A Psychologist’s View on Dyslexia

My first experience of Learning Disability or Dyslexia, as a qualified psychologist, was with students who messed up their spellings or simple calculations or appeared to be bright but scored poorly in examinations. I wondered what it was – my students were motivated so I couldn’t say they were lazy; they knew the answers orally, so I knew they were not intellectually weak; they weren’t careless either for they sat across from me as I observed them. A discussion with a special educator helped me understand, and I realised that what was happening with these children was more tragic than we could imagine.

The difficulties are manifested gradually, during their academic work at the age of 5 when they are expected to write in Kindergarten. Most teachers and parents assume the child is slow or confused, which could also be true. Yet, in later primary classes, these children struggle while teachers locate the fault in foundational learning. All this while, the child experiences despair from parents, frustration from teachers, and a personal sense of low self esteem. The child begins to label him/herself as ‘dumb’, ‘failure’ or ‘loser’. Their motivation sags and their energies are diverted elsewhere, as they refuse to engage in academic experiences.

With wide-spread research, most Governments now offer support for these children to navigate their academic programme successfully. With teachers and parents on-board, the child receives some provisions that help him/her to work around the difficulty and perform in the examination just like other kids. In my 25 years with school teachers and counsellors, I have seen these students excel in life. With just a little support, they became students I could be proud of. LD or Dyslexia is should not be viewed as anything more than say, a child needing glasses. The problem will not go away, but with minor support, can stay on par with any other kid his/her age.

A lot of really creative and talented people in the world have Dyslexia. Because the dyslexic child has to think creatively to manage his/her work, it is postulated that their neural wiring maybe unique, and thus they perceive the world differently. And that’s why they are special!