Book Review - Dyslexia: A History (Philip Kirby, Margaret J. Snowling)

Dyslexia: A History is a thought-provoking analysis of societal transformation.

It is uplifting in confirming the power of individual agency, highlighting the difference that one campaigner, one teacher, one parent, one researcher, one politician… can make in fighting social inequality and injustice.

There are many books available about dyslexia, in the main written by educators, psychologists, neuroscientists, parents, and those with first-hand lived-experience. Happily, now a social scientist and historian, Philip Kirby, has added to this collection co-authoring a recent publication with the renowned psychologist Maggie Snowling.

Dyslexia: A History is a fascinating review of the development of dyslexia as a social and scholarly concept. Starting with Percy, one of the first children to be described as having word-blindness, this book charts the evolution of dyslexia from Victorian medicine to its current status as the most globally recognised specific learning difficulty.

Not just a history, though, as the authors provide commentary and insight into the place of dyslexia in society, in particular British society: its emergence, its recognition and its debate. They recount the persistent endeavours of pioneering individuals who first drew attention to unexplained reading difficulties (including many from our own organisation), as the primacy of literacy became established in schooling, examining the various obstacles they faced and where this has left us today.

It is this story of social change which makes this book so compelling. Because dyslexia has been, and continues to be, controversial. Whilst parents and teachers have led the charge for more research, greater awareness and, most importantly, inclusive education for dyslexic children, public policy has
not kept up.

In the 1960s and 1970s scepticism about dyslexia was so high that government publicly claimed there was no evidence for it. Legislative successes came in the 1993 Education Act, which first referenced dyslexia specifically, and the Equality Act 2010, within a political landscape that contained ‘sympathetic personalities’ and ‘changing economic priorities’. The 1990s and early 2000s saw progress in terms of growing recognition of dyslexia within a political agenda that focussed on greater inclusion.

Perhaps this peaked with the publication, in 2009, of the Rose Review ‘Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties’ which called for early identification, the effective teaching of reading across the board, and specialist teaching for those with literacy difficulties underpinned by appropriate teacher training at all levels.

In the book, the authors reflect on the challenges presented by ‘labelling’ dyslexia. From academic disputes about ‘the dyslexia myth’ and definitions, to ‘dyslexia boosterism’ and the growing popularity of the ‘neurodiversity paradigm’ and its call for recognition of a broader spectrum of cognitive differences. Awareness of neurodiversity has supported the headway being made in the world of work, where employers and employees increasingly understand the value of reasonable adjustments.

Unfortunately, though, here at the BDA we know that advancement in the field of education has, at best, stagnated, and at worst, deteriorated in the most recent decade. Kirby and Snowling refer to the ‘funding retrenchment’ which really chimes with our experience on our Helpline.

We receive hundreds of calls every month from desperate individuals who do not have access to sufficient support for dyslexia in their schools. Callers often depict the same barriers and challenges that we were hearing about ten, twenty, thirty plus years ago.

Given that scientists commonly accept the existence of biologically based differences in reading ability, and given also that there are established, evidence-based pedagogical approaches to the teaching of literacy for these differences, it can only be lack of political will that results in the underinvestment in literacy and reading in society today.

Dyslexia: A History therefore suggests that there is still plenty for the ‘advocacy movement’ to do. It will be the efforts of footsoldiers, like the members of the BDA and the local dyslexia associations, that drives the social change our community needs.

Dyslexia: A History was inspired by the Oxford Dyslexia Archive project. Extracts from this archive, including oral histories, are available online and the main collection is housed at St John’s College, Oxford.

A discount of 30% is available to members of the British Dyslexia Association using the code MQF2 when ordering from Marston Book Services.

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