The Dyslexia Myth?

Channel 4’s Dispatches programme: ‘The Dyslexia Myth’ outraged the leading dyslexia charities. So, what is all the fuss about? FlyingStart investigates

When Channel 4 broadcasted ‘The Dyslexia Myth’ the title alone was enough to spark controversy. Would the programme makers really be arguing that dyslexia - a condition that affects up to six million people in the UK - doesn’t exist?

According to David Mills, the producer of the documentary, the aim of the programme was to expose the fact that the common understanding of what it means to be dyslexic is a myth.

“The biggest shock was that the ‘dyslexia myth’ story which sounded so controversial turned out not to be controversial at all to the experts,” explains David.

“The expert knowledge that the popular understanding of dyslexia is a ‘myth’ has been around for at least ten years and I found it was a view shared by every academic I talked to. Yet these findings have never been reported to the public.”

The programme focused specifically on the reading difficulties commonly associated with the condition and found that children with dyslexia do not reverse their letters any more than younger children reading at the same level.

More dramatically, the programme also reported research showing that poor readers with high IQs, usually labeled dyslexic, responded in the same way to reading support as poor readers with low IQs who tend not to be considered dyslexic.

One of the main implications of the findings is how dyslexia should be defined in the future. Should it be used to describe all children who have difficulty learning to read or should it be reserved for those with the most severe problems?

“The question of how dyslexia should be defined generated a lot of controversy in the run up to the documentary,” says David. “The reason we did not deal with this in the programme is that there is simply too much disagreement about it.”

According to David there are at least five major views about the future of the term dyslexia:

View One
The term dyslexia should be dropped completely because it carries too many wrong associations and serves no useful scientific or therapeutic purpose. It should be replaced by ‘reading problems’ or in more severe cases with ‘reading disabilities’.

View Two
Dyslexia should be redefined to describe all children who find it difficult to learn to read because of sound and word association problems.

View Three
Dyslexia should only be used to describe children with the most serious problems.

View Four
Dyslexia should only be used for the small percentage of school children with a long-term reading problem who do not respond to the most effective school teaching.

View Five
Dyslexia should no longer be associated with reading problems or defined in relation to reading.  

So after all of the research that David did for the programme what does he think?

“I am tempted by view three, that dyslexia should be used to define children with the severest problems,” says David.

“However, in the end I think I would come down in favour of view four, reserving the term dyslexia for the small percentage of children whose problems are unlikely to be resolved by even the latest ‘state-of-the-art’ school teaching.

“It would be a rigorous definition and focus attention on those who suffer most. They need all of the help that we can give them.”

Unsurprisingly, a number of key dyslexia organisations have objected to the programme, particularly because of its focus on dyslexia as a reading-related disability.

“Dyslexia is not a myth and it is about much more than simply reading difficulties,” says Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Dyslexia Institute.

“While poor readers will benefit from a teaching programme for dyslexics, dyslexic learners can be affected by other processing difficulties such as sequencing, poor short-term memory, organisation, spelling and writing.”

This view is also echoed by Dr Chris Singleton, who is heavily critical of what he describes as the programme’s “disappointing ignorance”:

“‘The Dyslexia Myth’ was a strange concoction of sound science, disappointing ignorance and unwarranted conclusions,” comments Dr Singleton. 

“The observations regarding the genetic basis of dyslexia and the benefits of good early teaching were based on sound science. The confusion between visual stress and dyslexia displayed disappointing ignorance.

“There is very good evidence that coloured overlays or tinted lenses are worthwhile treatments for visual stress in reading. There was also ignorance of extensive scientific research on identifying dyslexia.

“The conclusion of the programme was that dyslexia is a myth because (i) many types of poor readers share the same underlying problems, and (ii) the best methods of teaching are suitable for all children.

“But this conclusion is not justified because it overlooks the fact that dyslexia is more than just a difficulty in recognising words but is a condition in which other skills – spelling, writing, memory and speed of working – are also affected.” 

Contrary to the programme, which argued that there is no point diagnosing dyslexia, the Dyslexia Institute says that this process is absolutely crucial because assessment is the best way of understanding the strengths and weaknesses of an individual and of enabling a teacher to effectively target teaching support.

“We are calling for the Government to invest more in training for teachers and classroom assistants in order that dyslexia and other literacy problems are spotted early and suitable help is offered,” explains Shirley Cramer.

“As the programme made very clear, overcoming dyslexia and other literacy problems require tailored tuition from an expert teacher in small groups or one to one.”

The Dyslexia Institute is currently lobbying the Government to change the national primary strategy, so that every school has at least one teacher trained to recognise and overcome dyslexia.

For Shirley Cramer, the most important thing is that parents and children continue to receive the support that they need:

“Parents and learners need to be reassured that dyslexic difficulties can be overcome with the right kind of help and that both children and adults can succeed.”

For more information about dyslexia, contact the Dyslexia Institute on 01784 222 300 visit the website at www.dyslexia-inst.org.uk