Dyslexia a Myth or Reality: Identification of Dyslexia in School Children of Grade Fourth and Fifth

The concept of dyslexia has been with us for nearly 200 years, yet the controversy about its existence has been a debatable issue among Researchers, Educationalists and Psychologist. The scope of dyslexia expanded from Word Blindness to spectrum of Specific Learning Difficulties affecting school children. Dyslexia manifests itself in the area mainly in reading and for some children writing and arithmetic difficulties co-occur, creating discrepancy between ability and achievement. Recently the debate about the diagnosis of dyslexia has been raised particularly its relevance in third world countries. The purpose of current study was investigate Spectrum of specific learning difficulties in young school children of grade 4th and 5th. The assessment was carried in group and individual setting. 900 school children boys 433(48.3%) and girls 467(51.7 %), age ranges from 9-12 years; were assessed. series of tests used specifically assessing symptoms of specific learning difficulties. The results showed much wider range of cognitive deficits across three level of achievement, yet it is not consistent with the diagnosis of dyslexia. The results were discussed in the light of observation drawn from the third world countries, where difficulties in academics mimic dyslexia.