Dyslexia occurs in at least 1 out of 10 people

Islamabad

Dyslexia currently occurs in at least 1 out of 10 people, which means that in a world with a population of 7 billion, more than 700 million children and adults are at risk of life-long illiteracy and social exclusion.

As many as 90% of students suffering from dyslexia can achieve success if taught in regular inclusive classrooms with timely intervention. Unfortunately, due to lack of awareness about dyslexia in Pakistan, we have to rely on international statistics, according to which 15-20% of the children in each class have some form of learning difficulties. Based on this ratio, it is estimated that approximately 12 million children in Pakistan out of the 60 million need help.

Remedial therapist of dyslexia Irum Mumtaz shared this insightful data at Shifa College of Medicine, where an awareness seminar on dyslexia for doctors and the general public was convened on Saturday.

Irum said that due to lack of awareness about dyslexia, dyslexics suffer in all spheres of life. Maximum parents of dyslexic children are in a state of denial. Educational institutes are not dyslexia-friendly. She shared the indicators for parents include delayed milestones, difficulty in rhyming, short attention span, lack of interest in going to school, confusion between left and right as well as up and down, easily exhausted when reading or writing, difficulty with buttoning up, colouring, cutting, late in learning to tie shoelaces, and tell the time, etc.

Irum advised teachers to encourage families to get involved in the life of their child, stimulate the student’s motivation, empathize with children to understand their point of view, and use multi-sensory methods to analyze the potential of the child.

Dr. Rabia Nazir, Instructor and Coordinator at Shifa Clinical Health Sciences and Informatics Lab (SCIL), Shifa College of Medicine, defined dyslexia as a general term for learning difficulties involving reading, writing and interpreting words, letters and symbols, regardless of general IQ. “Dyslexia is a gift. After you understand the potential of the ‘right brain dominant’ individuals, it should come as no surprise that the greatest gifts to humanity have been given to these dyslexics,” she pointed out.  Dr. Rabia also discussed the common signs and symptoms of dyslexia. She said, there is no cure because dyslexia is not a disease. With support, proper instruction, and hard work, many people with dyslexia are able to succeed academically and in their later lives.