The first child thought to have what we now call dyslexia was identified in 1896¹. This was Percy, aged 14, whose inability to learn to read, in spite of his intelligence and persistent teaching, was surprising. Percy was described as suffering from ‘congenital word blindness’.

In the early 1900s in the US, a clinic for dyslexic learners was established by Samual Orton, adopting teaching methods which are still used today². During this time of advancement in the US, however, sceptism was a theme in Britain (which we will see would continue to the present day). Cyril Burt, the first educational psychologist to be appointed to a British government body, decided that the concept of dyslexia, or word blindness, was “something of a ruse”³ which, rather than being a persistent developmental condition, could be cured by decent teaching. Burt’s argument was appealing to policy makers, who were of course also budget controllers.

This scepticism continued and took root, even into very recent years, with an ongoing debate about the purpose of and evidence for dyslexia diagnosis⁴. What is interesting about Burt is his criticism at that time of the role of unqualified “non specialist” parents, especially mothers, in the advancement of dyslexia. But the influence and pivotal role of mothers was to continue, and was in fact a key factor in the advancement of provision for dyslexia.

In 1963 the Word Blind Centre was established in London, which formalised dyslexia’s footing in UK education. Unfortunately, a byproduct of this Centre was that dyslexia became termed as “a middle class syndrome”, due to the demographic profile of the children assisted by the Centre. Policy makers again rejected the existence of dyslexia, and this unhelpful concept of dyslexia as middle class lives on today.

 To have a diagnosis, a piece of paper to say help this child be the best they can be, don’t ignore what she could achieve with just a little support, to say don’t forget her, she counts, is for me, invaluable –  but also blooming expensive so has not been gained yet.
– Hazel Parent

My personal passion is to work towards equity, and I’m encouraged by the trajectory of events following the establishment of the Word Blind Centre.

Through the 1970s, scepticism continued. To such an extent that Thatcher’s Department for Education and Science refused to recognise dyslexia in 1973 (although Thatcher herself was known initially to express a desire to support children with dyslexia). Even in 1978, when Mary Warnock was asked to chair an independent review of children’s special educational needs, she was forbidden from using the term ‘dyslexia’. In spite of this, various influential dyslexia associations were established at this time and the growing evidence base meant that dyslexia was becoming too difficult to ignore. In 1987, dyslexia was formally recognised by the British parliament. 

In 1997, the new Blair government placed a strong emphasis (and funding) on education, especially literacy, and in 2009, the UK government’s Rose Review⁵ was published. What was pivotal was the fact that Sir Jim Rose identified the high occurence of dyslexia in disadvantaged socio-economic groups, highlighting the need for equity. However, Rose’s utopian world of equal access to specialist teaching has not yet been achieved. 

Our main struggle has been getting her dyslexia officially recognised.  Some LEAs don’t diagnose dyslexia; some don’t understand it. Unfortunately this can prevent effective support being put into place. I feel like I’m chasing the impossible.
– Evelyn, Parent

The inconsistency described by Evelyn is nothing short of inequity, and it grieves me deeply, but I’m hopeful about the new era.

Defining Dyslexia

In May 2024, the Specific Learning Difficulties Standards Committee (SASC) completed a 2 year review of the assessment and definition of dyslexia, which involved professionals across the debate, and a consensus has been reached. Here is the agreed definition, which I will unpack some more in my next blog post.

Nature

The nature and developmental trajectory of dyslexia depends on multiple genetic

and environmental influences.

Manifestation

Dyslexia is a set of processing difficulties that affect the acquisition of reading and

spelling. The most commonly observed cognitive impairment in dyslexia is a

difficulty in phonological processing (i.e. in phonological awareness, phonological

processing speed or phonological memory). However, phonological difficulties do

not fully explain the variability that is observed. Working memory, processing

speed and orthographic skills can contribute to the impact of dyslexia.

Impact

In dyslexia, some or all aspects of literacy attainment are weak in relation to age,

standard teaching and instruction, and level of other attainments. Across

languages and age groups, difficulties in reading and spelling fluency are a key

marker of dyslexia.

Variance and co-occurrence

Dyslexic difficulties exist on a continuum and can be experienced to various

degrees of severity. Dyslexia can affect the acquisition of other skills, such as

mathematics, reading comprehension or learning another language. Dyslexia

frequently co-occurs with one or more other developmental difficulties, including

developmental language disorder, dyscalculia, ADHD, and developmental

coordination disorder.

Dyslexia has travelled in our perceptions through history from an unknown, mysterious condition in Percy, to a widely accepted, if misunderstood, condition in contemporary popular culture. Today, many people with dyslexia are active in sharing experiences and raising awareness. There is even a popular concept of dyslexia as a “superpower”. In Rick Riordan’s best selling Percy Jackson children’s books, the main character even has dyslexia (and ADHD) as a product of his divine parenthood! But there is still so far to go in achieving equitable support in schools. It is simply wrong that children whose parents can pay have access to identification of a need that is so prevalent and disabling in school, while many others are left on the heap. I’m hopeful, but watchful. 

1. William Pringle Morgan, A Case of Congenital Word Blindness, 1896 ↩︎
2. The Orton Gillingham approach ↩︎
3. Kirby & Snowling, p.51 ↩︎
4. Julian G Elliott, “It’s Time to be Scientific about Dyslexia”, 2020 ↩︎
5. Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties, Sir Jim Rose, 2009 ↩︎