Dyslexia

Many children could be misdiagnosed with dyslexia as almost half of experts believe myths about the learning difficulty, research suggests.

A study led by Durham University has found that many of those diagnosing children believe that letters jump around or words appear in different order for those with dyslexia. These indicators have been discredited, the research says.

Academics say there is significant variability in the methods used by professionals for identifying dyslexia.

They conducted an investigation of 275 UK professionals involved  in assessing students for dyslexia - including educational psychologists and specialists. This probed their assessment methods and what they believed to be signs of dyslexia, which mainly causes problems with reading, writing and spelling. It found that almost half of dyslexia professionals who were surveyed believed at least one unproven indicator for dyslexia... 

The study ... warned that the misconceptions could influence assessors' judgements and lead to "identification errors". It uncovered a general lack of consensus among assessors about the process of identifying someone with dyslexia...

The researchers are calling for evidence-based knowledge to be built into the assessment procedures for children with reading difficulties.

Dr Johny Daniel, from the School of Education at Durham University said: "It's important that dyslexia and psychological associations in the UK ensure that any misconceptions among professionals are directly addressed in their guidelines so that children are assessed in a consistent way across the board... Our study shows there is significant variability in the methods used for identifying reading disabilities such as dyslexia, which could lead to children being misdiagnosed or missed altogether."

He said the cost of diagnosis, often about £700, meant that more affluent children were deemed to have the condition than less wealthy classmates... 

Daniel said most families could not afford dyslexia assessments and only the better-off had the time, resources and money to pursue them... Dyslexia assessments can be sought via local authorities or through private practice, which is usually far quicker but more expensive for families.

(Nicola Woolcock, The Times, 2024)

This is only one study so caution is needed when trying to understand a complex and quite often misunderstood learning disability. But what is clear is that the so called professionals diagnosing dyslexia are not always following a consistent or consensual path. 

Then the cost rears its ugly head. For the free route, by way of the local authority for diagnosis, can take years.