Nigeria is years behind in the realm of childhood development, particularly in catering to the educational needs of children with learning disabilities, including dyslexia. Many children in Nigeria face these challenges, but they are often left unattended and neglected by parents and teachers.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), this learning disability, which involves difficulty in reading, affects 10 to 20 per cent of the world’s population, and the percentage could reach 30 per cent in lower-income communities. Dyslexia Help Africa, a support and awareness group, estimated the dyslexia rate in Nigeria at 20 per cent of the total population. Despite this, there is still a high level of ignorance and lack of awareness among many Nigerians.

Many children with developmental challenges grow into adults without realising they have a learning disability because they were undiagnosed as children. They find themselves in a society that treats them as pariahs, struggling to fit in. They encounter walls wherever they turn, rather than open arms, because a typical Nigerian parent or teacher would rather “beat the learning disability” or “pray it” out of the child than approach such cases with patience and care.

But can we blame the parents and teachers? The concept of mental health, childhood development, and learning disabilities is new to many Nigerians, particularly semi-literate and rural populations. In some cultures, when a child is born “different”, it is perceived as God punishing the parents for a sin committed in the past. As a result, some parents conceal their children’s condition instead of seeking help. When they eventually do seek help, they often go to the wrong places, owing to a lack of awareness and knowledge of these issues.

Within the educational system, there is a shortage of skilled professionals trained to meet the needs of children with learning disabilities, as well as a shortage of specialised schools. The available ones are often too far to commute to or too expensive for the average Nigerian family to afford.

The culture of ostracising children with learning disabilities is passed down from generation to generation in Nigeria. Even among their peers, such children struggle to be accepted and are left to figure out life, learning and development on their own.

Many adults who grew up with dyslexia and other learning disabilities describe their education in their childhood as traumatic. Can Nigeria turn the tide and create an educational environment where children with learning disabilities do not grow up bottling years of trauma, but instead grow up cared for and accepted?

This is possible, but it requires intentional action, beginning with addressing the cultural perception of learning disabilities and demystifying them. Sensitisation and awareness on dyslexia and other learning disabilities must start from the grassroots and lower-income communities. As UNESCO noted, the percentage of people with learning disabilities could reach 30 per cent in lower-income areas.

The educational system also needs reform. For years, stakeholders have decried the underfunding of the education sector. This underfunding is a double-headed hydra, negatively impacting childhood development. Nigeria needs more trained professionals equipped to improve the cognitive abilities of children with developmental challenges, as well as more affordable and accessible specialised schools. The era of lumping children with learning disabilities into regular classrooms, without addressing their individual needs, needs to end.

Early diagnosis of developmental challenges should also be normalised. Diagnosis can help identify specific disabilities and provide solutions on time. But the solution goes beyond normalisation: average Nigerians with dyslexic children should be able to afford the cost of diagnosis or access to free or subsidised health care.

Children with developmental challenges deserve to be nurtured and treated like every other child. Just as it takes a community to raise a child, it takes the whole nation to address childhood development challenges in Nigeria. The future of millions of Nigerians depends on this. Their futures cannot wait. The time is now.

Temidayo Jaiyesimi is a dyslexia specialist.