Evening News Special: Exposing the Dyslexia Industry's Silent Guardians – Part 2

 

Martin Bloomfield's Wake-Up Call and the Evasive Echo Chamber

If Julian Elliott is the evasive maestro, Dr. Martin Bloomfield is the unwitting spotlight – shining light on the dyslexia farce without realizing it. In his 2024 interview with Elliott, Bloomfield probes the "dyslexic" label's ghosts, only to get half-answers that circle back to square one. But here's the rub: After decades of "research," why are these pros still asking basic questions? In this Evening News follow-up, we dissect Bloomfield's chat, spotlight the dodges, and call out the broader academic blackout. Educators who won't reply aren't just rude – they're roadblocks to literacy for millions. Buckle up; the con unravels further.

The Dyslexia con game continues

 

Dyslexia proponents will do whatever they can to con the public into believing dyslexics have a problem reading because of phonological processing.

Recently, DrJulie Safri wrote the following on Facebook:

Get the Right Support:

Programs designed specifically for dyslexia, like a structured literacy approach, are incredibly helpful.

Luqman Michel

What right support? If a kid can't read teach him to unlearn the wrong sounds of letters he was taught and teach him the correct sounds and he will read in no time.

Further thoughts: Researchers who have studied dyslexia for over 5 decades like Julian Elliott and the doctors he interviewed said that no one knows how to differentiate a dyslexic from a non-reader. They have confirmed that there is no different way to teach a dyslexic than other non-readers. 

Unlocking the Potential of China's Dyslexic Students (Part 2)

 

This article was written in 2018 and the situation is still the same. It will never improve as China is barking up the wrong tree.

Here are extracts from Sixth Tone and my thoughts.

Sixth Tone:

How Dyslexia Remains Invisible in Chinese Schools

The need for recognition of the learning disability in China is pressing: An estimated 11 percent of the country’s primary school students have dyslexia, a total of about 10 million children, according to research published in 2016 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Despite this staggering number, there is little understanding and barely any support for dyslexic students on the Chinese mainland — the Weining center, located in southern tech hub Shenzhen, is one of few organizations dedicated to the cause. Dyslexia is well-known and well-researched in many Western countries, but awareness of the disability remains low across the Chinese mainland; without support, those affected are unable to compete in school, stifling their future potential.

Xiaogu could not understand why he struggled so much in something his peers could easily master. His aversion to schoolwork grew. Eventually, he stopped trying altogether, submitting blank exam papers even though he could have answered some of the questions.

Curious kids flushed out of schools in China

 

Recently, I posted an article stating that many curious, intelligent kids in China are being pushed out of school due to poor grades. This issue arises from the confusion created by teaching Pinyin using Bopomofo initial sounds. This situation mirrors what happens in the Western world, where letters are taught with extraneous sounds, causing many children to disengage from learning to read.

 

Here is a video to illustrate what I mean by extraneous sounds. [LINK]

Dyslexia in China - Comments on the YouTube video

 

I made a few comments on the YouTube video. LINK

My comments have been removed.

This has been my experience since I started writing on social media in 2010. I have learned to copy-paste as soon as I comment before my comments are deleted. 

Dyslexia in China (Part 1)

 

I listened to an interesting Dialogue between Martin Bloomfield and Maggie Chiang, who translated the book The Dyslexic Advantage into Chinese. LINK

Maggie Chiang:

The Chinese language uses pictograms so dyslexia and symbols usually go hand in hand. A lot of the time these individuals might struggle in mathematics, chemistry, physics, or English.

Examining Martin Bloomfield/Julian Elliott interview

 

For those who have not listened to the interview you may listen to it here.

Julian Elliott:

Kids who struggle to learn to read have a difficulty based on many factors many of which we have no idea about, none at all they're not something you can easily measure. So, we should talk about individual children's special educational needs.

My comment:

Just because Martin and Julian do not know or bother to know does not mean no one else knows. I know and now many teachers around the world know.

I quit working in 2004, at the age of 52, to research why an intelligent kid who had gone to school for 2 years could not read even a single sentence. After about 2 years, I took in more similar students to learn why these smart kids could not read. I then discovered that most of them could read in Malay and those who went to vernacular schools could read in Pinyin.

After 6 years of teaching these kids, I was sure that the theory that had existed at that time that phonological awareness deficit is the cause of ‘dyslexia’ couldn’t be true. I wrote extensively citing my reasons why phonological awareness deficit can’t be the cause of ‘dyslexia’. LINK

Dyslexia Debate - Martin Bloomfield with Julian Elliott (Part 3)

 

Martin Bloomfield:

Certain as it were certain reading interventions don't work with some kids and these may be the kids that would previously have been called dyslexic.

My response:

Many issues children face in their learning are inter-connected. It might be that a child is displaying concerning behaviour, and is falling behind academically, so each intervention needs to address each individual’s specific areas of need.

Dyslexia Debate - Martin Bloomfield with Julian Elliott

 

Please listen to an excellent interview by Martin Bloomfield with Julian (Joe) Elliott. LINK

Julian has explained many matters concerning reading difficulties explicitly.

I will write a post on this interview in the next few days. It would be useful if you listened to the interview above first.