Katharina Buczek
Did you know that dyslexia affects about twenty percent of the world population, making it the most common neurocognitive disorder?
According to the Mayo Clinic, dyslexia is a “learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words.”
But, the learning disorder is now being coined a developmental advantage by Cambridge researchers who specialize in cognition, behavior, and brain studies.
The scientists believe that people who have dyslexia are more apt to explore the unknown and “make do” in unfamiliar situations.
So, in terms of human adaption and evolution, the Cambridge team believes these qualities are instrumental.
Their findings, which were recently published in Frontiers in Psychology, have called into question the societal perspective of dyslexia as a neurocognitive disorder.
Dr. Helen Taylor, a scholar at the University of Cambridge, explained how the team’s conclusion could have widespread implications on both personal and societal levels.
“The deficit-centered view of dyslexia is not telling the whole story. This research proposes a new framework to help us better understand the cognitive strengths of people with dyslexia,” Dr. Taylor said.
And while people with dyslexia have been known to struggle in certain settings, Dr. Taylor does not fault those who are dyslexic.
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