Objectives

Dyslexia is a major public health issue in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and it is one of the most common undiagnosed learning disabilities that affect children, especially in Nigeria. Available statistics show that dyslexia affects approximately 20% of every population which means one in five children, regardless of gender, will likely experience significant symptoms of dyslexia, including slow or inaccurate reading, poor spelling, and poor writing. In Nigeria, unlike many other developed societies, there is no known research work that identifies the burden of dyslexia among children despite the huge amount of money being spent on education by the government. This present study identifies a significant deficit in the provision of inclusive education for children with varying degrees of learning disabilities and such deficit includes providing the policy policymakers with necessary data for informed policy review and the building of capacities among teachers and parents for the early diagnosis of dyslexia among school children and the putting in place of actions to remediate the learning difficulties arising from the condition. This study is, therefore, designed to enlighten the teachers, parents and other relevant stakeholders on how to identify and assist dyslexic children in the six States of Southwest Nigeria. Using a purposive sampling technique, 17,280 pupils will be selected from the 3 arms of both the upper primary and the junior high schools for dyslexia screening with the use of Dyslexia Early Screening Test (henceforth DEST) and Cognitive Profiling System (henceforth CoPS).

The following objectives are set to guide this study: 

  • 1. to determine the prevalence of dyslexia among children in selected schools, 
  • 2. to raise the level of awareness among the policy makers in the educational sector, school teachers and parents about dyslexia in some selected schools.
  • 3. to highlight evidence-based approaches through which government, teachers and parents can help school children suffering from dyslexia.
  • 4. to build capacity of the teachers in identifying and dealing with dyslexia among pupils in their respective schools.
  • 5. to suggest a review of the existing curriculum in order to promote all-inclusive education across the country.