clanchief Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 Prof Julian Elliot of Durham Uni has been reported in some press reports as saying that dyslexia is no more than a handy fig-leaf for pushy middle class parents who are too embarressed to admit that their kid is a numpty. Apparently what he actually said was that the label is now applied so widely that it has become meaningless. A factor in this appears to be the ability of middle class parents to exploit what the state has to offer. If their child is lagging behind, they press for the child to be labelled as dyslexic when the symptoms are far from clear cut and this results in their children gaining access to more than their fair share of educational resources. I was amazed to learn that 10,000 pupils a year in Scotland now qualify for "special arrangements" for exams, including extra time, because they are diagnosed as having conditions such as dyslexia. Also 6,000 "declared dyslexics" now qualify for special support within the Scottish University system, The questions that we have to ask is whether some of these students are milking the system to compensate for their inability to meet set standards or do they (and their parents) basically have aspirations beyond their ability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 I've certainly seen the term used as an excuse for not trying. Whether a genuine condition or not, such a label has the ability to reinforce the problem. "Oh, I'm dyslexic, so there's no point even trying to improve my spelling, etc". Self-fulfilling situation. Get label, try less. Some people certainly do find language more difficult than others, just as some people find playing sports more difficult than others because of their physical shape. It doesn't mean that you should stop exercising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlady Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 I had an interesting brief conversation yesterday about this very subject.. The person I met was bilingual... English/Russian but she was only dyslexic in English ??The only explanation they could give for this was the teaching method. In English we re taught our letters by pictures.. eg Annie Apple.. but surely in Russian they are just taught the sounds and shapes of the letters. Maybe although the "Annie Apple" method works for most, it may just be too confusing for some ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rasmie Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 It is confusing. I know a very able individual diagnosed with dyslexia, who was then able to utilise the services offered and pass a full university degree course. I know another similarly diagnosed who was "assisted" to pass an english o' grade by a "helpful and good meaning" scribe sc that person, god bless him, nice chap, can theoretically get a job requiring an english o grade, but he still can't read or write. He is doing a suitable and necessary job and contributing to society, but he could have ended up doing a job where people's safety depended on fast accurate reading. There must be different degrees of dyslexia and I guess different degrees of mental prowess, but more care should be exercised in awarding certificates of merit?This must be a little worrying for prospective employers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOYAANISQATSI Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 It,s all a loada sharn some specialist has made up to excuse himself a paycheck same as attention deficit disorder. We've got a neigbour who's constantly reminding everyone about the special needs of her autistic son, but to everybody he seems fairly normal except for liking to break everybloodything he gets his hands on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twerto Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 I wouldn't say it is a load of sharn, as some people genuinely have issues with reading and writing. I personally have great issues from time to time and if it wasn't for the wonders of google spell checker then my posts would be 100 times worse, I do stick my hand up and say 90% of my errors are from a form of lazyness, ie not reading back through my posts properly. but there is a 10% that is just genuine can never remember what is what, Their being my most common one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOYAANISQATSI Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 I still always get the way around of me i and e's in a muddle and have to check which way round they go. I demand that the experts coin a phrase for my particular disability as at the moment all I have to go with is being a bit thick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostrider Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 ^^^ For some reason the sorta rhyming line "i before e, except after c" managed to stick in my memory when some long forgotten English teacher was banging on about it, otherwise I'd have no clue what way round they went in most words either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnSaxon Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 ^^^ Semidyslexia?(edit - that's Koyaanisqatsi, Ghostrider got in ahead of me thanks to that bike) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 "i before e, except after c"Weird science? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnSaxon Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 http://alt-usage-english.org/I_before_E.html But where's the rule about how to pronounce -ough- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 The rule only applies to digraphs, so words like "deity" and "science" don't count.Well I'm glad we cleared that one up... (O_o) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnSaxon Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 Oh, you got to watch out for your digraphs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOYAANISQATSI Posted June 1, 2007 Report Share Posted June 1, 2007 ^^^^^^^^^^^hloy fc*nkig hlel. [mod]Swierang is not pirmetted on teh furoms [/mod] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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