An inclusive education system allows those that need necessary help and support to access it alongside those who do not. In order to identify the individuals that may need this extra support, a classification procedure is undergone to determine the child’s needs. This paper examines this procedure in the case of dyslexia, and examines its impact on the dyslexic child and the inclusive education setting.

The Rose Report (2009), commissioned by the UK government, defines dyslexia as:

“a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling.

• Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed.
• Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities.
• It is best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and there are no clear cut-off points.
• Co-occurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor co-ordination, mental calculation, concentration and personal organisation, but these are not, by themselves, markers of dyslexia.

A good indication of the severity and persistence of dyslexic difficulties can be gained by examining how the individual responds or has responded to well-founded intervention.”

Baring this definition in mind, it would appear that dyslexia is unrelated to a particular social category and, therefore, should be evenly dispersed across the population. However, the media in the UK has often stated that dyslexia is a ‘middle-class disorder’. If it is the case that certain social demographics are more likely to be diagnosed with dyslexia, and therefore, are more likely to access additional support, it would mean that those who do not fit into these demographics, may not find it as easy to access the help that they need. This raises questions for the ‘inclusivity’ of dyslexia in the UK education system.   

Furthermore, while identifying someone with dyslexia may unlock support, research has also shown negative consequences of being labelled.  Older psychological theories such as the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ and ‘labelling theory’ have paved the way for newer research which investigates the effect of labelling and diagnosing with special educational needs. Mixed findings suggest that is unclear whether receiving a diagnosis is beneficial to the individual.  

Therefore, the aims of this paper were twofold. Firstly, the paper aimed to explore how dyslexia is dispersed across the population, and secondly, how it impacts those that have been identified as dyslexic.

This paper presents the results of analysis using the Millennium Cohort Study to understand the impact of the dyslexia label, and the inequalities across the UK in accessing this label. The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) is a large scale longitudinal study which aims to study a sample cohort of children born in the Millennium in the UK. Large numbers of cohort members allow for in-depth analysis, and the longitudinal aspect allows changes over time to be explored. The analysis was conducted in two stages. Firstly, regression analysis was conducted in order to investigate what factors influence whether a person has been labelled with dyslexia at ages 8, 11 and 14. Secondly, propensity score matching was used to form two groups of cohort members; one group with the label of dyslexia and one without. The characteristics found in stage one, including cognitive ability, were used to match the cohort members. This allows a counterfactual approach to analysis as it can be determined how the absence or presence of the dyslexic label impacts outcomes.

Analysis showed that demographic factors other than academic and cognitive ability, were significant predictors of whether a cohort member was labelled with dyslexia. These included the cohort members’ social class; parents educational level; child order; and their season of birth. The initial investigation highlights how, while dyslexia is expected to be evenly distributed across the population, it appears that certain demographic populations more likely to have a diagnosis of dyslexia. This, therefore, suggests inequalities in access to this label. Furthermore, analysis of the matched groups found that those with the dyslexic label were more likely to have low academic self-concept and less ambition for their future than their matched peers without this label. Therefore, this paper concludes that are inequalities in access to the dyslexic label in the UK, which may jeopardise the inclusive aims of the education system with regards to dyslexia. Furthermore, negative effects due to the presence of the label were found, bringing into question the benefits of this diagnosis.

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