Dyslexia not laziness — Doctor urges specialised teaching
Medical doctor Charles Ahiagbe has stated that a child struggling with dyslexia is not lazy but has a learning challenge that needs to be addressed.
Speaking on Business Breakfast on Zed FM 101.9, Dr Ahiagbe pointed out that parents and teachers often notice the signs between the ages of five and seven, right around the time a child is learning to read.
The child might be eloquent and speak quite intelligently, yet visibly struggle and show a distinct disparity when it comes to the actual act of reading.
“Typically from five years and above, when they start reading, that is when it becomes evident. But let me be quick to add here, the dyslexic child is not a lazy child. He is not somebody who is not trying enough or cursed,” Dr Ahiagbe reaffirmed.
Dyslexia is a learning disability that makes reading and language-related tasks harder. It occurs due to disruptions in how the brain processes writing so it can be understood.
Most people learn they have dyslexia during childhood, and it is typically a lifelong issue. This form of dyslexia is also known as developmental dyslexia. Dyslexia falls under the umbrella of “specific learning disorder”.
“Globally, the prevalence of dyslexia is between 5 and 15 per cent. In a class of 30 pupils, you could have between one and four being dyslexic, and it is quick to brush it off as these children being lazy,” Dr Ahiagbe noted.
He further stated that a key difference between a dyslexic child and a non-dyslexic child is that a dyslexic child typically will not make adequate progress with standard, conventional reading instruction alone, and therefore requires specialised teaching methods.
In contrast, a non-dyslexic child who is struggling usually responds positively to the introduction of simple learning aids or minor adjustments, leading to improved reading ability.
Dyslexia is a specific problem requiring a solution. The hallmark is an intelligent, verbally adept child who, despite their smartness, has significant difficulty learning to read. Early indicators may appear between ages three and five, such as trouble memorising or rhyming words in nursery rhymes.
“The fact that the child is having difficulty with nursery rhymes at the preschool age does not mean the child has dyslexia. It is a cocktail of signs we put together to make the diagnosis,” he disclosed.
Dr Ahiagbe stressed that dyslexia is fundamentally neurobiological, meaning it stems from a biological difference in the brain.
While a non-dyslexic brain uses an efficient pathway to quickly link written symbols to their sounds, a dyslexic brain relies on a less efficient, alternative pathway for this task. Though poor instruction or environment can compound the difficulty, the root cause of dyslexia itself is not environmental.
