In observance of Dyslexia Awareness Month, I feel compelled to call some attention to one of the most common learning differences that interferes with fluent reading. I care a great deal about this topic because my daughter was tested for and found to be dyslexic when she was 15. Even though we know dyslexia is one of the most common neurobehavioral learning differences in children, the data on its prevalence worldwide is poor.
This is surprising, especially in light of the fact that a tremendous amount of research has taken place over the last several decades in many different disciplines. Why is it so difficult for us to identify the estimated 15-20 percent of people who have dyslexia when we live in a society that values literacy? It’s complicated on many levels.
Dyslexic people can become fluent readers, but their brains will always work differently. Many organizations have stopped categorizing dyslexia as a “disability,” preferring to refer to it as a learning “difference.” This distinction is important as the stigma of being labeled “disabled” often adds to the toll dyslexia can take on self-esteem. (Of course, to get academic support, the way much of educational policy is implemented requires use of the word “disability,” but it doesn’t have to be discussed that way.)
Previously, I wrote a blog post on diversity as the state of variation within a population and the importance of understanding sources of variation so we can better understand our world and infer useful things from the data we collect. This previous post showed some natural sources of variation in gender/sex that many of us have never seen. In a similar vein, I would love to better understand the apparently natural biological variation in neurodiversity, which includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD or dyspraxia)
- Dyslexia
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Dyscalculia
- Autistic Spectrum (ASD)
- Tourette Syndrome (TS)
Unfortunately, the data collection for most of these conditions is largely unavailable since some is understandably kept private and research data is often not readily available. As a result, the data can vary widely in how the conditions are measured. Looking at multiple sources, the graph below illustrates estimates of some of these conditions:
To dig into some of the research findings about dyslexia, language-based differences appear to matter. There is growing evidence that overcoming dyslexia is more challenging in languages of orthographic depth or irregular orthography like English. Examples of orthographically shallow languages are those where the spelling-sound correspondence is direct — by knowing consistent rules of pronunciation, pronouncing the words is straightforward. Orthographically shallow languages include Spanish, Hindi, Latin and others. Orthographically deep languages are those where the rules of pronunciation are inconsistent, for example, "tough" and "through" with the “gh” representing both “f” and silent; "knot" and "not" with both “kn” and “n” pronounced as “n.”
Here is an oft-cited chart on orthographic depth:
Much has been written about successful people who have not only overcome challenges that their dyslexia posed, but also capitalized on it, which they see as a gift (seeing the world differently is a gift for many people with neurodivergent conditions). In general, these individuals have had emotional support, advocates, luck, or some combination of these to achieve success despite many obstacles.
Most people know that Einstein was thought to be dyslexic; Richard Branson, Charles Schwaab, Keira Knightley and many others are also success stories. People like American actor and author Max Brooks (who made a compelling presentation as part of The Science of Dyslexia Full Committee US Congressional Hearing in 2014), amazing microprocessor engineer Jim Keller, award-winning Australian artist, Vincent Fantauzzo, astrophysicist and visual learning advocate Matthew Schneps, and many others have also made amazing contributions to society. Many of these folks attribute their successes to their dyslexia.
Another statistic I find striking: While as many as 15 to 20 percent of the population are thought to have dyslexia, estimates of prison populations with dyslexia are thought to be much higher. A 2000 study of Texas prisoners found that 48 percent were dyslexic, and two-thirds struggled with reading comprehension.
If we better understood the gifts that neurodiverse conditions bring, wouldn’t we do a better job of trying to measure these conditions so we could remove obstacles and help those with these gifts make the most of them? We all stand to benefit. Nature gives us diversity in many forms, even if we can’t readily see them — I marvel at them and hope we can see and appreciate more of them.
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