Dr. Linda Siegel, recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award, has dedicated decades to researching and advocating for children with learning challenges. Linda Siegel is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. The tragic loss of a teen she worked with early in her career, who struggled with learning disabilities, inspired her life's mission. Dr. Siegel has emerged as a prominent figure in addressing dyslexia and other learning disabilities, with a vast body of research and over 200 publications to her name. What truly sets her apart is her unwavering advocacy and readiness to question educational bureaucracies and governments, all in the pursuit of a brighter future for children.
While collaborating with a pediatrician and conducting visits to schools to interact with parents, students, and educators in the 1980s, Dr. Linda Siegel gained a profound insight: "It became clear to me that students with learning problems were not getting treated well by the school system, and there was a lot of misunderstanding about dyslexia and other learning disabilities. This heightened my awareness that we have to do something."
Her primary concern lies in the failure to detect learning disabilities within schools. “It is important that we detect their learning disabilities, and it is just not happening in the school system.”
Why isn't this happening? Dr. Siegel points to the existing scientific evidence that clearly shows we could prevent numerous issues by identifying struggling children early and providing them with appropriate interventions.
She attributes one reason for the lack of early detection to a deficiency in knowledge and understanding. “There are some people who make a lot of money from books and programs and consulting that really don’t understand learning disabilities and they are not willing to give up their profits.”
Dr. Siegel emphasizes that the process of diagnosing learning disabilities is excessively complicated, expensive, and time-consuming, which poses another obstacle to early detection. In numerous instances, a thorough and costly psychoeducational assessment, often including an IQ test, is necessary. These assessments are both financially and temporally burdensome, resulting in delays of up to two years. Consequently, wealthier families have the advantage of accessing private psychologists for quicker interventions.
"It doesn't have to be this way," Dr. Siegel emphasizes. "Assessments do not have to be so expensive and complicated. It can be done by teachers and other school personnel and children who really need the help can get it without having to wait two or three years."
For the past forty years, Dr. Siegel has been a vocal advocate for removing IQ scores from the diagnosis of dyslexia, arguing that they lack utility. According to her, IQ scores fail to forecast intervention results and demonstrate no association with fundamental reading abilities. Additionally, she contends that IQ tests are culturally prejudiced, especially against children from various cultural backgrounds.
"Without IQ tests, children in some jurisdictions cannot be identified for learning problems, then they don’t get the remediation that they need. The IQ tests have no purpose and should be eliminated."
She praises provinces like Ontario, Alberta, and New Brunswick for their commitment to implementing early screening and is keen to see the outcomes. Dr. Siegel hopes that other provinces and territories, including British Columbia, will also take similar steps.
However, she warns that challenges, especially in teacher training programs, are stopping important changes from happening.
“Teaching in education faculties has not changed as we’ve learned more. They don’t learn about dyslexia or how to teach reading, they don’t learn what to do when a child is struggling. Until we have those changes in those faculties of education, we are not really going to make progress.”
To learn more, listen to Dr. Linda Siegel’s interview on the Dyslexia Canada podcast. It is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you typically access your podcasts.
In this series, we profile the recipients of the 2024 Dyslexia Canada Educational Excellence Awards. This prestigious award recognizes individuals across the nation who have made exceptional contributions to ensure that all Canadian children have access to essential literacy support.