Does dyslexia exist?

[Reverend Del]

My ex-girlfirend is both dyslexic and dyspraxic, but wasn't diagnosed with either condition until Uni. By that time all the support they could give her was by and large useless, because she'd built up her own coping mechanisms to get round the fact she had these problems. In toher words, it's actually possible to develop your own strategies to cope with the conditions if you have the motivation to do it. She only got tested because another friend of mine is dyspraxic and he used it as a crutch to explain why he was failing hard at uni. She wanted to prove a point.After which his comments were "Well I'm more dyspraxic than you". Oh how we laughed.

But yes it's like Aspergers and ADD, too many folks claiming they have it because their laziness precludes them from admitting they suck. Takes away from the folks that genuinely have it.

 

[Kragg]

I wouldn't be surprised if it is being over diagnosed. It happens a lot with new diagnoses. Almost like a pop-diagnoses if you will (people are just lazy or more likely use apologetic tactics to diagnose).

Frankly I think it exists but only in a very small minority, most who claim to have it are just dim probably.

I think it does but 99% of the people who claim to have it are just too lazy to learn proper grammar and spelling.

Like ADD and ADHD!

yeah and self-diagnosis, like aspergers

 

[Yoshemo]

One of my best friends was born almost a month early and has Dyslexia. I can tell he does have it =\ Its real

 

[SarBni]

Dyslexia has no scientific basis, but neither does yawning, so I'm sure that doesn't exist either...

 

[Ranorak]

I'm medically diagnosed with Dyslexia.
I do my best to write properly and correctly.

However, my form of dyslexia has little to do with writing, but more with reading.

A nice example would be the following:
There is a restaurant in my town, it's a cheap place to have a good meal. And it's made for students.
This restaurant has a gimmick. Every word on the menu is scrambled slightly.

A Medium Steak is written as Sedium Meak. (This is a fictional example, seeing how the words are in my native language.)

I didn't know that when I first went to that restaurant with some friends.
They were snickering and trying to read the menu. I, however, didn't see it.
My dyslexia makes me blind to certain spelling errors, while my brain subconsciously tries to fill the blanks.

Thus, I saw the right words, instead of the scrambled ones.
But sometimes I see it the other way around.
I read a normal word as something scrambled, my brain picks this up, and tries to find the real word.
However, sometimes I picks the wrong one, and I write world, instead of word.


I do agree, however, that this is not a excuse to write poorly, and I do my best to write properly.

I think it does but 99% of the people who claim to have it are just too lazy to learn proper grammar and spelling.

I'm not really sure how Dyslexia effect grammar, though.
At least in my case it's words that get spelled wrong, not the basic rules of sentence making.

 

[Jamieson 90]

I would hate for people to get the wrong impression about getting free laptops at University.
You don't just go to a 5minute test and they go well, your dyslexic you can have a free laptop lol.

First you have to provide a statement off your local authority stating the date you were diagnosed with dyslexia/learning difficulty.

The university then request you supply a report from a qualified educational psychologist valid from within a year. To get a report you have visit an independant psychologist were they examine you with different tests, the tests usually take up to around 2 and half hours and possibly longer depending on how sivere your condition is. When I say a report I don't mean a 2 page document, my report was over 60 pages long listing all my problems in detail.

The university then test you themselves and write up a report, they use their report and the report from the educational psychologist and your statement and submit them as evidence to student finance who consider your case.

Just saying because I doubt many people here have ever had to deal with a DSO department at a University, do you know how slow they and student finance are? Image trying to sort out a late student loan but 10x worse. I remember my first year at Uni, applied for DSO before I started, got a the support I needed a year later as I was entering my second year.

It makes me think whether all the forms I had to fill in, all the emails and phone calls and the stress was worth it.

 

[DSK-]

I think it does exist. My father has dyslexia. At times he often askes me how to spell words like 'why' or anything long like say 'irrational'.

I also believe I have dyscalculia (number blindess - basically like dyslexia but with numbers). My spelling and ability in writing is fine, but maths ability is severely hampered. Unfortunately I was unable to get tested for it in University (because it wouldn't be "beneficial" for me. Bullshit).

 

[Royas]

I wouldn't be surprised if it is being over diagnosed. It happens a lot with new diagnoses. Almost like a pop-diagnoses if you will (people are just lazy or more likely use apologetic tactics to diagnose).

Frankly I think it exists but only in a very small minority, most who claim to have it are just dim probably.

I think it does but 99% of the people who claim to have it are just too lazy to learn proper grammar and spelling.

Like ADD and ADHD!

I'm going to jump here on this one. ADD and ADHD are very real, very crippling conditions that turn the lives of some of the people who have them into something just this side of hell. When you have ADHD, you can't trust any of your reactions to situation or to people. You don't understand normal social cues, you offend people without even knowing it, controlling your temper is a struggle, and the attitude of many that these are "pop diagnoses" doesn't frackin' help.

I was diagnosed with ADHD (then called hyperactivity) over 30 years ago, when I was in grade school. Nothing has been easy in my life. Even being aware of it, it's very hard to change my behavior to match that of others. Concentration and steadiness are very, very hard. Not because I'm lazy, I want to be able to concentrate and perform well, and it's frustrating when I can't seem to get it together. Without medication (fortunately, we are beyond just dumping huge doeses of stimulants into people) I would be nearly non-functional in modern society. This despite having a way above average measured intelligence and creativity. That's using the old IQ tests, BTW, so mostly intelligence involving basic logical reasoning and pattern recognition, lots of other types of intelligence.

Now, I'm going to flat out say right now, ADHD is not an illness. It is a mode of behavior dictated by brain chemistry. There are some times that ADHD is an advantage, not a hinderance. It exists for a reason, and is only defined in comparison to the average behavior in the modern world. We tend to think more quickly, and react more decisively in crises. People with ADHD also tend to be creative, and willing to take risks. Unfortunately, what was once a good set of survival traits is no longer appropriate for today's society. We aren't sick, not in the strictest sense of the word. Our base behavior sets just don't mesh well with the rest of the world.

And the reason ADHD and ADD are so commonly diagnosed, especially in the United States? Yes, I belive there is over-diagnosis. I also believe it's a very common condition. After all, such things run in the family. Who the hell do you think was going to risk crossing the Atlantic, leaving civilised lands for the howling wilderness? Who didn't fit in with European society to the point that many weeks of dangerous travel seemed like a better option? Yep, that's right. A hell of a lot of the original settlers of the US in the colonial era were most likely ADHD types themselves. So, we are going to have more of them today. It's probably not uncommon in more primitive or "third world" nations, but ADHD is a positive trait for people scratching for survival and fighting for their lives every day.

To summarize, these are real conditions that really affect many, many people. Maybe they are diagnosed too quickly and easily, easy to do with no chemical test existing, but people can't just assume that someone is "faking it" and the like. Like dyslexia and other learning diablilities, half our struggle is just in getting some people to actually believe there's a real problem. Hell, no wonder we get frustrated.

 

[2xDouble]

As someone who has managed both dyslexia and 99th percentile reading comprehension (it's DIFFICULT not IMPOSSIBLE), I find the question offensive. I read the article, and I can understand how this "professor" might be confused about the term in a scientific sense.

Dyslexia is a perceptive disorder. Until we perfect mind reading machines there can be no direct scientific measure of perception. However, any real scientist should know that simply because something cannot be measured in terms we understand does NOT mean it doesn't exist. (Higgs boson, infinity, dark energy, ...anyone?). I think the second professor has the correct idea. Dyslexia is a very real medical condition.

I do agree, however, that, like most learning disabilities, Dyslexia is over-diagnosed. Some parents turn to psychology to try to give their child the sociological "advantage" of a learning disability. (There are several articles relating to that subject, but I don't feel like citing them.)

 

[Zepren]

Recently a debate appeared a few years ago

Well I may be dyslexic but atleast I ain't retarded.

Seriously? Dyslexia is real. Why do non-dyslexics wanna be all shitty about this? Dyslexia makes life tough for us enough without the yearly witch-hunt. Why? God knows. Man up

 

[_Cake_]

Yeah I have it but it's no big deal, you just write a word or letter backward or flipped once in a while. Most of the time you notice and fix if not no one really cares too much.

 

[Colour Scientist]

I wouldn't be surprised if it is being over diagnosed. It happens a lot with new diagnoses. Almost like a pop-diagnoses if you will (people are just lazy or more likely use apologetic tactics to diagnose).

Frankly I think it exists but only in a very small minority, most who claim to have it are just dim probably.

I think it does but 99% of the people who claim to have it are just too lazy to learn proper grammar and spelling.

Like ADD and ADHD!

I'm going to jump here on this one. ADD and ADHD are very real, very crippling conditions that turn the lives of some of the people who have them into something just this side of hell. When you have ADHD, you can't trust any of your reactions to situation or to people. You don't understand normal social cues, you offend people without even knowing it, controlling your temper is a struggle, and the attitude of many that these are "pop diagnoses" doesn't frackin' help.

I was diagnosed with ADHD (then called hyperactivity) over 30 years ago, when I was in grade school. Nothing has been easy in my life. Even being aware of it, it's very hard to change my behavior to match that of others. Concentration and steadiness are very, very hard. Not because I'm lazy, I want to be able to concentrate and perform well, and it's frustrating when I can't seem to get it together. Without medication (fortunately, we are beyond just dumping huge doeses of stimulants into people) I would be nearly non-functional in modern society. This despite having a way above average measured intelligence and creativity. That's using the old IQ tests, BTW, so mostly intelligence involving basic logical reasoning and pattern recognition, lots of other types of intelligence.

Now, I'm going to flat out say right now, ADHD is not an illness. It is a mode of behavior dictated by brain chemistry. There are some times that ADHD is an advantage, not a hinderance. It exists for a reason, and is only defined in comparison to the average behavior in the modern world. We tend to think more quickly, and react more decisively in crises. People with ADHD also tend to be creative, and willing to take risks. Unfortunately, what was once a good set of survival traits is no longer appropriate for today's society. We aren't sick, not in the strictest sense of the word. Our base behavior sets just don't mesh well with the rest of the world.

And the reason ADHD and ADD are so commonly diagnosed, especially in the United States? Yes, I belive there is over-diagnosis. I also believe it's a very common condition. After all, such things run in the family. Who the hell do you think was going to risk crossing the Atlantic, leaving civilised lands for the howling wilderness? Who didn't fit in with European society to the point that many weeks of dangerous travel seemed like a better option? Yep, that's right. A hell of a lot of the original settlers of the US in the colonial era were most likely ADHD types themselves. So, we are going to have more of them today. It's probably not uncommon in more primitive or "third world" nations, but ADHD is a positive trait for people scratching for survival and fighting for their lives every day.

To summarize, these are real conditions that really affect many, many people. Maybe they are diagnosed too quickly and easily, easy to do with no chemical test existing, but people can't just assume that someone is "faking it" and the like. Like dyslexia and other learning diablilities, half our struggle is just in getting some people to actually believe there's a real problem. Hell, no wonder we get frustrated.

I don't think they're saying it doesn't exist, just that there are alot of people who claim to have it, but don't. People who use it as an excuse for personal faults, such as lazyness.

 

[Jamieson 90]

I want to stress one thing which I think a lot of people misunderstand, Dyslexia does not affect intelligence, just because someone is clever does not mean that they don't have a problem. I used to get this all the time back in school, "your dyslexic? I would never have known you seemed so clever when we debated it as a class". I would often find debating was easy, I knew all the issues but when it came to writing it down on paper I was terrible.

 

[Colour Scientist]

Recently a debate appeared a few years ago

Well I may be dyslexic but atleast I ain't retarded.

Hmm.. I must have changed the wording mid-sentence without reading back over it, I never claimed to be a genius.

 

[Swieb]

The only correct answer to OP would be 'on'.

 

[TylerC]

I agree with what others are saying. If it exists, it is a very, small minority of people. others just say they have it to feel sympathy from others or gain attention...and others say they have it and they're just too lazy to deal with their real problem.

It's just like any other disease or disorder. People claim to have it, like I said, for sympathy or even as an excuse...which in trn make people think that it's not real or a big deal.

 

[TylerC]

I wouldn't be surprised if it is being over diagnosed. It happens a lot with new diagnoses. Almost like a pop-diagnoses if you will (people are just lazy or more likely use apologetic tactics to diagnose).

Frankly I think it exists but only in a very small minority, most who claim to have it are just dim probably.

I think it does but 99% of the people who claim to have it are just too lazy to learn proper grammar and spelling.

Like ADD and ADHD!

snip

Woah, slow down there. He's note saying it's not real...just that a lot of people say they have it, but have never been to a doctor, or don't even know what it really is. People say they have it because they can sometimes be distracted...but that's not all of what ADD or ADHD entails. And we know this because of all of the hysteria there was over doctors just handing out Ritalin for no reason other than to make parents happy.

edit: woops, sort of a double post. I meant to edit this in, not post it.

 

[russkiimperial]

One of the best professors I've ever had, who taught Statistics, was horribly dyslexic with numbers. I'm no doctor but every time someone in class would read him an answer like "8675" he would almost invariably come back with "ok so the mean is 7658" He was still a good teacher and I know of plenty of smart people who have it but it definitely shows how difficult life can be. I'm not diagnosed or anything but I it does happen to me quite often as well. Its like your brain takes all the letters/numbers and jumbles them together by the time its done processing the information. I can imagine having a bad case of it would certainly make life difficult.

 

[Boba Frag]

One of my best friends has dyslexia and I find this guy's allegations offensive.
It's not exactly crippling, but my friend can get quite self conscious about his spelling, especially when it comes to writing essays for college.

Thankfully, our University offers a support service for this.

That said, he has to dictate his exam answers to a scribe, instead of scribbling furiously like the rest of us.
This means he has to learn his answers near off by heart and has a different exam timetable and location as a result.
To be honest, it's kind of isolating for the guy.

So, yes, in answer to this buffoon, it does exist and real people struggle with it.