Dyslexia assessment in Arabic

Abstract

Despite advancements in empirical studies of developmental dyslexia, progress on methods of dyslexia assessment have been hampered by ongoing debate concerning diverse issues such as the role and validity of IQ in the assessment process, labelling and definitions (Miles, 1994; Stanovich, 1991, 1992). With the emergence of cross-linguistic studies of dyslexia came the realisation that the manifestation of dyslexia is different in different languages (Goulandris, 2003; Smythe, Everatt & Salter, 2004). It follows that the assessment of dyslexia should consider specific linguistic features of the language spoken by the individual to be assessed. This paper argues for the need of culture-fair assessment and calls for considerations to be given when assessing monolingual Arabic-speaking individuals with dyslexia which would take into account the specific linguistic feature of the Arabic language.