British MP declares dyslexia a myth

i dont get what he's trying to say here...

"financial and educational incentives for being bad at spelling and reading."

isn't that the exact thing dyslexia means? being bad at spelling and reading? if there is a way to measure spelling and reading levels,
and being below a certain level makes you dyslexic, how can you say dyslexia doesn't exist?

that's like saying: 'you can't be a gifted person, you can only be smart.' IQ is measurable, gifted means IQ>125 (or something). that means the term 'gifted' can't be a myth...

i guess my point is dyslexia can't be a myth, because it's just a term for being bad at spelling and reading.

(I'm dutch, sorry for my grammatical faults and illogical sentences)

Mr. Graham Stringer is proof-positive that even mentally challenged individuals can reach government positions. Perhaps his developmental disability (who knows? no empathy for others... Asperger's?) should be declared a myth.

@adiamo
dyslexia is not just being bad at spelling and grammar. It is being bad at spelling and grammar because of a neurological deficiency. Not everyone who is bad at spelling is dyslexic.

Dyslexia, is not a disorder, it is a gift. Because the brain of a person with dyslexia perceives space in a different way, on another level the person can see words just like you can. The only difference is when the brain tries to make sense of it, sometimes the pieces aren't put together right because the person is perceiving space on another level. I happen to know this because I am dyslexic, And as you can see I can read and spell just fine. My dyslexia manifests itself most often when I hand write by turning letters the wrong way, it happens with numbers as well. But other than that, I find that i see things in a different way, I tend to perceive certain letters in certain words as others.

Like I said though you can see that I have the ability to read and write. I'm afraid dyslexia is not a myth. But i don't believe "suffer" is the correct term, Once a person can train themselves with reading and writing, they can function just fine. I know plenty of dyslexic people who are of high intelligence.

The problem is not whether or not dyslexia is a myth. Rather, the problem is whether or not dyslexia, ADD, and other psychological disorders are disorders. Just because someone is different doesn't mean they have something wrong with them. If someone lashes out, isn't finding a neurological reason for it just a way of justifying their difference? Shouldn't we just deal with them or help them help themselves?

I disagree with eggshell that dyslexia is a gift. I think that nothing having to do with people's abilities is a blessing or a curse. Each person comprises people, and it is just because the majority assumes they are normal that these things are disorders. Normality is the disorder of people, not abnormality the disorder of a person.

I have a brother with dyslexia and I have seen the various ways in which this condition manifests itself. I would argue that there is a difference between a simple difficulty in reading and writing, and dyslexia. I think the problem with handing out disability benefits and extra time is that it acts as an incentive for those who struggle in school to perform below their natural ability. I also think the condition, which is not easily diagnosed, gives bad education a get out clause, and many more people are 'diagnosed' than probably have dyslexia. This is another way to brush bad education under the carpet, and I think that, while Stringer was going way too far in calling it a myth, there is, perhaps, some truth in the idea that this term is being used to disguise and manipulate. It is a fascinating topic for discussion and I look forward to hearing the varied responses around the country and the world.

andiamo, dyslexia isn't a term for being bad at spelling, its supposed to mean a mental condition which PREVENTS someone from ever being able to spell well

I went through all of my school years being labelled as "The girl who can't spell". I was tested for dyslexia in my junior school and they could not find any conclusive results to say if I was or not. That was back in 1978 and understanding of dyslexia was limited, as was the testing methods used. On attending high school another teacher took an interest in me as she knew I had some kind of problem but was unable to understand what it was. With her help and a lot of one to one teaching I managed to achieve and O'Level grade A in English. It wasn't until many years later that I went back to collage and was submitted for more advanced methods of testing for dyslexia and the results came back that yes I was and always had been dyslexic.

I feel a lot of people like Mr Stringer class dyslexia and other similar learning disorders as "created disorders" to cover up for failings in education when it should be considered more as a failing in understanding by the public in general on the true nature of these disorders. It is only in recent times we have finally begun to throw off the misconceptions of the past where by people like me were stigmatised as of below average IQ. As far as I am aware the majority of dyslexics have in general a higher than average IQ and I put this down in part to having to work harder to counteract the stigma and the mind just generally working harder to try and make sense of the information it is processing. I never had any extra help through schooling what so ever other than extra help in my own time and hers from my English teacher. No grants or benefits were given to me and it was hard work to achieve the a grade. By criticising teaching methods Mr Stringer is endangering us with a return to the times of misunderstanding the true nature of disorders such as these. My little half sister has been statemented for dyslexia and receives a lot of extra help and tuition which should make getting her GCSE's a lot easier for her putting her on a par with her fellow class mates rather than leaving her with a misunderstood disability as I was.

Dyslexia does exists to say otherwise belittles the hard work dyslexics have to put in to achieve good results from our time in education. We should not be dismissing it as a cover up for bad teaching methods but moving towards improving all teaching with understanding of the ways to work around these disorders. Maybe if we can do this in some future time Mr Stringer will see his allegations proved correct and we will have beaten dyslexia but until such a time playing ostrich and burying out heads in the sand wont make learning disorders go away. Mr Stringer I'd love to see you argue with Einstein that dyslexia doesn't exist.

Thank you guys so much for your comments. Keep them coming. I, for one, cannto understand why someone who is supposed to represents the interest of the people, can come out say such a stupid thing. It is not only offensive to those who are dyslexic but to the hardworking teachers and professionals and those who work to eliminate ignorance surrounding dyslexia.

The guy is right though in most ways. There is NO evidence at all of any neurological damage or change from brain changes from those of us who are not dyslexic. There was a group of world epidemiological experts who concluded they could not find one shred of evidence to support dyslexia as a true disease and or illness. It was found that if you encourage people to read and write properly then the 'dyslexia' vanishes.

I'd easily argue with Einstein that dyslexia doesn't exist. Cancer exists, heart attacks exist, strokes exist, diabetes exists, dyslexia doesn't.
Dyslexia / ME / ADD / MG / SAD / IBS are all diagnoses of exclusion. Meaning there is no underlying pathophysiology for their existence, nothing not an iota, the cells are the same, the signalling is the same, the cell structure and function is the same. These diseases are without a doubt psychiatric if anything. All you need these days is a few created symptoms, a random label and you can practically create your own disorder. People these days enjoy being labelled as it gives them something to hide behind, they wear it like a badge and revel in it and if you can claim something from the state from it, even better.

I was diagnosed with dyslexia but i feel it's more bad education. I struggled when i was younger like most in my year group and every time we asked for help we got no where because class sizes where at 30 min! Also why is it that out of all of Europe, Britain has the highest percentage of Dyslexia cases. I was never taught that basics from when i was younger so i never had much of a clue. Since now I'm older i have managed to teach my self. Also if it such a problem why is it when you go in to further education and your above 19 you get no help? Then as soon as you hit higher education you get loads of money thrown at you. You don't need money to help with Dyslexia you need education. Just because we have so called dyslexia doesn't mean we don't have the money to buy paper! I think the whole thing is crazy! When I'm of to uni, i don't even want to ask for the disability allowance because it is an absolute joke!