Abstracts Category : Other

Unraveling Dyslexia: The Medicalization of Learning Differences as a Form of Structural Violence in the American Education System

by Chad Baber

Learning disabilities are widespread. Included under this category, dyslexia affects up to 15-20% of the United States population (Cowen 2016). While the general public may have and contribute to a broad understanding of dyslexia, this understanding is very different from actual lived experiences. The medical field, in particular, has a strong influence on perceptions of dyslexia. The biomedical model utilized in the United States serves to pathologize dyslexia, focusing the explanation of dyslexia on the neurological abnormalities identified in dyslexic individuals. This creates disability categories and medical labels that are then used by the education system to both directly and indirectly exert control over these groups. In this thesis, I use a medical anthropological approach to situate dyslexia within the context of United States biomedical practices and discuss how the medicalization of dyslexia and other learning differences contribute to the structural violence that occurs within the American education system. Biomedicine has brought validation to the treatment of students with learning differences in the academic environment and for this reason, medical anthropology is highly applicable in this examinationit highlights the intersections where the body meets the social, cultural, and environmental factors that play a part in the illness experience. I conclude that, by the overreliance on the biomedical model to dictate treatment of those with dyslexia in the academic setting, the responsibility is placed on students and their parents/guardians to adapt to educational policies and practices. Rather, it would be more beneficial to make changes to the structure of the academic setting to be more flexible and accommodate a more diverse student population.|Keywords: dyslexia, medicalization, structural violence, academic systemAdvisors/Committee Members: Runestad, Pamela (advisor).