Dyslexia: ‘A Brief History’
1878
It is thought that the first documentation of dyslexia was in 1878, by a German neurologist who was interested in adults with normal intelligence but challenges with reading.
1887
The word ‘dyslexia’ was first coined by Rudolf Berlin in 1887; developed from Greek roots: ‘Dys’ meaning difficulty, ‘Lexia’ meaning words and was otherwise known as ‘word blindness’.
1896
W. Pringle Morgan, a doctor from Sussex, first published a case in the British Medical Journal: "Percy, aged 14, has always been a bright and intelligent boy, quick at games, and in no way inferior to others of his age. His great difficulty has been – and is now – his inability to read" (p. 98).
The most dominant theory around this time was that the difficulties with literacy were due to visual processing deficiencies.
1920’s
The International Dyslexia Association, the oldest organisation dedicated to the study and treatment of dyslexia was born.
1925
An American neurologist, Samuel Orton, discovered pioneering research into reading and writing challenges and multi-sensory learning and teaching.
1955
Rudolf Flesch published a paper called “Why Johnny Can’t Read and What You Can Do About It’ providing a powerful critique of common teaching practices which focused on reading by sight, otherwise known as the ‘look-say’ method, sparking huge debates within evidence-based reading approaches otherwise known as the “Reading Wars”.
1962
Dyslexia was recognised in parliament by government and the ‘Word Blind Centre’ was founded
1970
Disabled Persons Act was developed
1972
British Dyslexia Association (https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/) was founded
2002
Discovery of the specific links between brain anatomy and behaviours, which could explain the challenges an individual with dyslexia typically has.
2005
Dyslexia Action (hyperlink https://dyslexiaaction.org.uk/) was born
2010
The Equality Act was approved
2013
There were talks that the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM-5) was going to change the name from ‘learning disorder’ to ‘dyslexia’, but this was criticised for being both too inclusive and too exclusive.
It was therefore decided to include dyslexia as a ‘Specific Learning Disorder – SpLD’ – along with other conditions such as dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia and ADHD.
Today
Dyslexia falls under the umbrella term ‘neurodiversity’ which is commonly used in everyday language.
More and more researchers are focussing their work on the specific causes of dyslexia and the best interventions for support children and adults with dyslexia.