- Prime Minister Modi’s remarks on dyslexia at a recent event in IIT Roorkie has created a controversy.
- Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability. It causes problems with reading, writing and spelling. It can also create difficulty with other skills such as comprehension, math, language, etc. However, intelligence is not affected by dyslexia.
- Specific Learning Disabilities have been included in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The Act seeks to enhance the rights and entitlements of people with disability. It also seeks to provide effective mechanism for ensuring their empowerment and true inclusion into the society.
- A bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha in 2017, entitled “The Children with Specific Learning Disabilities (Identification and Support in Education).” The bill provided for a) special facilities in educational institutions, b) setting up detection and remediation centres, c) guidelines for certification of children with specific learning disabilities.
- In 2018, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities) issued a notification regarding screening, diagnosis, and certification procedure for Specific learning disabilities. At present, students with dyslexia get disability certificates from All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru.
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