Dyslexia’s history is much longer than most people could think of. It dates back almost 150 years. Autism was first recognized and diagnosed 100 years ago.
The signs of autism are even more obvious. Researchers have faced the greatest challenge over the past century and a quarter: Dyslexia does not manifest as any other outward signs than the inability to read, write, or do arithmetic. You can also read about Surviving High School with Dyslexia to Know the signs and symptoms of dyslexia among children and adults.
In the 1860s that brain damage that caused restricted blood flow to the brain could cause people difficulty reading and speaking. This condition, known as aphasia, was believed to be caused by brain damage. Researchers discovered brain lesions on the brains of deceased patients, which led to this conclusion.
A paper published in 1895 suggested that “word blindness” could have been caused by brain damage. In 1917, the book Congenital word Blind was published.
James Hinshelwood, a researcher, wrote this book. He believed that the primary disability was visual memory for letters and words. He also identified difficulties spelling and letter reversals as symptoms.
The history of dyslexia takes a positive turn when Samuel T. Orton discovered that there was another reason for the problem. His research revealed that there could be another reason why people who have not suffered any obvious head trauma struggle to read and write.
His research was based upon the idea that people with “word blindness” had difficulty associating written words to spoken language. In recent years, this theory has gained a lot of credibilities. He might have been off the mark when he concluded that brain dominance was the root cause.
