you are not dyslexic!

I can see how it is annoying, but I just think whatever. If anyone is that desperate that they fake dyslexia then thats up to them, personally I just worry about my own results! I dont have dyslexia but I get extra time but I do get official rest breaks and I sit my exams in a seperate room, which really helps me... I think a lot of people though arent faking so to be overly harsh might mean some of them dont get the help they need.

I reckon most cases of dyslexia are people who are just thick - ie have a reading age/whatever a few years below what they should.

Dyslexia and intelligence do not go hand in hand. Dyslexia can, for example, make comprehending information harder than it would in someone who doesn't suffer from dyslexia - As a result of that, it will take someone with dyslexia longer to comprehend the same information. That doesn't mean the sufferer has a lesser understanding of the information. Simply, it takes longer to process.
Think of it in the manor of muscle fibers - Fast twitch and slow twitch. Some people have a higher ratio of fast twitch muscle fiber to slow twitch, these people are going to excel in activities which require a great deal of rapid anaerobic movement - they would find prolonged aerobic activities such as a marathon very hard. Does that mean they are less fit? No, it certainly doesn't.
Another example is this:
I am a cyclist, a very quick cyclist. I can sprint from a stand still to over 30mph in seconds, yet I find cycling long distance cycling immensely hard.
That doesn't mean I am unfit, it simple means my body is better at a certain discipline.
The idea of giving extra time to people with the disorder is to create a level playing field - A bit like a handicap in sports. Again, in track cycling an elite cyclist will be given a very large handicap, perhaps a few hundred meters to create a fair race against armature cyclists.
I do not understand at all why dyslexics shouldn't be given the same treatment.

As a dyslexic I actually agree with a lot of the criticism. I don't think the amount of support on offer is proportional to my disability.
The problem is, most people don't understand what dyslexia is. They see the extra time on offer and think its an unfair advantage to the dyslexic, completely ignoring the actual disorder due to ignorance.
Extra time isn't an advantage, it's a simple solution to creating a fair playing field.


There is a gulf of difference between true medical diagnosis and some chump who brands them self dyslexic. I spent the best part of my school life trying to hide the fact I had dyslexia from my peers, because I was embarrassed and ashamed of it. That shame was a result of two things:
Ignorance towards dyslexia, comments like 'oh so you cant spell' and 'aren't you just dumb/lazy/combination of other words'.
And more importantly to my self, my own lack of confidence and irritation in my dyslexia. I've always felt annoyed in my self when I make a silly mistake, often becoming physically agitated. Sometimes when reading over work I found so many silly little mistakes, from putting in a word that shouldn't be there to writing an entire sentence of incomprehensible dyslexia babble that I would literally break down in tears - This problem is so obvious to others that my full dyslexia report carried out by uni has a full paragraph on the issue.
I feel dumb when I make these mistakes, that added to ignorance from peers results in a massive lack of confidence and credibility on my own skills.
Now you've read all that, perhaps you will see my irritation when people say 'ohh yeah I'm dyslexic' because they cant spell all that well, or want a few extra minutes in exams.

Screening for dyslexia has become a very accurate science, that twinned with far greater awareness has resulted in far more people being diagnosed with dyslexia. I do agree some people are faking it to get rewards, but by enlarge its a simple case of better diagnosis.
You said at your school 20 out of 220 have extra time?
Research has found roughly 10% of the population suffers from dyslexia of some sort, so as far as I see it thats roughly to be expected!
In the case of your friend, its a higher than average percentage but that in its self is inconclusive. Perhaps many are tricking the system.

Dyslexia doesn't start and end at spelling mistakes.
Its a far broader issue than that, it can effect things like special awareness and balance (see my post in reply to the guy asking about what the tests include) Yet people who have no suffered don't realise just how broad an issue it can be.


That it, my little rant done. I hope it's comprehensible and people overlook any spelling mistakes, I'm dyslexic after all

You have missed my point entirely and your whole rant is massively unnecessary.

I agree with everything you said here ^
- except for the part that screening is accurate because boys who got into the school with no extra time (very selective) were then granted extra time because they were tested - my point is that it seems like loads of them must have cheated the system and i find this deeply unfair. You obviously have reason other than your dyslexia induced silly mistakes to feel dumb sometimes.

I reckon most cases of dyslexia are people who are just thick - ie have a reading age/whatever a few years below what they should.

the attitudes toward dyslexia in this thread are sickening, you people should be ashamed of your own depravity.

there is nothing fake or funny about learning difficulties or disabilities, if you think there is you are scum.

I think everything is just over-diagnosed these days, to be honest. You're a bit slow at reading - you're dyslexic! You're a bit sad - you're depressed! You're a bit shy - you're social phobic!

I'm only saying this because I "have" autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia and depression. I'm pretty sure I have NONE of these, it's like you can't get tested or can't ask for help without having a label thrown on you... It's what psychologists do.

/Rant.

Er, surely then you'd know it's not that simple? I am slow at reading, college claimed I'm Dyslexic and psychologist said no and stated that my logic is too good. (He's right) They would have to explore other things too - I was told that testing me for Autism isn't that easy - because I have other disabilities too.

I recently heard that at one of the top independent schools in the UK they get almost every pupil tested for dyslexia or other that may gain him/her extra time in exams. I heard that out of my friends year (approx 150) about forty get extra time - this is a school which has a formidable entrance exam and gets top results. I go to my local comp and in my year of 220 there are about 20 boys with extra time..

I simply do not believe that so many people at this high achieving school have these disorders.

It is a trend that I have noticed when discussing this story with other people - it now seems that more and more people are being deemed as dyslexic or dyspraxic or adhd etc etc

So, do you think they are faking it? Or the tests are too lenient? Or there just are more dyslexic people nowadays? How can you explain my story - it makes me so angry!

I recently heard that at one of the top independent schools in the UK they get almost every pupil tested for dyslexia or other that may gain him/her extra time in exams. I heard that out of my friends year (approx 150) about forty get extra time - this is a school which has a formidable entrance exam and gets top results. I go to my local comp and in my year of 220 there are about 20 boys with extra time..

I simply do not believe that so many people at this high achieving school have these disorders.

It is a trend that I have noticed when discussing this story with other people - it now seems that more and more people are being deemed as dyslexic or dyspraxic or adhd etc etc

So, do you think they are faking it? Or the tests are too lenient? Or there just are more dyslexic people nowadays? How can you explain my story - it makes me so angry!

where have you ever seen any evidence of this? seriously?