How was dyslexia discovered?

When we think of the term dyslexia, what immediately comes to mind is a person with a reading disorder. Picture yourself attempting to read an incredibly long article (like this one), but all you can see are jumbled letters on the page. Frustrating right? Now imagine that being your reality and try not to scream into your pillow.

The truth is, dyslexia wasn’t always something people knew about – it was only identified as an official learning disability in the late 19th century by London ophthalmologist Dr. Rudolf Berlin (bet you haven’t heard of him!) Since then, there have been countless breakthroughs in diagnosing and managing dyslexic conditions – so let’s dive deeper into how it all began!

First Discovery

It’s important to note that although Dr. Berlin coined the name “dyslexia,” he was actually building off work established earlier by others including French physician Pringle Morgan in 1896.

Pringle Morgan examined a young boy with significant grammatical errors while speaking who also struggled with general spelling abilities at school- tough scene! Being spotted as unique case material, after investigating his symptoms further, he concluded there were specific problems associated with mixing up similar looking letters which caused many of their errant spellings (I know I still struggle sometimes!) This little patient received a diagnosis of “word blindness.”

Fun fact: Although word blindness doesn’t sound like much fun for anyone involved; however it did contribute milestones towards uncovering more eventual details about what exactly causes certain reading disabilities!

Further Science

Fast forward through history-class-levels-of-information-dropping…. It’s now understood that difficulties related specifically to written language segment within Broca’s & Wernike’s areas ~~of our noggin~~ , which contributes towards various outputs such as sounding out words, (that’s phonological skills for you big brain word enthusiasts).

The discovery and interest surrounding dyslexia grew substantially throughout the 1900s, Garnering a plethora of studies from different fields as they each assessed it through their own lens. Including clinical psychology (say hello to Freud!), neurobiology, education and even civil rights dialogues!

DSM-V

In more recent times, certain changes were made in diagnosis terms such that “dyslexia” is now one of many specific learning disabilities (SLDs). These include more diverse sets with varying criteria including reading, writing and math-based differences etc., Feeding into a broader umbrella term known as “specific LD.” And although the labeling has changed – the disorder remains a strong focal point within society today.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it folks – without these early pioneers’ adaptive assessment methods on individual people experiencing difficulties we wouldn’t have our current understanding and support initiatives available to individuals identified with this condition today.

Dyslexia affects men & women every single day- some realize they are affected very late while others battle symptoms indefinitely; however recording cases like Morgan’s young boy with “word blindness” lets us study behaviors confirming non-standard literacy abilities correlating towards what we call “dyslexic traits”. In other words…we can help them (cue enlightened music)!

With contemporary advancements Dyslexia will only become easier to identify earlier on by identifying behavioral patterns and finding solutions helpful towards managing any hindered literacy problems.

(Note: We say “manage,” not “cure”, because dyslexia is not an illness but rather an inherent difference in cognitive functioning.)

Dane Raynor

Hey there, I’m Dane Raynor, and I’m all about sharing fascinating knowledge, news, and hot topics. I’m passionate about learning and have a knack for simplifying complex ideas. Let’s explore together!