Introduction and Context
This work has been developed because of the need for a greater understanding of the needs of those with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDS). As an experienced teacher, I have seen many students with a range of needs facing difficulties with accessing curriculum, coping with demands upon them and suffering mental ill health. The purpose of this article is to illuminate the examples of the lived lives of those with both dyslexia and depression and to underline the correlation between them.
Dyslexia and depression—an overview
The key aspects associated with dyslexia are difficulties in a number of principal areas. These include, although not exhaustively—reading, writing, spelling, concentration, processing, perception, organisation and memory. The British Dyslexia Association suggests:
Contrary to popular misconception, Dyslexia is not only about literacy, although weaknesses in literacy are often the most visible sign. Dyslexia affects the way information is processed, stored and retrieved, with problems of memory, speed of processing, time perception, organisation and sequencing.1
The relationship between dyslexia and depression, the specific focus of this work, can be caused by excessive stress levels. Individuals with dyslexia also have to work exceptionally hard in order to achieve a level of success and ‘keep up’ with the class.2 Equally, some, despite their best efforts, cannot ascertain why they are not making the same progress as their peers are, which adversely affects their self-esteem.3 Consequently, high anxiety and decreasing self-esteem due to perpetual feelings of failure and actual academic failings are commonly experienced. Those with dyslexia are faced, on a daily basis, with a number of tasks that they may find challenging and unable to adequately access.
A positive diagnosis of depression is reliant upon confirmation by the individual of the occurrence of a cluster of symptoms. Some of the pertinent features of depression are psychological, affecting the mind, in which a person may become unable to think clearly and rationally and, in cases of severe depression, unable to work. The individual may also suffe-r physical symptoms, for example, erratic sleeping patterns, alterations in behaviour and eating, as well as exhaustion and aching muscles and painful sensations in areas of the body, such as the head and back.