Legislative Proposal
to
Ministry for Children and Education, the Government, and the Danish Parliament
DYSLEXICS WITH PRIDE
(Presented in 2024 at the 1st reading in the Danish Parliament)*
*'Dyslexics with Pride' is an artistic manifesto written as a Danish legislative proposal.
Chapter I.
Promoting dyslexia with pride through language and action policy in an inclusive society.§1 Colours red, yellow, and green must be removed from the National Dyslexia Test.
Para. 2. The colors for dyslexic (red), Phonologically Unsure (yellow), and Not Dyslexic (green), must be replaced with colors that are not related to a traffic light and general warning systems.
Historic perspective Dyslexics were institutionalized at Statens Åndssvageforsorg (Danish special care for the mentally or physically disabled). It closed in 1980 but the stigma still lingers as a visible mark when you are greeted by the colour red as dyslexic. This refers back to a historical period where names such as ‘uneducable’, ‘misfit’, ‘slow learners’, ‘reading impaired’, ‘reading retards’, ‘stupid’ and ‘troublemakers’ were often used to describe people with dyslexia.
Legal notes It is contradictory to associate dyslexia with the color red, a symbol for danger/stop while offering empty reassurances such as ‘you're good enough’. This creates cognitive dissonance, leaving dyslexic individuals questioning their worth.
§2 ‘Word blindness’, as a definition, must be replaced in Danish languages.
Para. 2. ‘Word blindness’ refers to being blind to words, which is not the case for people with dyslexia. Therefore, the Danish 'word blindness’ is misleading in itself. Engage dyslexics in a panel to come up with a proposal for a new term and definition.
Para. 3. In other countries, the word 'dyslexia' is used. If this is chosen as the new term in Denmark, a nationwide awareness campaign and renaming of various entities where the term ‘word blindness’ is currently used should be implemented; for instance, ‘HF for word blindness’ would become ‘HF for dyslexia’, etc.1
Historic perspective “‘Ordblindhed’ is a translation borrowed from English ‘word blindness’, which was the most common term in the early years of the research field 140-100 years ago. The first Danish dissertation (H. Skydsgaard) from 1942 also used the term ‘word blindness’. Skydsgaard was an ophthalmologist, who concluded that dyslexia was a language problem.2”
Legal notes Despite H. Skydsgaard's conclusion from a time when people thought dyslexia was about vision, the term ‘word blindness’ was maintained. Movies and books contribute to creating and perpetuating stereotypes, as can be seen in dyslexia, where labels can linger for decades. For example, the children's movie ‘Gummi Tarzan’ from 1981 dramatizes flying letters, which is not an accurate portrayal.
Due to these stereotypes, dyslexics face questions like, “Do the letters actually j u m p in front of your eyes?” Like everyone else, dyslexics do not experience visual phenomena where letters fly.
§3 ‘Risk’-test for dyslexia must be removed in Ministry, research, etc.
Para. 2. ‘Risiko’-test for ordblindhed (the ‘Risk’-test for dyslexia) should be removed. It could be replaced with and communicated as the ‘Signs of Dyslexia Test’.
Historic perspective Even though Statens Åndssvageforsorg (Danish special care for the mentally or physically disabled) closed in 1980. With Law 81 from 1959, labels from that time remain visible and the label ‘risk’ is one of them.
Chapter II.
Enhancing dyslexia care in school settings.§4 Increase knowledge about dyslexic learning.
Para. 2. Strengthen teacher training so that everyone knows the linguistic development of dyslexia in children. Strengthen knowledge, opportunities, and approaches to literacy education for the benefit of all.
Para. 3. Intervene as early as possible with a concrete and focused action plan to spare dyslexic students from being thrown around in isolated special needs settings. Establish structures that support the idea that “quick help is double help3” Sadly, not all dyslexic individuals are fortunate enough to be identified and offered proper assistance.
Legal notes Researcher Carsten Elbro from Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics at University of Copenhagen has emphasized that early help is double help; it is more effective to help early.
Regrettably, inadequate understanding of dyslexia persists in education, often crushing aspirations for future achievements. Everyone must be informed about dyslexia and not let it serve as a barrier.
§5 Classes are divided by reading level rather than age.
Para 2. Meet people at their level so they can feel comfortable and on equal footing, leading to better learning opportunities and acquisition of new knowledge.
Legal notes It is a great relief and gives psychological safety to be in a space where everyone dares to look each other in the eyes and know that here, no one is casting sideways glances.
Conclusion: Dividing by age offers a convenient social solution. Being in a class divided by learning level, tailored to all students, could prevent students with dyslexia from feeling singled out. This personalized, knowledge-based approach enhances learning outcomes.
Inclusion aims to ensure acceptance into the larger school community, but what do we do if those who need to be included don't feel accepted?
Inclusion is good and bad for dyslexic and non-dyslexic students. It's important to consider what may be sacrificed in the pursuit of inclusion, taking into account dyslexic, non-dyslexic, and their environments.
§6 Establish new special needs schools instead of de-prioritizing.
Para 2. Ordblindeinstituttet (Dyslexia Institute) must be expanded nationwide and not limited to residents of Greater Copenhagen.
Para. 3. Funding should be allocated so that whether a child receives appropriate assistance is no longer a question of municipal finances or school budgets.
Legal notes Artist Julie Nymann (the author of this proposal), like many other dyslexics, has been shuffled between special needs programs in schools. However, after Nymann started at the Dyslexia Institute, a public school dedicated solely to dyslexia, she learned to read in just 3 months.
At the Dyslexia Institute, Nymann was met on her level and received tailored teaching based on specialized knowledge about dyslexia, coupled with an optimistic attitude that dyslexia does not hinder learning; rather, teaching methods should be adapted to the dyslexic learner's style. The results speak for themselves.
The Dyslexia Institute is constantly under pressure due to financial priorities. To such an extent that Nymann, and current students, are painfully aware of this. It must not feel like the individual child's responsibility to ensure that the overall finances of the special needs program or school are balanced. Fast help is cheaper and better help, for us and the state's wallet! Create more special needs schools now!
ENACTMENT OF LAW
Dyslexia entails difficulties in connecting sounds and letters, meaning the ability to translate sounds into letters and vice versa.
However, this understanding and its implications are often overlooked.
Let's unlock the potential in ‘Dyslexic Thinking’7.
Let's cultivate ‘Word blindness’ and evolve it into ‘Dyslexic Thinking’. Let's incorporate it into job interviews.
If this is to be possible in 202X, a bill is presented here as a gift to us all.
Ministry of Children and Education are you listening?
Julie Nymann
Dyslexia Empowered
Artist
Photo Paula Duvå
In this proposal, both ‘word blindness’ and ‘dyslexia’ are used to reflect the term in Denmark and to emphasized the bill's goal of changing the term ‘word blindness’.
2.
Email correspondence with Carsten Elbro, Professor at the Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, University of Copenhagen, March 27, 2023.
3.
Carsten Elbro. (1998). When history always comes to a standstill. Samvirke, 96- 104. Accessed 6.2 2024 at https://laes.hum.ku.dk/danske_publikationer/naar_historien/ (Translated from Danish). "Quick help is double help, they say. And that is true when it comes to dyslexic children. It has been shown several times, both at home and abroad, that one can support children's reading development already in kindergarten."
https://www.ordblindeforeningen.dk/viden-om/
5.
https://www.stil.dk/aktuelt/uvm/2022/sep/221001-naesten-en-ud-af-otte-af-eleverne-i-folkeskolens-9--klasse-er-ordblinde
6.
Sir Richard Branson, dyslexic advocate for Made By Dyslexia, https://madebydyslexia.blog/
7.
‘Dyslexic Thinking’ from Made By Dyslexia, www.madebydyslexia.org
Graphic Designer Kasper Aavad
Translator Ami Frost
Text Editor Helle Harnisch, Ida Vestergaard Øyan