WHY SHOULD WE CALL IT DYSLEXIA?
“In our school district, we do not use the term dyslexia, only reading disability.” “There is no such thing as dyslexia.”
“Dyslexia is a vague term. We need a more specific diagnosis”
Ever heard any of these quotes? Chances are, if you are a person with dyslexia or a parent of a child with dyslexia, you have heard one or more of these phrases. In working with school districts across California, I cannot help but be struck by the resistance of teachers, school psychologists, and Resource Specialists to use the term dyslexia. Why is that?
There are several reasons that teachers and school districts do not use this term. I will explore a few of them, and counter with good reasons for the schools to use the term dyslexia to adequately express the difficulties the child is having along with the strengths which are also present.
Teachers sometimes state that dyslexia is not recognized in California State law. Yet Federal law, as well as California law, recognizes the term dyslexia. California law, AB #3040, enacted in 1990, encourages teacher training programs both for preservice and current teachers to include “a component on the recognition of, and teaching strategies for, specific learning disabilities, including dyslexia and related disorders.” California law, AB 1369, enacted in 2017, encourages school districts to use the term dyslexia.
Some teachers contend that dyslexia is a medical term; whereas doctors counter that it is an educational term. Others simply argue that there is no such thing as dyslexia. This confusion comes from a lack of training about dyslexia in teacher preparation programs. Most preservice programs do not include coursework addressing the definition of dyslexia, early symptoms, and effective remediation. Therefore, most teachers are uncomfortable with the term dyslexia and might, therefore, deflect questions about the term when speaking with parents.
Additionally, some educators feel that dyslexia is a vague term. In fact, dyslexia has a very specific definition as set out by the International Dyslexia Association (www.dyslexiaida.org) with a particular set of characteristics. And it is listed in the current DSM-5 as a type of specific learning disorder. School’s reluctance about such terminology is most likely due to not feeling they have to services to adequately support students with dyslexia.
Why use the term dyslexia? The term dyslexia speaks not only to the difficulties the student is experiencing but to the strengths that accompany this learning disorder. I have taught students with dyslexia for over 40 years. When I hear that term applied to a person, I might conjure up the image of a bright, articulate student—perhaps one who is a creative thinker, an artist, or a budding entrepreneur. Or I might remember the image of the 7-year old I taught many years ago who told me, “Mrs. Redding, I am a really good reader but sometimes the words get in the way.” Yes, these students struggle with phonemic awareness, decoding, and spelling. But they are much more than their deficits, and that is why I prefer the term dyslexia to Specific Learning Disorder, Reading Disorder, or Disorder of Written Expression. Dyslexia is a type of cognitive diversity. As many experts have pointed out, there is no “reading area” of the brain; instead, there are several areas that work in tandem when people read. In persons with dyslexia, the brain takes a longer, less efficient pathway when reading, and that is why reading may be a slower, more laborious activity. But this same brain may be gifted in other areas that may not show up in a primary grade classroom. That is why these students deserve to have teachers with knowledge of dyslexia along with the skills to use proven methods of teaching dyslexic students how to read.
Dyslexia is not just about reading. It is not just about spelling. It is about the way the brain processes sounds and words and often affects many aspects of learning for a student. With a variety of methods, including the fMRI, scientists can see the differences in how the brain of a student with dyslexia responds to a reading or writing task. This hidden disability has been uncovered by modern science. It is time that parents, teachers, and school districts recognize and use the term dyslexia.
Nancy Redding, M.Ed.
Fellow/AOGPE
Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist/IDA
