# 3.3 Criticism of the Rose Report

The Report aimed to identify dyslexic children’s challenges, leading to a definition focusing on difficulties. However, some definitions have shifted from using ‘difficulty’ to describe dyslexia, recognising that dyslexic traits can balance each other out in certain contexts, like an artist benefiting from dyslexia’s creative boost. In educational settings, where learning and assessment involve listening, note-taking, reading, and writing, the term ‘difficulty’ remains appropriate. To make the definition more inclusive and context-independent, the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) added two sentences to Rose’s definition as follows:

> The British Dyslexia Association (BDA) acknowledges the visual and auditory processing difficulties that some individuals with dyslexia can experience and points out that dyslexic readers can show a combination of abilities and difficulties that affect the learning process. Some also have strengths in other areas, such as design, problem solving, creative skills, interactive skills, and oral skills.

While difficulties are acknowledged, abilities are also introduced, followed by a list of areas where people with dyslexia might excel. Five areas are mentioned – design, problem-solving, creative skills, interactive skills, and oral skills – but this list is not exhaustive, nor does it purport to be. It is an illustrative attempt to frame dyslexia as a natural aspect of the human brain, shifting the focus away from a negative, deficit-model perception of the condition.

Amanda Abbott-Jones noted that dyslexia definitions often overlook behavioural and mental health issues, such as anxiety and stress (2023, p. 5). While dyslexia frequently coexists with various neurodivergent and mental health conditions, these complex relationships can’t be captured in a single definition. The ideal definition balances comprehensiveness, specificity, objectivity, and conciseness. The British Dyslexia Association’s (BDA) definition may achieve this balance, providing an inclusive framework for understanding dyslexia. However, as the scope of dyslexia diagnosis and intervention expanded, controversy resurfaced.

OpenLearn - Understanding dyslexia
Except for third party materials and otherwise, this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence, full copyright detail can be found in the acknowledgements section. Please see full copyright statement for details.