Correspondence (letter to the editor): Specific Developmental Disorders of Scholastic Skills

Specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills, which include dyscalculia but also dyslexia, are often diagnosed far too late. This can lead to secondary psychiatric symptoms, which can be categorized as secondary neuroses. Ignorance on the part of parents and teachers in some cases will lead to severe humiliation and denigration of such children, including rejection and bullying by fellow students, which over time will result in serious self-doubt and lack of self-worth.

At the hospital where I work we regularly treat children and adolescents who fail at school and psychosocially, although their intellectual capacity is good, because no-one recognized that they had specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills, rather than being lazy, stupid, or obnoxious.

In my opinion, the topic of specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills needs to be broached especially with teachers, so as to enable early intervention and prevent a history of suffering and secondary neurosis.