# 1.1 The school years: social barrier

Literacy skills are a key measurement of success today and yet, universal reading and writing are relatively new techniques in terms of human evolution. In 1870 the Elementary Education Act was passed, and education became compulsory for children aged from five to thirteen. Before this, many human beings learnt by speech and action, talking, and doing, telling stories, watching their elders, exploring, testing boundaries and learning from failures and setbacks.

## Activity 2 Your views on intelligence and success

Allow about 5 minutes

Who’s to say that our modern evaluation of intellectual ability and success is correct? Perhaps some of the strengths of dyslexia – such as creative thinking, problem solving, the ability to see the wider context and make connections, and strong visual/spatial skills – are stronger indications of innate intelligence.

What are your thoughts on this? Make a few brief notes.

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How were you academically evaluated? Do you think this adequately demonstrated your proficiency in your strongest skills?

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What makes a person intelligent?

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## Keep in mind

Low self-esteem can result from low awareness of a student’s own strengths and capabilities and of the effectiveness of supportive study strategies.

Traditional forms of knowledge acquisition can soon lead to feelings of anxiety, shame, ridicule from peers, class exclusions and accusations of laziness and stupidity from parents and teachers, who do not understand the internal struggle going on. The child or individual may not understand themselves either, knowing that they are trying hard and are not stupid or lazy, but cannot understand why they are not finding literacy tasks as easy to master as their peer group. The feelings of inadequacy can start to filter into all aspects of life, producing shame, secrecy, masking, avoidance, and anxiety. If a child does not have a supportive family or school, and these feelings become overwhelming or embedded, misbehaviour can be used to form a screen to the world, leaving a child isolated and vulnerable to negative influences, which might temporarily boost their self-esteem but ultimately lead to a life that does not reflect their ability or achieve their potential. It is common for dyslexic learners to have a high sensitivity to how others perceive them, and research has found enhanced emotional reactivity to emotionally charged scenes in videos (Eide and Eide, 2023).

Empirical research data from the University of Buckingham shows that some students with support have converted low grades to firsts, sometimes within two or three months. This is not to make light of how difficult it can be, depending on the severity, to study with dyslexia – but to show how knowledge of the condition and its potential strengths and weaknesses, determination, motivation, self-belief, effective study strategies and strong positive support, can be highly effective. (Week 5 will explore this further.)

## Recommendations

Positive relationships: It is important for dyslexic learners to establish a positive relationship with a teacher(s), parent(s), or wider family member(s). Somebody who will advocate for them, notice them, see something meaningful in them and establish an emotional connection which can provide the building blocks for self-confidence.

Assistive technology (AT): With the advent of a new era of learning centered around technology and reading and writing skills supported by AT (such as, speech-to to-text and text-to to-speech), dyslexic strengths will become more valued and important.

OpenLearn - Understanding dyslexia
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