Study of Dyslexia Incidence in Urmia Elementary Schools

Dyslexia is a treatable disorder that attaches great importance if confused with studying unsuccess due to stupidity. To determine the prevalence of dyslexia and also all possible errors as well as establishing the relation between the disorder and sex of affected person and the level of their parents education, a prospective study has been carried out among the third grade students of Urmia elementary schools, in winter 1996. 2067 males and females school children were selected and surveyed. All of them have been selected by cluster random sampling and comparison has been achieved between affected ones and their classmates. Dyslexia prevalence was 3.2%, where female to male ratio was 6 to 13. A comparison between the affected and normal ones has revealed no difference according to the type of the error, but the higher rate of errors was seen in the affected group. A significant correlation was seen between dyslexia and the illiteracy of parents, especially mothers(p<0.01). Regarding its importance, investigating dyslexia is highly recommended in all elementary schools.