01 NRDC Dyslexia 1-88 update - Texthelp

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Research Report
Note 2 The committee stipulated that a working definition ‘should be descriptive (with no
explanatory elements), specific enough to identify dyslexia within the whole of severe
reading and spelling problems, general enough to allow for various scientific explanatory
models and developments those models might undergo, operationalisable for the
purposes of research into people and groups, directive for statements concerning the
need for intervention and finally, applicable to the various groups involved’ (page 209).
Note 3 The authors, who were secretary and chairman of the committee, add that ‘In all
cases a partial (and sometimes principal) role is played by a person-bound factor ‘ (page
209).
Hornsby, B. (1995). Overcoming Dyslexia: a straightforward guide for families and teachers.
(Second ed.). London: Optima.
Perhaps the simplest modern definition of dyslexia is that it is difficulty in learning how
to read and write—particularly in learning to spell correctly and to express your thoughts
on paper—which affects those who have had normal schooling and do not show
backwardness in other subjects. This definition is helpful in so far as it describes what
every dyslexic has in common, but it does not tell the whole story (page 3).
Note ‘ … the presence of literacy problems should no longer be regarded as a necessary
condition for a diagnosis of dyslexia’ (Abstract). Miles, T. R., Wheeler, T. J. and Haslum,
M. N. (2002). Dyslexia without literacy problems? (Unpublished manuscript).
Klein, C. (1993). Diagnosing Dyslexia: a guide to the assessment of adults with specific
learning difficulties. London: Adult Literacy & Basic Skills Unit.
In this book both [‘specific learning difficulties’ and ‘dyslexia’] are used interchangeably
to refer to written language processing difficulties affecting visual, auditory and/or motor
processing in reading, writing and spelling (page 5).
Note 1 ‘If the term dyslexia were to be taken as synonymous with specific reading
difficulties, then the overlap between the groups would be more considerable than the
cognitive analysis of their difficulties suggests. The use of the two terms interchangeably
is therefore misleading’ (pages 597–598). Snowling, M., Bishop, D. V. M. and Stothard, S.
E. (2000). ‘Is preschool language impairment a risk factor for dyslexia in adolescence?’
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41(5), 587–600.
Note 2 ‘Dyslexia is a generic term typically used to refer to children who are severely
impaired in reading. It is also known as specific reading disability, the two terms being
used interchangeably’ (page 7). Vellutino, F. R. (1979). Dyslexia: theory and research.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Critchley, M. and Critchley, E. A. (1978). Dyslexia Defined. London: Heinemann Medical Books.
Developmental dyslexia [is] a learning disability which initially shows itself by difficulty in
learning to read and later by erratic spelling and by lack of facility in manipulating
written as opposed to spoken words. The condition is cognitive in essence and usually
genetically determined. It is not due to intellectual inadequacy or to lack of sociocultural
opportunity, or to emotional factors, or to any known structural brain defect. It