Rise in dyslexic elementary kids

[Anchor]

Inventor Thomas Edison, film director Steven Spielberg, and actor Tom Cruise.

They are known to have suffered from reading disabilities, commonly referred to as 'dyslexia,' during their childhood.

Dyslexia is a condition where individuals have no issues with vision or hearing, and their intelligence is normal, yet they struggle specifically with reading letters.

In terms of Hangul, it is characterized by difficulties in distinguishing phonemes like ㅇ and ㅁ, or making errors by swapping the order of letters.

Therefore, if one has dyslexia, their learning ability is bound to be significantly impaired.

However, it has been reported that the number of elementary school students suffering from dyslexia is increasing these days.

Reporter Go Ah-reum has the story.

[Report]

Kim is a second grader.

Despite consistent study of Hangul, she received a dyslexia diagnosis as she could not read even short picture books.

['Dyslexic' elementary student's parent/voice altered: "She couldn't read 'Go away, butterfly,' which is something a 4 or 5-year-old would read, and she often guessed based on the pictures, but even with practice, it didn't improve."]

Four years ago, there were about 170 students diagnosed with dyslexia by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, but last year, that number exceeded 900.

Many children are distancing themselves from books due to exposure to screens from a young age, and the spread of COVID-19 seems to have negatively impacted reading abilities.

[Jeong Hyun-joo/Seoul Jungbu District Office of Education, Dyslexia Researcher: "There are many friends who have little experience with reading and do not find it interesting."]

The key is proactive early diagnosis and treatment.

Since they cannot read or write letters, they are sometimes misidentified as having autism or ADHD, but because it is not an intelligence issue, most improve quickly with professional treatment.

['Dyslexic' elementary student's parent/voice altered: "Once she started learning to read one by one and combining them, she was able to read texts at a first-grade level continuously."]

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has also begun conducting dyslexia assessments for all first graders this year, taking proactive early action.

[Kang Eon-jin/Seoul Jungbu District Office of Education, Education Officer: "If we intervene appropriately during the period of learning Hangul and provide suitable programs, it can also prevent issues related to other basic academic skills."]

Experts advise that receiving dyslexia treatment before third grade when the complex sentences start to appear can be very beneficial.

This is KBS News Go Ah-reum.