What if we had to change the way we understand dyslexia? This is the question raised by a team from the University of Cambridge in an article recently published in the journalism. Limits of Psychology. Researchers suggest moving from viewing dyslexia as a disease to seeing it as an evolutionary strategy of specialization.

What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia, as we understand it today, is a learning disorder that affects between 3% and 20% of the population, but as this wide range suggests, it is difficult to obtain a precise estimate of the prevalence of this disorder. The characteristic feature of dyslexia is reading difficulties that are not accompanied by other problems in terms of intelligence and visual ability.

Dyslexia is a Specific Learning Difficulty (DEA) of neurobiological origin that manifests itself in the language processing areas of the brain. It is a disease with a strong hereditary component, but is also linked to environmental and conditional risk factors such as preterm birth or exposure to certain substances such as tobacco and alcohol.

A new theory about dyslexia
A group of two British researchers proposed a vision that could change this framework. For these, people affected by dyslexia will simply specialize in “exploratory cognitive search,” meaning a human adaptive strategy, not a neurocognitive problem. In their article, the authors explain that most research on dyslexia perceives dyslexia as a “missing”. However, they suggest this is accompanied by advantages that largely offset the deficits, which would explain its high prevalence.

The authors refer to an “explorer bias.” That is, the brains of people with dyslexia will be more focused on exploration than other people. Second, it will focus more on the exploiter as opposed to the explorer. This will leave a society with two groups with complementary skills and a society with a profile focused on tapping into existing resources, and others willing to seek out new resources, including people with dyslexia.

Why is the difference relevant?
This analysis may tell us a little more about human evolution, but as the authors explain in the press release announcing the article, this theory will change our view of dyslexia as a disease. In the words of Helen Taylor, “The deficit-oriented view of dyslexia doesn’t tell the whole story.”

The problems caused by dyslexia are attributed to dissonance, having to choose between discovering new information and using existing information. In other words, while dyslexia can cause harm, it comes with cognitive advantages, greater ability to explore, creativity or innovation. “This research proposes a new framework to help us better understand the cognitive strengths of people with dyslexia,” Taylor said.

There is another concept underlined by the authors of the text, which is the perception of humanity not as a species adapted to a particular context, but as a species adapted to “variability itself”.

“Cognitive search”.
The authors speak of a trade-off between qualities, of having to give up certain abilities in favor of others. In this case, exploration and exploitation. The idea of ​​cognitive search is linked to this exchange. Closely related to this would emerge the idea of ​​”complementary cognition”, in which case these alternatives are complementary and the existence of individuals with different characteristics supports the development of the group through cooperation.

Here, exploration will involve seeking the “unknown” as opposed to exploitation, a skill related to concepts such as refinement, efficiency, and choice.

A change that has not yet been identified.
The article presents a theory that accompanies various tests found in the literature. It should be borne in mind, however, that this is only a theory, a proposal for a conceptual framework that will involve a radical change in how we perceive a situation that affects more than four and a half million people in Spain alone.

The task of defining the concept of illness is complex, because there are not exactly objective criteria, but much more so when we talk about psychology. Dyslexia will not be the first illness to end this way, the “list of illnesses” is not a closed concept, our understanding of our own body changes as we progress. Reaching better information, improving people’s quality of life, regardless of whether their problems are caused by a disease or some other type of condition, is an important step towards achieving the goal we need to achieve.

Image: Thought Catalogue

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