‘Early detection guarantees huge success in dyslexic children’

Director, Dyslexia Nigeria, Adrienne Tikolo, has called on parents, teachers and education policy makers to be part of the organisation’s drive to provide support to children and adults with dyslexia and give them opportunity to attain loftier heights in life.

Speaking at the opening of Dyslexia Nigeria in GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, recently, Tikolo stressed the need for parents, teachers and caregivers to cognise early signs and symptoms of dyslexia as that would aid in early intervention.

But when parents and teachers are oblivious of dyslexic conditions, the child suffers emotionally, physically and psychologically without getting adequate help needed to manage the disorder.

She said, “Without early detection and tailored support, 74 per cent of dyslexic children will remain poor readers in grade 9 and many will be unable to read well as adults, leading to frustration, school drop outs, and unemployment. However, identifying dyslexic students and providing support equips many for success in school and in life, improves behaviours and may eliminate their later need for special education.”

“At Dyslexia Nigeria, we work to provide support to children and adults with dyslexia, who struggle in school, in a vocation, or in a white collar profession and who have limited coping mechanisms and support. This we do by convening, educating and empowering all stakeholders concerned with dyslexia in Nigeria to create an environment where dyslexic individuals can develop to their full potentials.”

She therefore urged schools to enroll their teachers at the centre for training and empowerment on detecting and managing dyslexia, as well as all stakeholders to partner the organisation in creating a world where all children and adults living with dyslexia can thrive and become successful in life, like other notable inventors globally who are also dyslexic.

She said, “Dyslexia remains the most recognised or reading disorders and is common learning difficulty that all teachers will encounter in their classrooms. 15 to 20 per cent of the population according to research exhibits some form of dyslexia. This equates to three to six students in every elementary class, a number that rises in secondary school.

“As a matter of fact, sometimes the school and the teachers don’t know what to do with dyslexic kids. They will use phonics method and it wont work, because we have tried it in the past. But with our new centre, we train and provide information and advice to teachers on how to identify the condition. We also screen and assess as well as provide school support services through on-site training.