The study of dyslexia is an immensely hard, and apparently expensive task -- in the US alone, scientists reportedly spend billions US dollars in research.
Do you think it is being spent wisely?
Does that seem a little troubling? It does to some; according to another dyslexia blog, "Billions [are] spent on research into dyslexia, therapy, brain imaging, drugs, tuition, salaries for all the people working in all kinds of organizations involved in things related to dyslexia and many other things purportedly said to do with dyslexia."
Some of that, like research, make sense. But as the article points out, some of that is also salaries and things "purportedly said" to do with dyslexia.
And research on drugs? Does that even make sense?
The fear is that some organizations may be working hard to make dyslexia sound like a disease to be cured and treated with great expense, rather than a different way people's brains work. After all, most agree now that there is no "cure" for dyslexia, nor does there need to be -- the money should be spent on research and technology to help dyslexic people build the skills they need.
It would be easy to view this as potentially harmful for the cause. To some, this research is also a business.
What may be important to remember is the aim of all this. As long as the aim of the organizations handling the research about dyslexia is to help people overcome their learning disability, then perhaps it is quite alright if they spend billions of dollars. As a dyslexia research supporter, it's up to you to do your own research on the organizations you plan to donate to or participate with, and see if they're using that money in a way you agree with.
Research is important. We need to do all we can to help those who struggle with a learning difficulty such as dyslexia.
However, knowledge doesn't always come from academia. There is also decades of experience from experts in the field, working daily with dyslexic children and seeing first hand what works. Ignoring this mass of knowledge helps no one (except big pharma).
Combining this field knowledge and the research coming from academia is the best of both worlds. That, of course, is exactly how the Learning Success System was created. You can find out how it works here.