Class and classification: the London Word Blind Centre for Dyslexic children, 1962-1972

Area of Science:

• History of Medicine
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• The Word Blind Centre for Dyslexic Children, established in London in 1963, was Britain's first clinic for children with dyslexia.
• Its establishment aimed to validate dyslexia as a distinct neurological condition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide the first comprehensive account of the pioneering Word Blind Centre.
• To analyze the rationale behind Sandhaya Naidoo's influential study, 'Specific Dyslexia'.
• To explore the social and professional contexts influencing dyslexia research in the 1960s.

Main Methods:

• Archival research utilizing materials from Sandhaya Naidoo and other sources.
• Historical analysis of the establishment, operation, and outcomes of the Word Blind Centre.
• Critical examination of Naidoo's study, focusing on its methodology and participant selection.

Main Results:

• The Word Blind Centre successfully provided evidence for dyslexia as a specific 'constitutional disorder'.
• Naidoo's study, focusing on 196 middle-class boys, highlighted prevailing attitudes towards reading, social class, and gender.
• The study's selective focus reveals professional competition and differing views on dyslexia.

Conclusions:

• The Word Blind Centre's work was instrumental in establishing dyslexia as a recognized condition.
• The focus on middle-class boys in early dyslexia research offers critical insights into historical social biases.
• This historical case study illuminates the complex interplay of professional, social, and gender dynamics in the study of learning disabilities.