Bridging the Dyslexia Divide: A 15-Year Reflection
Is dyslexia a distraction from teachable fixes? Educational psychologist Prof. Julian Elliott has long challenged the label. In a recent interview, he called out the “multi-billion-dollar business” of dyslexia and emphasized early, evidence-based support.
I agree—and I’ve seen firsthand how confusion, shame, and overload shut kids down. But I also believe the causes are knowable. Fixable. And often overlooked.
🔍 What’s inside this reflection?
A brief exchange with Prof. Elliott that still resonates
Why distorted phonics instruction breeds failure
How we can turn non-readers into fluent ones—often in 3 months
A call to educators, parents, and researchers to revisit the real root causes
📘 Read the full article → [Below] 📗 Get the playbook → Shut Down Kids [Amazon link]
Bridging the Dyslexia Divide
In the shifting landscape of reading difficulties, few voices resonate like Prof. Julian G. Elliott’s. The Durham University educational psychologist, known for co-authoring The Dyslexia Debate with Elena Grigorenko, urged the field to rethink dyslexia—not as a neat medical diagnosis, but as a “severe and persistent difficulty with reading.” His 2024 interview with Dr. Martin Bloomfield, a candid conversation on neurodiversity, interventions, and the “multi-billion-dollar business” of dyslexia, brought me back to a brief but meaningful exchange we had fifteen years ago. It reminded me that real progress often begins with unanswered questions—and maybe it’s time to revisit them.
A Tutor’s Email, A Professor’s Reply
In 2010, I was deep in the trenches, tutoring children who had “shut down”—bright kids who’d disengaged from reading after years of classroom confusion. I’d just launched this blog to share what I was discovering: that many so-called dyslexic struggles weren’t rooted in innate “phonological deficits,” but in flawed instruction. Teaching kids distorted sounds—like “fuh” for F or “duh” for D—made blending impossible and bred shame.
I emailed Prof. Elliott directly, challenging the broad dyslexia label that seemed to lump every struggling reader into one bucket. I asked him to skim my early posts, which offered a field-tested alternative. To his credit, he replied promptly: “I will.” That simple response made me feel seen—not as an expert, but as someone who’d rolled up his sleeves with real kids.
Shared Frustrations, Diverging Paths
Had he read further—perhaps my book Shut Down Kids: How to Prevent Children from Shutting Down When Learning to Read—he might have found echoes of his own concerns. Prof. Elliott has long argued against over-diagnosing dyslexia as a distinct neurological condition. He insists there’s “no form of intervention specific to those diagnosed as dyslexic, as opposed to other struggling readers.” His call for early, evidence-based support—without the baggage of labels—aligns closely with my view: we should fix the root causes, like gaps in teacher training, not chase endless assessments.
In the Bloomfield interview, Elliott captures the emotional toll of reading failure:
“They try and they can't seem to get the hang of it... other kids start laughing... self-worth protection kicks in.”
I’ve seen this firsthand—the quiet shutdown, the “lazy” label from well-meaning teachers. It’s not the cause of the problem, but its cruel consequence. Researchers behind Children of the Code have echoed this for years. It’s heartening to hear Elliott amplify it.
The Fixable Factors
Where we diverge—and where I hope renewed dialogue could converge—is on the so-called “unknown factors.” Elliott says reading struggles stem from:
“many factors... none at all... they're not something you can easily measure.”
But after two decades tutoring nearly a hundred kids—many of whom cracked the code overnight once they unlearned those warped sounds—I push back. The factors are knowable. And fixable.
Why do interventions fail? Not mysterious biology, but mismatched instruction—teaching “fuh ah tuh” and expecting “fat” to emerge. Why do illiteracy rates remain stubbornly high, despite shifts from whole-language to phonics? Perhaps because of vested interests in the dyslexia industry, as Elliott himself hints.
My three core reasons for shutdown—confusion, shame, and overload—aren’t theories. They’re practical fixes that have turned non-readers into fluent ones, often within three months.
Picking Up the Thread
Prof. Elliott’s work—from The Dyslexia Debate Revisited to his Bloomfield interview—keeps the field honest. He questions the label without dismissing the pain. That’s why his 2010 reply stuck with me: a door cracked open.
Fifteen years later, with the “science of reading” wars still raging, I’d love to pick up the thread.
The kids—our real experts—deserve answers that stick.
Let’s talk. Email, LinkedIn, Zoom—whatever works. The debate isn’t over. It’s an invitation.
What do you think—has dyslexia become a distraction from teachable fixes? Share your thoughts below. And if you’re a teacher or parent wrestling with this, grab Shut Down Kids for the playbook [Amazon link].
Together, we can shrink that multi-billion-dollar shadow.
No comments:
Post a Comment