The Evolution of Dyslexia as a Constitutional, Educational, and Social Concept

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Thursday 4:15pm
  In Poster Session: Research in Research and Literacy (SIG 11) Poster Session II

Abstract

Phenomena relating to reading difficulties assume many names but none more controversial than dyslexia. Historical accounts of the so-called “dyslexia debates” largely surround the assumption that dyslexia results from some specific, albeit not completely understood, neurobiological etiology of reading challenges (Critchley, 1970; Elliott & Grigorenko, 2024b; Kirby, 2020). Disagreement on this matter persists through present debates about how to best define dyslexia (see Odegard et al., 2024). In response, this conceptual analysis examines dyslexia according to its past, present, and possible future conceptualizations. It highlights the varied contexts in which dyslexia evolved, namely the fields of medicine, education, and learning disabilities, thereby revealing that the concept of dyslexia has become entangled between the paradigmatic differences definitive of these contexts.

Author

• Tyler Milne Ogata, University of California - Berkeley