Definitions of Dyslexia

definitions of dyslexia timeline

The field of dyslexia research is complex not the least because definitions of what it is appear wide-ranging and somewhat disparate.

There is a lack of consensus amongst educators, psychologists and researchers about what defines the syndrome. At best, it is described as a profile of strengths and weaknesses that together create engagement issues and challenges to learning, the delivery environments of which mostly ensure that the weaknesses prevail.

This timeline examines the development of definitions chronologically ...

1896 - Hinshelwood, J
Hinshelwood, J., A case of dyslexia: a peculiar form of word-blindness
The Lancet, 148(3821) 1451-1454

One of the earliest original papers describing a 'medical' case of dyslexia but interesting on two counts: firstly that although the 'symptoms' reported are consistent with 'word-blindness', other characteristics were also described relating to sequencing and organization; but also that the individual 'afflicted' was adult ...

1918 - Schmitt, C; et al
Schmitt, C., Developmental alexia: congenital word-blindness or inability to learn to read
The Elementary School Journal, 18(9) 680-700

Another early paper defining dyslexia as 'word-blindness', Schmitt refers to earlier papers by Kerr and by Morgan, all identifying 'an extreme difficulty to learn to recognize printed or written language on the part of persons otherwise normally endowed mentally and without defect of vision or other physical defect...'

1918-1930
The term 'dyslexia' is now in use but there is a dearth of research on the subject in this time frame with most papers reporting the symptoms rather than having much to say about the causes although it is clear that already, two 'camps' have evolved: those advocating attributes of dyslexia to visual interferences with the other taking the neurobiological standpoint. One interesting paper from Ward (1927) did, however, speculate about the potential impact of weak phonological representation on arithmetic which perhaps marks this as the earliest paper to precede the much more recent discussions on the interrelationships (or not) between dyslexia and dyscalculia

YEAR - title
Abstract

The conclusions of this timeline analysis will be here