Dyslexia: Literacy among school teachers in Perambalur, Tamil Nadu, India

Context: Dyslexia is a learning disorder that makes the student inferior and introverted if proper identification and guidance are not given promptly. Apart from the parents and health professionals, school teachers play a main role in the process of early identification and managing the problem. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to assess the knowledge of dyslexia among school teachers and to associate the knowledge with other variables like experience and prior training. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study done among school teachers from 10 schools for 2 months. In total, 279 teachers were enlisted through convenient sampling and data were collected using a predesigned questionnaire. The questionnaire had questions about basic socio-demographic details and the training and school experience. Results: The study was done among 279 subjects with a mean age (SD) of 31.78 (6.49) years. The study population composed a majority of females, 210(75.3%). The mean (SD) years of experience among subjects was 6.13(4.83) years and the range was from 4 to 32 years. Of the 279 subjects, 146 (52.3%) had mild knowledge, 122 (43.7%) had moderate and 10 (3.6%) had poor knowledge. Conclusion: The study showed poor knowledge of dyslexia among school teachers. Dyslexia has to be identified early, and appropriate training should be provided to the teachers at regular intervals.