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by M. Khamal Murray

 (theJUXTAPOSITIONApe Blog)

Dyslexia, presents a special problem in disability narratives. It is categorized as an invisible disability. And to those of us who are dyslexic this invisibility acts as a burden of proof in advocating and helping persons to understand exactly how dyslexia affects our lives. Dyslexia is understood medically as a cognitive disability. Dyslexia is a developmental language disorder, characterized by deficits in phonological awareness, the explicit awareness of phonemes as separate entities, as operationalized with tasks that require the segmentation of words into their constituent phonemes and the manipulation of these units. These deficits lead to difficulties in reading decoding (i.e., accuracy) that, in severe cases, persist into adulthood.

Dyslexia is perhaps the most common neurobehavioral disorder affecting children, with prevalence rates ranging from 5 to 10 percent to 17.5 percent. (Shaywitz, 1998) It has been pathologized as a means to better understand the processes that are hindered in the natural course of understanding and reading text.  Framing dyslexia in this context presents a unique problem of categorized learning and intelligence. Through pathologizing, dyslexia now becomes a medicalized designation on the learning and intelligence continuum.  This among the different ways dyslexia is categorize influences the knowledge created around discourses in dyslexia.

Knowledge is produced and perpetuated in many mediums, cartoons, sitcoms, news papers, story books, advertisements and especially in schools at every level. In St. Croix the elementary school system is graphed much like those in the United States. By that token, their schools have special ed (education) classes where the less desirable students attend- these are typically the slower students or those with downs-syndrome. Grouping all levels of disability together is one of the greatest errors of the governmental school system. The needs of the visually impaired are not the same as hearing impaired, dyslexic, physically impaired or those with partial impairments. There is a clear difference between physical and cognitive disability, but this biasing of disable people condoned by our governments help reinforced notions of segregation and alienation. This phenomenon is identified in the book ‘Rethinking Normalcy,’ the now crumbling institution of “special” education enacts this cultural impulse towards ghettoization by segregating people with disabilities from non-disabled students regardless of individual needs (Titchkosky and Michalko, 2009). 

ALSO SEE: Study shows Background Noises Hinders People with Dyslexia 

Famous People With Cognitive Disabilities

One year while I was preparing for mock exams a teacher, who taught my older brother was talking about me to a colleague. She said, and I distinctly remember her saying “He is not as smart as his brother, don’t expect him to do too well.” In her mind I was a deconstruction of intelligence. In no way did this teacher, investigate or challenge the processes use to teach masses when it is applied to an individual, instead, she qualified my entire being as a student on her limited assessment of what constitutes intelligence and her understanding of my learning methods which were inaccurate and deficient. She represents the mindset of many persons who function (negatively) in the educational system by prejudicially and apparently on the government’s behalf qualifying the ability of primary school students.

Academic intelligence became one of the most challenging outlet by which I had to prove myself continually. The educational system that dominates western societies is the same educational system that dominates the Caribbean. “Passing” became one of the major tools used to slip under the radar without detection. It is the tool used to avoid being identified as a deviant as pointed out by Mitchell and Snyder in the Narrative Prosthesis; In order to dissociate one’s disability from stigmatization associations, disabled people are encouraged to “pass” by disguising their ability.

After several years of research there is now a strong consensus among investigators in the field that the central difficulty in dyslexia reflects a deficiency within a specific component of the language system, the phonologic module, which is engaged in processing the sounds of speech. According to the phonologic-deficit hypothesis, people with dyslexia have difficulty developing an awareness that words, both written and spoken, can be broken down into smaller units of sound and that, in fact, the letters constituting the printed word represent the sounds heard in the spoken word (Shaywitz, 1998).

One process of marginalization is through the process of measuring intelligence. Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test are used to evaluate and help diagnoses persons with dyslexia.  IQ tests are generally used to assess dyslexia in school-age children, and in fact, eligibility for special-education programs in public schools is usually based on the demonstration of an ability–achievement discrepancy (Shaywitz, 1998).

When one considers intelligence, one must investigate the systems that are in place to facilitate what intelligence really is. Scientifically intelligence has much more to do with sense, perceptions, recall, memory and analytic. Intelligence, is a phenomenon which has been created to measure humans from the mean outward in either direction on a spectrum. Yet, intelligence and the tools to measure intelligence are culturally created, manipulated and influence by social factors. It is also one of the many vehicles that gives credence to hierarchies and structures of dominance and oppression.

Dyslexic persons are acutely measured along this spectrum to help psychologist isolate what they believe is ‘wrong’ with the person. Instinctively ‘wrong’ suggest that an anomaly exist within the dyslexic person and ultimately should be cured or treated by an ablest agenda.

X-ray of Cartoon Brains

‘The Pinky and the Brain’ is a classic cartoon, that teach children the differentiation between those who are considered smart and those who aren’t. The intro of the cartoon reads “The Pinky and the Brain, the Pinky and the Brain, one is a genius, the other’s insane” (Cartoon Network) Pinky’s visual x-rayed head containing a peanut, while Brain’s contains a group of connected wheels, implying the functionality of his brain compared to Pinky’s. In this description the error of classifying disability as a homogenous phenomenon is disseminated to all those who attend to this cartoon. In the theme, insanity is blatantly linked to cognitive disability which is not only a common error but one with roots fundamentally linked to "othering" those who are not perceived as normal.

Cartoons like these help children to create self-identities, it also introduces and reinforces the ‘othering’  of people who are different without concern for their actual differences. The embodiment of being different, circumvents the attribute that makes the person different. These cartoons, along with other social influences help to mold and influence social conditions that create ‘intelligence.‘

Individuals with physical disabilities have historically disassociated themselves from those who have intellectual disabilities. From the segregation of special education classrooms to the systemic murder of people with cognitive disabilities in Nazi Germany, the fate of people with physical disabilities has often depended upon their ability to distance themselves from their cognitively disabled peers. This internalized oppression has resulted from institutionally enforced hierarchies of disability (Mitchell and Snyder, 2000).

The challenge of dyslexia for me stems from the perceptions and reactions I encounter. However understanding this ‘disability’ has helped me to navigate spaces and observe spaces and embodiments in a unique way. The psychometric model is not an ideal evaluation, however it does facilitate a basic understanding of they different types of learning processes and challenges.  Understanding dyslexia has allowed me to focus on task and projects for which I have a natural passion. And though sometimes my ability to fulfill deadlines and work within time constraints may be challenging I am learning to navigate these demands. A way of embracing dyslexia is by engaging in projects such as, reading and writing which improves word recognition and many of the cognitive deficits dyslexics daily face. By honing in on these weaknesses one can improve and mature skills that go untreated  such as spelling, grammar, word recognition and vocabulary

The major issues persons with dyslexia face are not the challenges associated with the disability (noting that dyslexia is only a disability within the current concepts surrounding education, educating and ideas of intelligence) but the reactions from others who do not understand the dynamics of difference. Delivery of information, patience and understanding is key to allowing persons with dyslexia to function within a comfortable and productive space.

     Even though the educational system has been under review for over three decades there have been little to no new or significant innovations in advancing equity, dissolving intellectual segregation or employing a model that is inclusive. Instead we operate within a system that feeds on inequality, elitism, segregation, dominance and oppression of those who are viewed as less intelligent. Black students who usually have a different cultural and social understanding of the world including the educational environment usually fall victim of being isolated and alienated as less intelligent than their white counterparts, though many neglect to recognize the legacy of inequality and the daily challenges they continue to face. By no token is this an allowance for disruptive behavior, however a more comprehensive assessment of the entire educational system must be considered when certain ethnic groups are considered especially at elementary school level.

Educational psychologist, egyptologist and professor Asa G Hilliard noted this in his assessment of psychometric testings and results. The poverty of psychometric science is revealed when we note that there is no scientific definition of the variable "race". There is no scientific accounting for the intervening variable of school "treatment." There is no scientific accounting for linguistic and cultural diversity in the design of measuring instruments. But psychometricians are supremely confident of their measurement and of the predictive validity of their instruments. (Hilliard, 1994). I believe that we have been stuck in the old paradigm because of politics, not because of professionalism. The activity of psychologists in ranking and classifying ethnic populations, who are deemed "racial" populations, is a blot on the history of the profession, with a stain that clouds professional perception even to the present day. Psychology is, or ought to be, a healing discipline; if not, then not only does the construct of intelligence and the measurement of intelligence become irrelevant, but psychology itself perhaps ought not exist (Hilliard, 1994).

Common Signs of Dyslexia  (consult with a psychologist for full assessment)