48% of People in Jail are Dyslexic and They Cost Half a Trillion Dollars Per Year

Twenty percent of the population is dyslexic yet the are over-represented among school dropouts, teen pregnancies, addiction, the homeless, and suicides. And, a full 48% of people in jail are dyslexic (source: page 35 / page 50 of the PDF).

The cost of incarceration in the U.S. is more than $1 trillion per year in first and second-order costs, which equates to a cost of $480 billion per year for incarcerating dyslexics. Why is the number of people with dyslexia in jail so high? Because we fail them in kindergarten, first and second grade when we don’t identify them as dyslexic or teach them to read in a way they can learn. And then because they don’t want to be made fun of or seen as failures, they either act out, become the class clown, or try to fly under the radar. For those that act out, especially if they are a little Black or Brown kid, they are labelled as troublemakers and start down the school to prison pipeline. (Read more about Dyslexia’s Part in the School-to-Prison Pipeline)

There are ways to help dyslexic people who are in jail and reduce the recidivism rate. One study in England describes a simple and inexpensive program involving literate prisoners helping dyslexic prisoners learn to read which led to remarkable results. There is no reason to think that similar programs couldn’t work in jails and homeless shelters in the US.

Impact Dyslexia is a new non-profit for families focused on empowering the gift of dyslexia and creating bold solutions to the dyslexia crisis.

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