Julian Elliott, Durham University

1. Julian Elliott, Durham University The debate Albany – 23rd September, 2019

2. A universal scenario

3. Is a meaningfulterm for differentiatingbetween people withreading difficulties?

4. those who score at the lower end of the normal distribution on an appropriate test of reading accuracy or fluency

5. “Dyslexia is mainly defined as the low end of a normal distribution of word reading ability….Thus, in order to diagnose the disorder, a somewhat arbitrary cutoff must be set on a continuous variable” (Peterson and Pennington, 2015, p. 285). ‘Dyslexics are children (and later adults) whose reading is at the low end of a normal distribution. Reading skill results from a combination of dimensional factors (that is, ones that vary in degree), yielding a bell-shaped curve. The reading difficulties of the children in the lower tail are severe and require special attention. ‘Dyslexia’ refers to these children. Viewed this way, dyslexia is on a continuum with normal ‘’reading’’. All children face the same challenges in learning to read but dyslexics have more difficulty with the essential components.’ (Seidenberg, 2017, p.156-157). ‘Dyslexia is just another name for poor reading….. Where you put the cut off between dyslexia and normal reading has to be agreed within your education system, your school – it could be a national policy, a policy within a local authority – there isn’t any gold standard.’ (Snowling, 2013).

6. “Despite the prevalence of dyslexia, many Americans remain undiagnosed, untreated and silently struggle at school or work.” Chair of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology

7. dyslexics • other poor readers

8. This focuses on literacy learning at the ‘word’ level and implies that the problem is severe and persistent despite appropriate learning opportunities is evident when accurate and fluent word reading and/or spelling develops very incompletely or with great difficulty

9. NEW YORK senate Bill S2534 2017-2018 Legislative Session Requires the certification or training of teachers, administrators and instructors in the area of dyslexia and related disorders FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE TERM "DYSLEXIA" SHALL MEAN A SPECIFIC LEARNING DISORDER THAT IS NEUROLOGICAL IN ORIGIN AND THAT IS CHARACTERIZED BY UNEXPECTED DIFFICULTIES WITH ACCURATE OR FLUENT WORD RECOGNITION AND BY POOR SPELLING AND DECODING ABILITIES NOT CONSISTENT WITH THE PERSON'S INTELLIGENCE, MOTIVATION, AND SENSORY CAPABILITIES, WHICH DIFFICULTIES TYPICALLY RESULT FROM A DEFICIT IN THE PHONOLOGICAL COMPONENT OF LANGUAGE.

10. those whose decoding problems are biologically determined

11. those for whom there is a significant discrepancy between decoding performance and IQ

12. Decoding

13. those whose decoding difficulty is deemed to be unexpected

14. those whose decoding difficulties cannot be explained in alternative ways e.g. because of severe intellectual or sensory impairment, socio-economic disadvantage, poor schooling, or emotional/behavioural difficulty

15. those poor decoders who also present with a range of symptoms commonly found in those with e.g. poor motor, arithmetical, or language skills, visual difficulties, and low self-esteem

16. Educators/Parents: # is not related to a child's IQ pic.twitter.com/ZMUzsgYbQA More

17. those whose decoding problems are marked by certain associated cognitive difficulties

18. Phonological deficit hypothesis • Many diagnosed dyslexic individuals do not present with phonological difficulties (Giofrè, et al., 2019; White et al., 2006), and children with poor phonological skills may develop sound reading skills (Catts & Adlof, 2011; Catts et al., 2017). While the presence of PDs increases the likelihood of reading disability, such an outcome is by no means certain (Catts et al., 2017). • The relationship between phonological awareness and reading ability is reciprocal (Castles & Coltheart, 2004; Landerl et al., 2018) • The influence of PA appears to vary according to the opaqueness/transparency of the orthography (Landerl et al., 2018). • Undue reliance upon the presence of phonological awareness deficits would result in a large number of poor readers being overlooked for special assistance (Brady, 2019; Pennington et al., 2012; Ring & Black, 2018). • The emphasis upon phonology, appears to discount the difficulties of a significant proportion of struggling readers for whom processes such as visual attention appear to be problematic (Vidyasagar & Pammer, 2010; Vidyasagar, 2019; Zoubrinetzky, et al., 2016).

19. those who fail to make meaningful progress in decoding even when provided with high-quality, evidence-based forms of intervention

20. To what extent does a diagnosis of guide the educator in devising appropriate forms of treatment?

21. Forms of training • Cognitive

22. Cognitive level • explanations • Phonological deficit hypothesis • Rapid naming and the DD • STM/WM deficits • Auditory/speech processing • Visual processing/attention • Magnocellular problems • Scotopic sensitivity • Sluggish attentional shifting • Visual attention span deficit • Abnormal crowding • Anchoring deficits • Psychomotor processing

23. Forms of training • Cognitive • Auditory

24. Forms of training • Cognitive • Auditory • Visual

25. The American Academy of Pediatrics' joint technical report (Handler, et al., 2011). "Scientific evidence does not support the claims that visual training, muscle exercises, ocular pursuit-and tracking exercises, behavioral/perceptual vision therapy, training glasses, prisms, and colored lenses and filters are effective direct or indirect treatments for learning disabilities. There is no evidence that children who participate in vision therapy are more responsive to educational instruction than those who do not participate. The reported benefits of vision therapy, including nonspecific gains in reading ability, can often be explained by the placebo effect, increased time and attention given to students who are poor readers, maturation changes, or the traditional remedial techniques with which they are usually combined” (p. e847).

26. Forms of training • Cognitive • Auditory • Visual • Motor

27. Practitioners should: “…shift the focus of their clinical activities away from emphasis on psychometric assessment to detect cognitive and biological causes of a child’s reading difficulties for purposes of categorical labelling .... in favour of assessment that would eventuate educational and remedial activities tailored to the child’s individual needs” Vellutinoet al. (2004)

28. So if it makes someone feel happier, what’s the harm?

29. The lazy and the stupid

31. Should a dyslexia diagnosis lead to differential levels of resourcing?

32. (Mum)… had paid around £2,000 on commissioning five independent reports showing how bright and intelligent her child was despite his condition – and how XXX Shoolwas the perfect place for his secondary education, with its specialist programmes and intensive teaching. “My childis not stupid, he is dyslexic,” she had said. “Every child is entitled to the education they need. This is clearly not being met in my child’s case. He needs specialist dyslexia tutoring before it is too late. My son is being let down severely by the school system.’’

33. the case for dyslexia as a special type of reading difficulty has been secured by genetics, neuroscience and cognitive science. • The dyslexia label can help those who encounter such difficulties to feel better about themselves, and provide them with a greater • sense of competence and agency. • The conceptual and diagnostic flaws identified for dyslexia are similarly found for many other developmental/psychological/psychiatric difficulties • Although the criticisms of the construct are warranted, we should persist with the label in the hope that the difficulties raised will eventually be overcome • An argument that is supported by fallacies of relevance. • i. straw (wo)man, • ii. ad hominem • iii. ad verencundiam • iv. ad populum, • v. arguments from ignorance • f) Despite its flaws, the dyslexia construct has a power to influence • government policy and lay perceptions in ways which can lead to legislation and resourcing that would otherwise be difficult to access. Suggestedreasons proposed for keeping dyslexia

34. Follow the money…..

35. A learning disability is an impairment in reading, writing, and math not explained by overall intellectual functioning The cause is neurological—it is not a reflection of motivation or laziness and cannot be overcome by sheer willpower. The only way a learning disability can be diagnosed is by neuropsychological testing or neuropsychological assessment, also called psychoeducational testing. (Our company) offers learning disability and dyslexia testing to discover and evaluate neuropsychological impairments that may be affecting you or a loved one. Neuropsychological testing is critically necessary to diagnose a variety of learning disorders including dyslexia….. It’s important for you to have an evaluation done correctly. There are many types of tests for a learning disability, and some more accurate or appropriate than others. Be sure your evaluation is thorough and uses the most appropriate tests for you. ….. we have evaluated thousands of persons for learning disabilities, including dyslexia. Our specialists know which tests are most appropriate for you.

36. Lipstick and kisses