be argued that if the teaching was effective, then the discrepancy (characteristics) would not exist.

“Defining” dyslexia

SpLD Working Group 2005/DfES Guidelines Assessment of Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) in Higher Education “For the purpose of this guidance we have chosen to use more general descriptions of each specific learning difficulty rather than select from the many working definitions putting emphasis on differing aspects of the conditions.”

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Definingâ&#x20AC;? dyslexia (DfES Working Party)

Dyslexia is a combination of abilities and difficulties; the difficulties affect the learning process in aspects of literacy and sometimes numeracy. Coping with required reading is generally seen as the biggest challenge at Higher Education level due in part to difficulty in skimming and scanning written material. A student may also have an inability to express their ideas clearly in written form and in a style appropriate to the level of study. Marked and persistent weaknesses may be identified in working memory, speed of processing, sequencing skills, auditory and /or visual perception, spoken language and motor skills. Visuospatial skills, creative thinking and intuitive understanding are less likely to be impaired and indeed may be outstanding. Enabling or assistive technology is often found to be very beneficial. 26

Defining dyslexia â&#x20AC;&#x201C; (EDA â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2007) Dyslexia is a difference in acquiring reading, spelling and writing skills, that is neurological in origin. The cognitive difficulties that cause these differences can also affect organisational skills, calculation abilities etc. It may be caused by a combination of difficulties in phonological processing, working memory, rapid naming, sequencing and the automaticity of basic skills. Alongside these issues is the ongoing challenge for people with dyslexia in navigating through life in a largely non-dyslexia friendly world. Researchers acknowledge that there are many possible causes of dyslexia, including genetics. There is no relationship between a person's level of intelligence, individual effort or socio-economic position and the presence of dyslexia. Furthermore, across Europe the diversity of languages and the multilingual demands, socio-cultural backgrounds as well as educational opportunity, have a significant influence on the life-chances for dyslexic children and adults.

Who defines dyslexia? Health Organisation of the Netherlands? World Health Organisation? NICHD / International Dyslexia Association? British Psychological Society? British Dyslexia Association? Dr Ian Smythe ? Why do you choose that â&#x20AC;&#x153;authorityâ&#x20AC;?? Because it matches your needs? Because it take greater heed of latest thinking and research? Health Council of the Netherlands (1997) - Dyslexia is present when the automatization of word identification (reading) and/or spelling does not develop or does so very incompletely or with great difficulty. British Psychological Association (1999) - Dyslexia is evident when accurate and fluent word reading and/or spelling develops very incompletely or with great difficulty IDA/NICHD (2002) - Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and / or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. World Federation of Neurology (1968) as "a disorder manifested by difficulty in learning to read despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence and socio-cultural opportunities. It is dependent upon fundamental cognitive disabilities which are frequently of constitutional origin". Cited by Lord Slynn of Hadley, in Phelps (A.P.) v. Mayor Etc. of The London Borough of Hillingdon, 27 July 2000 1)researchers to provide a consensus on cause, effects, consequences, remediation etc.

education personnel - to allocate resources

3) parent - to ensure their children will be allocated appropriate resources (human and financial).

Theories of Visual Spatial Construct

1924 Thurston

1927 - Kelly

1935 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ElKoussy 1983 Gardner 1982 Silverman

Existence and independence of spatial ability

Sense and retain geometric forms, mental manipulation

Distinguished between 2D and 3D aptitude

Multiple Intelligence Theory: Spatial Intelligence

Visual Spatial Learner Construct

a) What is the purpose of a definition?

The concept of dyslexia In the same way that there is no single characteristic that defines games, so too there is not one difficulty that defines dyslexia. It is a set of underlying processing difficulties which have an impact on reading and writing. When it comes to writing the definition of dyslexia, we need to consider who it is for. There are four main groups with an interest in dyslexia. 1. Researchers – they will often debate what it is, but are mostly concerned with reaching a consensus on good research about causes, identification, and how to teach/support the dyslexic individual. 2. Funders – the people who provide resources (human, computer, paper-based, etc.) in education, employment and disability services. Usually they want a definition that is fair but preferably minimises the number of people who will require support. 3. Parent groups – they want a definition that will help ensure their children will be allocated appropriate resources (human and financial). 4. Dyslexic individuals – they want to know that there is a clear reason for their difficulties, and it is not because of poor teaching or that they are not clever enough. Despite all these different perspectives and needs, it is possible to have a single definition. What changes for each group are the precise criteria that says who falls into that category and who doesn’t. And the reason why there is a lack of consensus is that being dyslexic is not like having a broken leg where either your leg is broken or it isn’t. With dyslexia there is a sliding scale of difficulty which means that individuals could be mild, moderate or severely dyslexic. There is no definitive cut-off point.

Who can create a definition? The answer is ANYBODY. The Oxford English Dictionary was developed by using a massive survey of the uses of a given word, and publishes uses ranked by popularity, quoting an example and the source. What we normally see is a cut-down version done by independent people with no vested interest. Wikipedia may be argued to be more widely accessible but less authoritative since the most prominent definition will be pushed forward by the most vocal, not the most authoritative. Should it be accepted? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Who can say if it is acceptable? ONLY THE FUNDER! It does not matter how much we argue, if the funder does not agree with the definition (and justifies their decision in the eyes of the governing authority) then they are the ones that make the decision. Example â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The persistence of IQ in assessments.

Who defines dyslexia? Survey results

Who defines dyslexia? F81.0 Specific reading disorder Includes: "backward reading" developmental dyslexia specific reading retardation spelling difficulties associated with a reading disorder Excludes: acquired alexia and dyslexia (R48.0) acquired reading difficulties secondary to emotional disturbance F93) spelling disorder not associated with reading difficulties F81.1 Specific spelling disorder Includes: specific spelling retardation (without reading disorder) Excludes: acquired spelling disorder (R48.8) spelling difficulties associated with a reading disorder (F81.0) spelling difficulties mainly attributable to inadequate teaching

Health Co Dyslexia i spelling d

unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.

British Ps Dyslexia i incomple

Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge."

IDA/NICH Dyslexia i difficultie decoding

Visual Spatial â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Cognitive Behaviours Spatial as opposed to sequential thinking Synthesis of ideas Intuitive grasp of complex systems Inductive reasoning Thinks primarily in pictures Thinking is fast, complex and non-sequential Use of imagination, visualisation to combine existing facts in new ways Can provide models, abstract visual memory (Parkinson and Edwards, 1993)

b) Who defines dyslexia?

The Health Council of the Netherlands produced a series of criteria that they would use to determine the acceptability of a definition of dyslexia a) it should be descriptive with no explanatory elements b) specific enough to identify dyslexia within the whole of reading and spelling problems c) general enough to allow for various scientific explanatory models and any developments those models might undergo d) operationalizable for the purposes of research into people and groups e) directive for statements concerning the need for intervention f) applicable to the various groups involved.