– It has been more stressful to go to school when people can read normally, and then I have to do extra work, says Lars Christian Valand. He is a student in the 2nd grade at Mandal upper secondary school. For Valand, it has always been difficult to read and write. It’s as if the words go around, as is often the case for people with dyslexia. – I took the test at secondary school and was diagnosed with mild dyslexia. When I entered secondary school I was diagnosed with severe dyslexia. It changed everything. Now school life is much easier, partly because he can take out an audio book to acquire knowledge. Valand’s case is not unique. Half of the pupils who are diagnosed with dyslexia were diagnosed at secondary school or later, according to figures from Dyslexia Norway. 1 in 5 only had it proven at upper secondary school – after 10 years of primary school. – It is a figure that should have been far less. Pupils should have had it proven earlier and received help from the start, says Valand. For Lars Christian Valand, school life became easier when he was diagnosed with severe dyslexia, and thus better follow-up. Photo: Vetle Hjortland / news – The system has failed the students Dyslexia Norway works to ensure that working life helps people with dyslexia as best as possible. Managing director Caroline Solen says the challenges associated with dyslexia can leave lasting marks if it is not detected early. – It is serious because the system has failed the students, and it is serious for the person concerned who has been attending for many years and who feels ashamed and has not been given an answer as to why they are struggling, says Solem. They are primarily a membership organisation, but find that many turn to them for information that they do not get from schools or public agencies. – We receive many inquiries from parents who say they are struggling to get an investigation, and who have to fight for many years for their children to be investigated, says Solem. – Many have felt stupid Geir Lauvdal is head of department at Mandal upper secondary school and responsible for the follow-up of students with dyslexia. – Here at the school, around 80 students have dyslexia, and of those, 50 students were diagnosed with dyslexia when they started upper secondary school. The school has worked to become what is called a dyslexia-friendly school. This means that students must be investigated and caught early. – Several people have come here in upper secondary school and said that they felt stupid in primary school. It’s a sad story, says Lauvdal as he shows us around the school, which houses around 850 students. – I think you wait too long and look at it before doing an investigation. There is a “wait and see” attitude in primary school, says Lauvdal. Geir Lauvdal thinks it is too long that 1 in 5 students are diagnosed with dyslexia only at upper secondary school. Photo: Vetle Hjortland / news No one knows how many people have dyslexia. news has tried to find figures for how many people are diagnosed with dyslexia in Norway. Neither the Directorate of Education nor Statped, which is responsible for the special follow-up of pupils, can say that. Statped writes that approximately 20 per cent of pupils in primary school have difficulties with reading and writing during the school day. In 3–5 per cent of pupils, this is due to dyslexia, according to Statped. The Directorate of Education shows in an e-mail to the member organization Dyslexi Norway for updated figures and information. They do not want to be interviewed, but confirm that they do not have statistics on how many people have dyslexia. At the same time, they point out that it is the municipalities and county councils that are responsible for the training offer. Caroline Solem in Dyslexia Norway reacts to that. – We greatly appreciate the collaboration we have with the Norwegian Directorate of Education, but it is not us as a member organization that is supposed to deliver a welfare offer or have an overview of how well these students get help, says Solem. Geir Lauvdal at Mandal upper secondary school says it is worrying that national authorities do not know how many people have reading and writing difficulties. – I think there are large dark figures, and more research needs to be done on this. We must have more reliable figures, not only for dyslexia, but also for other language and maths difficulties.
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1 in 5 are diagnosed with dyslexia at upper secondary school – the system is failing the students says Dyslexia Norway – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
