RECORDED levels of dyslexia are low in Ireland compared to other countries but this may be due to poor screening methods, according to an exhibit at the Aer Lingus Young Scientists Exhibition.
The exhibition is open to the public from 11 a.m. this morning and will remain open over the weekend. The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, will announce the competition winners this afternoon.
Simon and Robin McCormack from St Gerard's School, Bray, identical twins who are themselves dyslexic - surveyed 50 schools with over 24,000 pupils for their study.
The schools reported only 0.84 per cent of their pupils dyslexic. This compares with an average incidence in other countries of between 4 and 8 per cent. However, methods used by schools to test for dyslexia do not usually assess the abstract reasoning abilities of pupils and some dyslexic pupils are not detected. In most cases, the support services recommended by psychologists for pupils with learning difficulties were absent, according to the survey.
It also revealed an anomaly in the granting of exemptions from the learning of Irish. Under rules introduced by the Department of Education last year, pupils with specific learning disabilities may be exempted from studying the language under certain conditions.
Yet of the 148 exemptions granted in the 50 schools last year, over half - 85 exemptions - were granted in just two schools, Mayfield Community School, in Cork, and Cavan Vocational School.
Mayfield school, with 740 pupils, diagnosed eight pupils as having a specific learning difficulty during the current academic year. However, 40 pupils at the school were granted exemptions from Irish studies.
Similarly, Cavan Vocational School said it had 15 pupils with learning difficulties yet 45 pupils were granted exemptions from Irish.
The survey highlights a disappointing" lack of awareness of dyslexia in many schools, according to Simon McCormack. No schools allowed pupils suffering from dyslexia to use their own personal computers during exams even though computers help dyslexic people to overcome their difficulties.