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DEVELOPMENTAL DYSLEXIA – ITS PREVALENCE AND TREATMENT IN INDIA

Vasudevan, N., Iyer, A.

Abstract

Developmental dyslexia is a cognitive difficulty with the written form of language; it specifically impairs the individual's ability to read, write and spell, despite adequate instruction, normal intelligence and intact sensory abilities. Much of our current understanding of dyslexia pertains to difficulties with the English language. In learning to read English, the child first has to become aware of the sound structure of language –that spoken language is composed of words which, in turn, are composed of syllables, onsets and rimes, and phonemes. This phonological awareness becomes manifest even before the child is exposed to written language, as is evidenced by the rhyming games that preschool children play. Later, when the child is taught to read, the child learns the letter-sound correspondences that help the child decode written language. The dyslexic's difficulties with the English language arise primarily from a basic deficit in phonological awareness. From a neurobiological perspective, this deficit in phonological awareness arises from a dysfunction of the normal left hemisphere language network of the brain, and is, in part, due to genetic factors. Dyslexia in other European languages such as French, German, Italian and Finnish has similar cognitive and neurobiological bases; however, in more consistent orthographies such as Italian dyslexics experience fewer difficulties with reading accuracy and, more commonly, exhibit problems only with reading fluency. There are a limited number of studies on normal and disordered reading in Indian languages. As with English, an underlying phonological deficit accounts for many of the dyslexic difficulties with Indian languages. Additionally, when a writing system is visuo-spatially complex, as many Indian writing systems are, individuals with a visual/orthographic processing deficit may experience dyslexic difficulties. The worldwide prevalence of dyslexia is approximately 7\%; a few studies in India report that approximately 10\% of Indian children are dyslexic, implying that approximately 28 million Indian children, ages 4 – 14, are dyslexic. However, despite the high incidence of dyslexia, our research and surveys reveal that there is very little awareness about this condition, even among educators. Consequently, there is very little help for dyslexics. There are possibly fewer than 20 centers across the country serving the entire dyslexic population. Thus, there is a great need to raise awareness about dyslexia. This paper examines the cognitive difficulties underlying dyslexia with specific reference to Indian languages and then discusses the prevalence and treatment of dyslexia in India. The paper concludes with some solutions that might be effective in the Indian socio-economic context.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/SGEMSOCIAL2015/B11/S2.055

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