Why is dyslexia so low profile in Germany?

“You’re based in Berlin? Good luck, no one wants to talk about dyslexia in Germany”

I visited the Dyslexia Show in Birmingham two weeks ago, and this was the reaction I got from the dyslexia businesses, consultants, and researchers who have worked in both the UK and Germany. This is something I also noticed when I first started GoLexic in Berlin. Being familiar with the British and French schooling systems, I was surprised to see that the discussion and handling of dyslexia in Germany was so far behind, in particular in public education.

Comparisons are always painful but for context, I find that Germany lags a good 5–7 years behind other European countries. This is partially reflected in the low estimates Germany has for dyslexia: 4–7% of the general population. This number is closer to 12–20% in most countries where dyslexia screening became more systematic, revealing the true scale of dyslexia in each country.

So why is dyslexia so low profile in Germany? And how do we start to change this? I see 7 shifts that need to happen to provide better care for dyslexic children:

• Mindset: The biggest shift that needs to happen is acknowledging that the schooling system — not the child — is the problem. Children are not failing because they are dyslexic, they are failing because the system is not able to accommodate their learning needs. This is a bit ruthless, but let’s face it: an educational system that doesn’t work for 20% of its children is broken. The assumption today is that dyslexia makes it “impossible” for children to learn, placing the onus on the child for failing to perform at school. Truth is, the system is not really trying.
• Reponsibility: Noone is truly responsible for supporting dyslexic children in Germany. For the healthcare system, it’s an educational issue, so the remit of the Jugendamt. But the Jugendamt will only intervene once children show clear signs that their mental health is suffering from their issues at school. It’s a lonely — and expensive — path to navigate for parents.
• Discourse: There is a great deal of stigma and misconceptions surrounding dyslexia in Germany. It is seen as a burden, even a disability that will only hinder children and create challenges. We need to expand this one-sided view of dyslexia to encompass the strengths of dyslexic people, and integrate newer understandings of dyslexic skills and how they give young graduates an edge in the world of New Work. Linkedin’s “Dyslexic Thinking” skill is a good example of this.
• Acceptance: I will not go as far as to say embrace dyslexia, but honestly — I am thiiiis close. Instead, an outdated view of dyslexia makes parents think twice before seeking a diagnosis. They fear that their child might be seen as different or labelled as “handicapped”. An obstacle I assume to be cultural as I’ve not observed it in other countries where dyslexia is also officially recognised as a disability, giving dyslexics additional resources and protections under law. Helping children understand what dyslexia is often brings them relief as they understanding why they have a difficult time at school, and realise that they are not to blame. It also makes it possible to support them appropriately, early on, when intervention is most effective.
• Socio-ethnic background: There is a tendency to dismiss German learning challenges with children’s social and/or ethnic background when they are issued from migratory backgrounds. This means that dyslexic children routinely do not get flagged as possibly dyslexic, and do not get screened, as it is assumed that their written German is poor because it is not spoken at home. Even more than other dyslexic children, these children are falling through the cracks and not receiving the level of support they need.
• Digitisation: German schools lack teacher but young students need more time and dedicated attention. Digitisation is the most effective way to 1) complement teaching staff, 2) scale personalised learning and intervention and 3) provide smart assistive technology to students (what I can smart assistive technology is technology that helps them complete homework without a dependence by replacing a skill entirely).
• Awareness: the British equivalent of the Bundesverband für Legasthenie has 9x more monthly traffic on their website than the BDVL — yet less than half its budget. The UK has a widely publicised Dyslexia Awareness Month and Dyslexia Week, where the topic is all over national media. Germany has 1 Dyslexia Day. Raise of hands, who can tell me what month it falls?

#dyslexiaawareness # legasthenie #BundesverbandFürLegasthenie #BDVL