The Struggle Is Real: Schools Not Helping Children With Dyslexia

In China, over 10 million children in elementary are diagnosed with dyslexia. Despite the staggering number of cases, schools still fail to provide timely intervention as symptoms are often neglected or mistreated.

Neglected and Misunderstood

Institute of Psychology under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) conducted a study in 2014 suggesting that dyslexia may be caused by two factors: genetic and environmental. The researchers found that around the world, one in 10 students aged six to 12 years old is suffering from some form of dyslexia. Often, teachers and parents fail to recognize symptoms in these kids, reports Caixin.

In 2007, an Indian film titled "Taare Zameen Par" (Like Stars on Earth) has gained worldwide attention for tackling the issue of dyslexia in schools. The story follows a young boy who is ridiculed by his classmates and punished by his teachers for being different. Little did they know that the boy is struggling with language and communication. However, an art tutor recognizes the symptoms and helps him overcome his learning challenges.

Like the main character in the movie, these children often have hidden talents. Sadly, they face great obstacles in learning as education put too much emphasis on language skills. Teachers who are not trained to recognize the symptoms of dyslexia can misdiagnose the kids as having low-level intelligence or lazy.

What is Dyslexia?

Today Online reports that dyslexia is a learning disability affecting the brain's language processing areas that can result in having problems recognizing and understanding words. This does not affect the level of intelligence of the children. Children may suffer from dyslexia even with high levels of intelligence.

Aside from this, children may also show difficulty in motor skills, having a hard time coordinating their movements. When trying to write, they may find it difficult to hold a pen properly or if they do, they hand writing appears sloppy.

Traditional methods of teaching may not be suitable for dyslexia, especially putting emphasis on writing, reading and memorizing words. Predictably, dyslexic kids often have lower scores in written tests compared to other students, according to the CASS study. More so, they are also susceptible to physiological problems like depression as the condition affects their communication skills.

Timely Intervention

Despite these challenges of dyslexia, the condition can be treated with timely intervention. It is best if the condition is diagnosed during the first two years of elementary school or before age 12. It has been proven to resolve almost 90 percent of reading and writing problems due to early intervention. The chances of correcting the problem decrease as the child goes beyond 12.

Schools should also put importance to dyslexia and create a support system to help the students cope. There should also be available materials for these type of learning disabilities. "Helping dyslexic children is possibly helping future artists, scientists, and thinkers," said James Redford, an American filmmaker with a son suffering from dyslexia. To know more about dyslexia, check out the video below: