Do Children with Dyslexia Have Difficulty in Reading the Quranic Verses Too?

Abstract

Dyslexia, a type of learning disability, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects reading, writing and spelling in children. It is one of the commonest learning disorders among school-going children. The causes of dyslexia are multifactorial and are hereditary. The objective of this study was to determine if children with dyslexia have difficulty in reading the Quranic verses too. This was a cross-sectional study conducted at a government primary school in Kuala Lumpur. All standard one pupils, a total of 200 pupils, were screened for reading, writing and numerical difficulties by the school teachers in March, 2014 using LINUS screening tool, a standardized literacy screening tool adopted by all Malaysian schools. Students who failed the first LINUS screening were given intervention by the school teachers. Six months later, the research team reassessed the pupils who failed the Linus screening. Approximately 18% (37 pupils) of the standard one pupils had dyslexia. Of these, 33 of them were Muslims and were assessed if they had difficulty reading the Quranic verses by using Iqra’, which is the basic reading material for Quranic verses. About 79% of them had difficulty reading the Quran. The majority of the children with dyslexia also had difficulty reading the Quranic verses. Thus remedial intervention for Muslim dyslexic children should also include learning to read the Quran.