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According to an OpinionWay survey published on the occasion of National Dys Day, the vast majority of French people are aware of the disabling nature of dyslexia on a daily basis. However, these same people surveyed admit to being poorly informed about ways to help people affected by this written language disorder.
Dyslexia: a significant lack of information on this disability
Dyslexia is a long-known written language disorder. According to a new survey OpinionWay – commissioned by the company that markets the lamp for dyslexics “Lili for Life”, 77% of French people“a real handicap”. If 60% have the feeling that it is difficult to live daily with dyslexia, they are at the same time 58% to admit to being badly informed on the subject, in particular on the ways to improve the detection of dyslexia and the everyday life of those affected.
In fact, the ideas received around this handicap persist. For example, 65% of French people think, wrongly, that dyslexia is a transient pathology that can be cured. More than one out of two French people (57%) also imagines that dyslexic people confuse their right and their left, which is not proven either.
An unsupervised global disorder
Dyslexia, which affects between 5 and 10% of the world’s population according to the WHO, is a permanent disability that manifests itself in difficulties in learning to read, write and spell. Often with repercussions on the school and professional life of those affected, as confirmed by the dyslexics surveyed: 55% of dyslexics admit to having been hampered in their career development because of their disability. More generally, 76% of people with dyslexia say they have suffered from their pathology and 57% say they have already tried to hide it from the eyes of others.
For the journalist Guillemette Faure, author of the book “Dys and Famous, How Dyslexia Can Make You Stronger“, dyslexia is not necessarily a fatality. It could even, in certain specific cases, become a strength.
“Dyslexics are people who have taken risks and are used to failing and then getting back up“, explained the journalist last July, on the occasion of the release of his book.