Dyslexia = middle class word for Stupid?

[Hen_Dawg]

there are two main forms of dyslexia in my view (as a 'sufferer' of the second form)
media dyslexia - uninformed excuse to bash the school system, psychology, etc etc, basically seen as a fancy word for stupid, ignores all medical/psychological research etc in favor of attention grabbing headlines / quotes, idea sold to under achieving kids as a get out clause and unfortunately used sometimes to get extra time etc.
ie: "theres no such thing as dyslexia" said by the UK education sectary about 2 years, when she was actually saying there wasn't a single form of learning disability that was dyslexia, more multiple things held under one name.

Real Dyslexia - A learning disability, carefully defined through numerous scientific tests, (not based on news paper sales) peer reviewed by highly educated leaders of their fields. Effects people of all walks of life and intelligence levels. Limits (based on severity) certain areas of the brains ability to learn or preform in socially accepted methods of testing.

The first i have no time for, its a load of misquoted rubbish. Maybe some kids can cheat and get extra time, or maybe its a very blunt tool for "leveling" the playing field, regardless its not a fair way of leveling the method we choose to 'rank' people, but then unfortunately there isn't a much better one at that level.

The second is a very real and well defined condition, and unfortunately it only takes one person with negative research for it once again to get dragged through the papers as "media dyslexia" and everyone to start shouting about how its so unfair / only effects idiots.

From my personal experience 'extra time' was pretty much useless, i constantly underachieved in exams due to my inability to translate cogent though onto paper. Thankfully however i have slowly learned (with some very good and well focused support) to overcome these problems in the real world and thus can hold down a damn decent job thank you very much

Quoted for truth. Excellent post Siliconslave.
Dyslexia is very real. Proven in many ways including MRI scans showing various areas of the brain operation entirely differently to non-dyslexics.
But yes, it takes different forms and is not reallly one single condition.

 

[Premier]

Perfectly coherent if you ask me.

Thank You its only cause I read through it about 5 times and edited it twice lol

 

[jas72]

Julian Elliott, a leading educational psychologist at Durham University, says he has found no evidence to identify dyslexia as a medical condition after more than 30 years of research.

And what medical background does he have?

He is an educational psychologist?

Is he a top neurologist as well?

 

[Rossmac]

I know lots of girls at uni who do physics?

That is not a question, you must be dyslexic!

In years to come, everyone will be classed as dyslexic, in which case no-one will.

 

[AthlonTom]

There is nothing good about the middle class.

We pay more tax


Peasant

 

[Things change I've changed]

I think there is a lot of people out there including myself that for some reason find maths/english very hard, I've went to night school and tried to learn how to spell and it's just not going to happen, it does not matter what I do, my brain and spelling are just a combination that is not meant to be, it's the same with maths also, even at banks when I have to fill out a simple paying in slip, I have to stop and really concentrate and often get it wrong, really simple things like that can be a chore, I can do them but it just feels weird, it's like I have to fight with my brain to do it and often I just prefer to avoid that sensation if I can, it has become very disheartening for me over the years as there are many jobs out there that I know I can do that are better than mine but I worry about the simple things like filling out forms etc,

now the thing is though, that said, while at school I was extremly good at science and chemistry and now I'm older I still read many books on the subject, I've studied psychology, religion, and philosophy and have a fairly good grasp of them all, I can pretty much debate these topics with anyone elloquently and with ease but ask me too debate this topics via writing/typing and it's like I'm fighting against a retard currunt in my brain and it hinders me from being able to express myself properly,

I don't know why I'm writing this really but thought I'd just give a small incite into the world of someone that has been diagnosed with dyslexia, now I don't know If that's what I have or not tbh, and if I'm thick then so be it, but, if I am thick, then I'm accademicly thick, I'm certainly not lacking in common sense which although many may disagree I feel common sense is trait that seems to be lacking in many academics that I've met with.

 

[Welshy]

I've got a friend at uni who has Dyslexia, and he's getting better grades than me, which is getting frustrating to be honest

I also have another couple of friends, who arent stupid but do struggle to spell some of the simplest words.

I do think a lot of people are just using it as a scapegoat, but I believe there are some genuine sufferers.

 

[Royality]

There's also a bloke at my school who gets 25% extra time in an exam because he uses a laptop (which is a huge advantage in an exam, the ability to delete, copy and paste are all allowed). Now most people nowadays can type A LOT faster than they can write (I know I can) so this is hugely unfair.

And the kicker? The reason he gets to use a laptop is because he has the handwriting of a 6 year old, not because of mental retardation (though this is still in dispute) but because he is a spastic. Basically because he can't control his limbs he gets more time.

 

[Glaucus]

Dyslexia is a condition, but I think it is used for anyone who has difficulties rather than for the real people, I don't think it's that common, yet 1/4 of people have it, yeh right.

I had huge reading and spelling problems when I was young, I bet i would have got labelled as dyslexic in todays school, yet it had nothing to do with being dyslexic, it had every thing to do with being totally death for the first year and a bit of my life and two screwed up eyes. All fixed, but it set me back in the whole learning process.

As for ADD = nothing more than poor diet and lack of discipline.

 

[Aod]

I do quite well at school and aiming for 8-11 C grade GCSES

sorry to burst your bubble mate, but 8-11 C grades at GCSE is not "good".

work harder and get nothing less than a B.

 

[branddaly]

This seems to be a case of of the article taking his quotes out of context. Prof. Elliot has argued that;

" not a case of whether dyslexia exists or not (this is not really a meaningful question) but, rather, that it is essential that everyone is agreed about what we mean by this term." (http://www.tes.co.uk/search/story/?story_id=2156870)

It seems that he has just changed his arguement slight over the years to say that instead of being used to diagnose a condition, its now being used as an excuse for dipsticks so that their parents won't feel bad about having a below the curve child. And I've got to agree, I've met so many 'dylexics' over the last few years who, no matter what training was offered to compensate for the dylexia, would be too bloody stupid to understand, absorb and put into practise the lessons. What benefit is there in labelling these people dylexic? It achieves nothing for them, other than to provide an excuse for future failures, and weakens the arguement for the rest of us (Yup, I'm dylexic too), having any help. And just to state, I've never had any extra time for an exam (I'm normally bored and ready to leave well before the alloted time is up), and didn't get a free laptop or assistance at uni. I knew they were available, but I also knew that they wouldn't benefit me. (try doing equations on a laptop, takes far too long) If I'm stressed words and letters are beyond me (they become meaning less, I can say a letter, but have no idea what it looks like, or is....its quite odd, and luckily rarely happens anymore, I just screw up sentence and sometimes syllables orders instead.) and a laptop isn't going to help.

 

[M0KUJ1N]

There's also a bloke at my school who gets 25% extra time in an exam because he uses a laptop (which is a huge advantage in an exam, the ability to delete, copy and paste are all allowed). Now most people nowadays can type A LOT faster than they can write (I know I can) so this is hugely unfair.

And the kicker? The reason he gets to use a laptop is because he has the handwriting of a 6 year old, not because of mental retardation (though this is still in dispute) but because he is a spastic. Basically because he can't control his limbs he gets more time.

You do realise the term "spastic" is itself a legitimate medical condition, so do you mean he actually suffers from this or are you just implying that he is in fact just a tad thick.

As a personal anecdote, I also have atrocious handwriting but I still wouldnt say I could type faster than I can write, having tried to type minutes during a meeting I find it a lot slower and less efficient than simply writing on a piece of paper. However my handwriting is actually bad enough that I have difficulty reading what I've just written, never mind anyone else!

Of course maybe I'm dys{lex|phrax|graph}ic, maybe I'm thick or maybe I'm just lazy

 

[Vixen]

In my 5th year at high school, we had around 60 people sit higher English and only 4 of us came out with As. It wasn't that everyone else was stupid, but it was a tough exam and our teacher got sick around the time we needed to prepare. One of the 4 who got an A was dyslexic, I really don't think there is any way you can call her stupid when she did better than so many people.

I think it's ridiculous that a lot of dyslexics get called stupid.

 

[yak.h'cir]

I don't believe it to be a real condition. Just a label given to people who have trouble reading and writing etc. Should we start making up various conditions for people who are rubbish at football, can't drive or don't understand physics?

There are lots of different areas that people can excel in/show intelligence in. Just because you can't spell very well doesn't mean you are stupid, it just means you not a very good speller. Making up these stupid conditions just sounds (to me) like a way of giving up without losing face.

 

[branddaly]

I think it's ridiculous that a lot of dyslexics get called stupid.

I didn't think that the problem was with dylexics being labelled stupid. More that stupid people are being labelled dylexic. Makes the term meaningless as a result, and its bloody insulting, I don't want to be grouped with a bunch of lazy thickos.

 

[georges]

In some cases..

However, a guy in my year (a selective Grammar school, which is one of the top in the country) has dyslexia and does Further maths A-Level, and is upset when he doesn't get 100%.
His subjects are Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry. He's getting 100% in all, but sometimes puts letters the wrong way around.

 

[KNiVES]

Dyslexia for cure found!

 

[Hen_Dawg]

There seems to be a level of ignorance here with people thinking dyslexia equates solely to bad spelling

 

[yak.h'cir]

Chemistry. He's getting 100% in all, but sometimes puts letters the wrong way around.

That would be awesome in organic chemistry!

 

[Ja (:]

I know this guy who is dyspraxic

he has someone take notes for him in lessons/lectuers

when he takes an exam, he sits in a separate room and tells another person what to write on the answer paper. they spell all the words for him.

To be diagnosed with that would be ace. My problem is im lazy when it comes to coursework and exams i just cant be bothered to write stuff down properly. Id rather write stuff for 20 mins finish quick and sleep the rest of the exam! If i had a scribe id do way better!