Soldato
I don't think extra time helps as much as people make out. If I had an extra 25% time in my exams I doubt I would do significantly better.SaBBz said:Probably due to the extra 25% time in exams
Dyslexia = middle class word for Stupid?
- Thread starter Mr Nice
- Start date
Psyk said:
I wouldn't do any better, in fact i would have like 75% time off exams, but at least 1 week gap between each exam. found it very hard to revise 2 subjects at same time. I could predict my grades on the exam time table. It was basically do very well in the first exam, then go down hill after that.
Soldato
Dyslexia definately exists, but its different for each real sufferer from what i can tell.
My mum simply couldnt read or spell from a very young age (this was back in the 60's so they just treated her like an idiot) and heres the odd thing, eventually she found if she read diagonally across and down the page, it all made sense! She worked this out for herself by the time she was about 14 and all of a sudden she wasnt so dumb. She still has trouble with spelling from time to time but has worked out her own methods to stop her writing what she knows is wrong.
Shes in charge of a department at the royal eye hospital in Manchester now as a senior Sister and personnel administrator.
Given how hard she works and how insightful she is who knows where she could have been by now had she not simply been treated as a "stupid" person when she was younger
On the flip side... yes it does annoy me when people i knew at school who really didnt have many problems were given £1000 to go and "buy a laptop" and all they did was buy a really cheap desktop and lots of console games etc....
Its an encompassing word that describes many different difficulties, its odd how some peoples brains work and its also a good thing we now recognise these people are simply different not stupid, like everything in Britain though a culture of overcompensation exists and will do for quite some time to come i fear...
My mum simply couldnt read or spell from a very young age (this was back in the 60's so they just treated her like an idiot) and heres the odd thing, eventually she found if she read diagonally across and down the page, it all made sense! She worked this out for herself by the time she was about 14 and all of a sudden she wasnt so dumb. She still has trouble with spelling from time to time but has worked out her own methods to stop her writing what she knows is wrong.
Shes in charge of a department at the royal eye hospital in Manchester now as a senior Sister and personnel administrator.
Given how hard she works and how insightful she is who knows where she could have been by now had she not simply been treated as a "stupid" person when she was younger
On the flip side... yes it does annoy me when people i knew at school who really didnt have many problems were given £1000 to go and "buy a laptop" and all they did was buy a really cheap desktop and lots of console games etc....
Its an encompassing word that describes many different difficulties, its odd how some peoples brains work and its also a good thing we now recognise these people are simply different not stupid, like everything in Britain though a culture of overcompensation exists and will do for quite some time to come i fear...
Dyslexia is a learning disability, its not a made up excuse for not being able to read or write. Admittly, yes I agree that some people do use Dyslexia as an excuse for being lazy and wanting other people to do their work for them, and for this they should be ashamed of themselves. That would be like, me using a wheelchair to get around even tho I have perfect use of my legs.
Dyslexia varies from person to person and has an extremly wide spectrum from people who muddle up words ie. writes words the wrong way round, backwards, or who writes individual letters backwards to those who really struggle to create sentences.
As I see it, words and numbers are all about seeing and understanding different patterns, and having Dyslexia can prevent people from reconising the different patterns.
It is certainly not a nice way of saying someone is stupid and I think that the posters on here, who have made that comment should take a minute to think how lucky they are to be able to post with such confidence.
Perhaps those people who do believe that Dyslexic people are "Stupid" people should take the time out to work with someone who is Dyslexic, and to see how difficult they do find what we see as normal tasks as writing the alphabet or numbers 1 - 10.
Jen x
Dyslexia varies from person to person and has an extremly wide spectrum from people who muddle up words ie. writes words the wrong way round, backwards, or who writes individual letters backwards to those who really struggle to create sentences.
As I see it, words and numbers are all about seeing and understanding different patterns, and having Dyslexia can prevent people from reconising the different patterns.
It is certainly not a nice way of saying someone is stupid and I think that the posters on here, who have made that comment should take a minute to think how lucky they are to be able to post with such confidence.
Perhaps those people who do believe that Dyslexic people are "Stupid" people should take the time out to work with someone who is Dyslexic, and to see how difficult they do find what we see as normal tasks as writing the alphabet or numbers 1 - 10.
Jen x
Associate
There are definitely a good deal of kids out there whose parents claim they are dyslexic, simply because they can't accept that their kids aren't particularly intelligent. There's nothing wrong with being protective as a parent (after all, calling a kid 'stupid' isn't exactly going to fill them with confidence). But it's also dangerous to label them as 'dyslexic' because it gives them an excuse *not* to try hard. It doesn't help that schools seem to be quick to apply the label without extensive testing.
For those kids who truly do have learning difficulties, it must be pretty sickening to see the lazy ones getting special treatment because they can't be bothered to learn. Especially when they put in so much hard work just to keep up. And it must be horrendous to be called stupid for it.
I'd say that intelligence is a big factor in how good someone is at a particular thing, be it maths, spelling or art. But it isn't everything -- sometimes your brain just can't learn. I was lucky that I was able to learn how to read and write before most kids even start trying. My brain just works well that way. But ask me to tell you which direction East and West are and I have to think about it. It doesn't make me stupid (and no sarcastic comments please!
), but there are aspects of my brain that don't work as well as others.
My final thought is that computers don't help the matter. Anyone can type away at something then hit 'send' before they've even read it. Claiming that you're dyslexic because you didn't get it right first time isn't much of an excuse. If after reading what you've written back a few times, you still can't spot your mistakes, then maybe you do have a problem with words. But unless you make that effort you'll never learn, and continue to fall back on the old 'dyslexia' excuse.
For those kids who truly do have learning difficulties, it must be pretty sickening to see the lazy ones getting special treatment because they can't be bothered to learn. Especially when they put in so much hard work just to keep up. And it must be horrendous to be called stupid for it.
I'd say that intelligence is a big factor in how good someone is at a particular thing, be it maths, spelling or art. But it isn't everything -- sometimes your brain just can't learn. I was lucky that I was able to learn how to read and write before most kids even start trying. My brain just works well that way. But ask me to tell you which direction East and West are and I have to think about it. It doesn't make me stupid (and no sarcastic comments please!
), but there are aspects of my brain that don't work as well as others.My final thought is that computers don't help the matter. Anyone can type away at something then hit 'send' before they've even read it. Claiming that you're dyslexic because you didn't get it right first time isn't much of an excuse. If after reading what you've written back a few times, you still can't spot your mistakes, then maybe you do have a problem with words. But unless you make that effort you'll never learn, and continue to fall back on the old 'dyslexia' excuse.
Soldato
I think we all agree here that dyslexia is very much existent. What the OP quote is trying to say is that some people very much try to pass stupidity/laziness as dyslexia and take up relevant benefits when they really bloody don't deserve it. There just needs to be better means of determining which someone really is dyslexic or just thick.
Man of Honour
AcidHell2 said:
My wife went somewhere and bought some see through blue tinted screens (!) and the daughter experimented.
When she reads a book she puts one of these tinted papers over the top.
If anything is wrote in blue she can read it 100 times better than black.
Soldato
I never got that at school being dyspraxic.... Not that i would have wanted to, I got a little word processor laptop computerneocon said:
Then I lost it 
Kinda got singled out for being the noob with the laptop.I used the word processor laptop more for coding BASIC than anything else
Soldato
I think they diagnose it too flippantly with children but I had the adult test which is almost 3 hours of testing with a shrink, test after test. Followed up by an extensive written report.DB_SamX said:
Don't know how they test kids though.
Associate
Those people who have found overlays useful may be suffering from Irlen Syndrome. This is usually treated/overcome by the use over overlays or tinted glasses and is sometimes misdiagnosed as dyslexia and vice versa.
Pupils who require extra time when taking exams usually have some form of additional educational need and teachers have to provide evidence of their reading age and inability to write legibly in order to get full ammenuensis (a writer) The examination board are informed and this is taken into consideration when the paper is marked. This form of support is not allowed in any English Exam.
There have been some very informative comments made on this subject which i have found interesting. Dyslexia has many degrees of difficulty, from mild to severe and can be found in high and low achievers.
There is also a distinct difference between people who have been tested professionally and those who have 'self-diagnosed'. It is really easy to recognise when someone genuinely has dyslexia and when they have other forms of learning difficulty. In my opinion Dyslexia is real and does exist.
Pupils who require extra time when taking exams usually have some form of additional educational need and teachers have to provide evidence of their reading age and inability to write legibly in order to get full ammenuensis (a writer) The examination board are informed and this is taken into consideration when the paper is marked. This form of support is not allowed in any English Exam.
There have been some very informative comments made on this subject which i have found interesting. Dyslexia has many degrees of difficulty, from mild to severe and can be found in high and low achievers.
There is also a distinct difference between people who have been tested professionally and those who have 'self-diagnosed'. It is really easy to recognise when someone genuinely has dyslexia and when they have other forms of learning difficulty. In my opinion Dyslexia is real and does exist.
Soldato
Like most things today if your thick as the proverbial you can't blame it yourself and need to blame it on something else, either a condition or on somebody. Since its harder to blame somebody for you being a thick **** it generally comes down to a condition.
And I have no problem with those with a genuine pychological condition, just every underachiever gets labelled as dyslexic.
Im not dyslexic but I had problems in school writting essays, I just cant right fast and need time to think. My english suffered. Does that make me dyslexic? The irony is my english was and is probably better than most in my class, just the method of teaching was aweful.
And I have no problem with those with a genuine pychological condition, just every underachiever gets labelled as dyslexic.
dmpoole said:
Im not dyslexic but I had problems in school writting essays, I just cant right fast and need time to think. My english suffered. Does that make me dyslexic? The irony is my english was and is probably better than most in my class, just the method of teaching was aweful.
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Man of Honour
Edinho said:
But you may be.
This is exactly one of the problems with my daughter and she's had two full days with the 'experts' two years apart.
She comes out with loads of psycho babble and talks biology with the best of them which goes right over my head but ask her to write it down and the brain doesn't go to the hands.
She agrees that it isn't fair that she's allowed scribes and 25% extra time to get the words in her brain down to her hands and we all wonder whether anybody would employ her even if she does end up with a degree in Sports Education.
lmao at some of the spaz comments in this thread, paraphrased below:
"dyslexia is just another word for stupid" & "it's not fair that the stupid people get extra time/help and gives them an advantage over all of us 'norms'." etc
Way to go with the demonstrations of intelligence there...
My better half is dyslexic, she has trouble with numbers and letters, but that didn't stop her getting a degree in post excavation archaeology and a masters degree in osteology with none of this 'unfair extra help' some of you morons are bleating on about.
Were I to show her this thread she'd come round and kick all of you 'its cuz u is dumb innit?' crowd in the fork of your legs with her diminutive little feet.
She never had any help at school or at university (which was when she has some tests done). Certainly it's not an excuse for being lazy or inattentive, but she was labelled as a disruption at school simply because she took longer to do things than some of the other kids... it's funny, her teachers who said she'd never amount to js fell over themselves to get her to go back to the school to give a lecture to some of the gcse kids there now. Needless to say she refused and told them to go and flip some burgers
"dyslexia is just another word for stupid" & "it's not fair that the stupid people get extra time/help and gives them an advantage over all of us 'norms'." etc
Way to go with the demonstrations of intelligence there...
My better half is dyslexic, she has trouble with numbers and letters, but that didn't stop her getting a degree in post excavation archaeology and a masters degree in osteology with none of this 'unfair extra help' some of you morons are bleating on about.
Were I to show her this thread she'd come round and kick all of you 'its cuz u is dumb innit?' crowd in the fork of your legs with her diminutive little feet.
She never had any help at school or at university (which was when she has some tests done). Certainly it's not an excuse for being lazy or inattentive, but she was labelled as a disruption at school simply because she took longer to do things than some of the other kids... it's funny, her teachers who said she'd never amount to js fell over themselves to get her to go back to the school to give a lecture to some of the gcse kids there now. Needless to say she refused and told them to go and flip some burgers
Dyslexia was something that I never understood. As far as I am concerned, everyone has differing abilities at processing information and learning concepts. There were kids in my physics class that got every lesson straight away and others (including me) that took more time to understand the concepts being taught. If I wanted to keep up I had to put in the extra time to learn and understand these lessons. That is the nature of life, everyone is different.
All dyslexia does is to encourage people to believe in an artificial reality where everyone is equal and to hold others back so that the stupid/lazy/etc can be carried along. In my opinion, there is absolutely no real need for the term dyslexia as anyone who cannot get concepts and lessons as quick as others should understand that it is their own responsibility to put in the extra time and effort so that they can keep up. Allowing people to milk these ridiculous non-conditions are one of the reasons why british society is losing the edge.
All dyslexia does is to encourage people to believe in an artificial reality where everyone is equal and to hold others back so that the stupid/lazy/etc can be carried along. In my opinion, there is absolutely no real need for the term dyslexia as anyone who cannot get concepts and lessons as quick as others should understand that it is their own responsibility to put in the extra time and effort so that they can keep up. Allowing people to milk these ridiculous non-conditions are one of the reasons why british society is losing the edge.
I think you missed most people's point.jumpy said:
It's not that dyslexia is just another word for stupid, it's that dyslexia is used as just another word for stupid.
A lot of schoolchildren are likely to have been misdiagnosed or self-diagnosed and should, in fact, 'read more books'.
Associate
The point about real dyslexia is that those who suffer from it *do* generally put in the extra time and effort to keep up. But it isn't like a physics lesson where eventually something will click and you'll understand it.nero120 said:
It's more like the understanding is there, but when you try to articulate that understanding it comes out wrong -- either through speech or writing. That's why extra time is allowed in exams (and sometimes scribes) because it's unfair to penalise someone who has the understanding of the subject but is unable to articulate it well.
It's just a shame that the condition has become associated with laziness or stupidity, mainly through mis- or self-diagnosis. It makes it harder for those people who really do suffer with it to be taken seriously.
@ csmager
true for later on in the thread, but some of the earlier posts were not in keeping with what you're saying. Which was where my comment as quoted was directed.
Is dyslexia used by all and sundry to get out of behaving/paying attention at school? Maybe. With that in mind, my solution to kids not paying attention and being disruptive because they're really just little gits is to give them what I got at school when I misbehaved or was lazy: a thick ear from the teacher, and then the same at home from my parents as well because I got into trouble.
Problem is no one would dare say boo to a goose these days for fear of actually doing their job and instilling some discipline and any repercussions it may bring. Sad really. Teachers care less about pupils in this event and you end up with the sort of teaching staff my better half had at school - teachers who couldn't care less about teaching and couldn't identify a kid with real needs if he/she threw a desk at them.
true for later on in the thread, but some of the earlier posts were not in keeping with what you're saying. Which was where my comment as quoted was directed.
Is dyslexia used by all and sundry to get out of behaving/paying attention at school? Maybe. With that in mind, my solution to kids not paying attention and being disruptive because they're really just little gits is to give them what I got at school when I misbehaved or was lazy: a thick ear from the teacher, and then the same at home from my parents as well because I got into trouble.
Problem is no one would dare say boo to a goose these days for fear of actually doing their job and instilling some discipline and any repercussions it may bring. Sad really. Teachers care less about pupils in this event and you end up with the sort of teaching staff my better half had at school - teachers who couldn't care less about teaching and couldn't identify a kid with real needs if he/she threw a desk at them.
Soldato
Im Dyslexic and got 2 degree's and 2 diploma's! Thing about Dyslexia is no 2 Dyslexics are the same.... Its basicly brain damage at birth - so some rather stupid professors claim it does not exsist as they looking for XY&Z in everyone.