Dyslexiadoes not only affect the academic component of learning – literacy – but also emotionalwell-being.
Far too often, the experiences of students with dyslexia at school have clear negative effects on the self-concept and self-esteem of children.
Dyslexia or, rather, how dyslexic students are supported or not supported at school and in general, affects learning, performance,self-esteem and quality of life. In some cases, the feeling of lowself-esteem can be severe.
Danish fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen had said, “The life I led during these days still comes back to me in bad dreams. Once again I sit in a fever on a school bench. I cannot answer; I dare not, the angry eyes stare at me, laughter and gibes echo around me. Those were hard and bitter times.”
Riley and Rustique-Forrester (2002) note that students with dyslexia find school a profoundly sad and depressing experience, emphasised by the experience of shouting and retribution: “A recurring image is of school as a prison from which children continually try to escape… small voices crying for help, caught in a cycle of circumstances they felt largely unable to influence.”
Frustration and failure are experiences in learning activities which lead to feelings of disappointment and a lowered sense of self-worth, especially in academic environments. Humphrey and Mullin (2002) note that dyslexic students experience significant challenges and difficulties with regard toself-esteem and self-perception.
Webb (1992) concludes that for children with dyslexia to feel successful, they need to become aware of their unique learning strengths, so that they may apply them effectively while working to strengthen the lagging areas. Furthermore, a more respectful inclusive curriculum and pedagogy and the use of drama would also be helpful (Eaden, 2004).
These research findings were very eloquently brought to life through the partly autobiographical performance on the launch of the first book by Matthew Scurfield, a British actor and writer residing in Malta, in January 2009.
As soon I saw the performance, I realised this experience could not end there. Fifteen months later, last March, the Faculty of Education (Department of Educational Studies and Department of Psychology), in collaboration with the Malta Dyslexia Association (MDA) and the Malta Personal, Social and Development Associations (MPSDA) organised a seminar on ‘Drama, Dyslexia and Self-Esteem’.
This event had three aims. The first was to raise awareness that the experience of dyslexic students at school, given the closed, too-academically-oriented curriculum in our community and the messages given to these students due to a lack of understanding of their abilities and needs, may be negative.
Secondly, it aimed to highlight the importance of self-esteem and its role in students’ and future adults’ quality of life and effective living in the community.
Finally, it tried to show how drama can be a positive experience for students with dyslexia, and could help them develop a positiveself-esteem.
This project intended to help professionals, policy-makers, MPs, teachers, educators, teacher-trainers, students, parents and the media to understand that our educational system may be unjust to children with a profile of dyslexia, not to mention children whose intelligences are not verbal or logico-mathematical.
This activity was not a mere seminar. It was a series of interactive performances with actors Mr Scurfield and Clare Agius. Mr Scurfield has a profile of dyslexia and has published an autobiography on the theme.
The autobiographical nature of the performance aimed at provoking the 1,000-strong audienceto cognitively and empathically understand this profile – a challenge and a gift.
Performances were followed by a discussion with the audience and a professional panel.
Comments received were evident of how moving the performance was for the audience. One mother commented, “Attending this event, I could feel the anger and frustration of people dealing with dyslexia. The most important thing I learnt from this event is that people should channel their frustration and anger into creating positive energy.”
Kate Gonzi, who was present at the event, said: “The presentation by Mr Scurfield was... powerful, poignant and touching. It highlights the suffering of children when their specific learning difficulties are not acknowledged or recognised byparents and educators.
“The autobiographical performance accentuated the lack of self-esteem which can easily lead to anti-social behaviour, bullying, illiteracy, depression, unemployment, drinking and drug habits. I had been aware of the condition of dyslexia, but I had never fully grasped its negative effects.
“Through the performance I realised the urgency to love and respect children with dyslexia, to value their skills, to provide them with necessary support and to empower them with the appropriate tools to overcome learningdifficulties.”
One student commented, “I was impressed; I had the wrong impression about dyslexic people. I think it was a very good lesson that they tried to teach us.”
Plans to develop the concept of the performance went on after the March event. The hard work of Mr Scurfield, his wife and director Lena, and Ms Agius led to a performance on the opening night of the London Dys-Pla festival. This festival was organised during Dyslexia Week (first week of November) and was dedicated to dyslexic scriptwriters.
The London performance was very well received and led to a lively discussion. The performance was then repeated in a centre for adults with dyslexia and in a college.
This is now also the start of another project. In collaboration with the Department of Psychology and the MDA, we hope to extend the project to dyslexic students.
Drama is a powerful tool forself-development and we would like to give dyslexic students the opportunity to increase theirself-esteem through drama workshops focusing on personal experiences. Given the nature of the workshops, we also intend to support students by giving them the opportunity to process the experience with qualified counsellor Maud Muscat.
Through the Mediterranean Centre for Qualitative Inquiry, coordinated by Dione Mifsud, and in collaboration with Prof. Jane Speedy (University of Bristol), Dr Mifsud and I intend to research these experiences through performance ethnography and narrative inquiry, to try to understand the effect of the drama workshops’ experience on children and young people with dyslexia.
We hope the research findings will also be beneficial to teachers and professionals working with children and young people.
Drama, after all, provides experiences in which the cognitive, the affective, the creative, the imagination and the physical are all involved and developed through self-expression, performance, observation, analysis, processing and reflection.
What started as a short performance to launch Mr Scurfield’s first book, I could be Anyone, in January 2009 at St James Cavalier, Valletta, ended up as a performance on the London stage last month and continues to grow.
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