ABSTRACT
I ntroduction There can be little doubt that dyslexia is an international concern (see Table 2. 1), although the extent to which it becomes important at the personal , school or legislative level will depend upon a number of factors including the perceived importance of education in the community and the resources available for special educational provisions. Additionally, the awareness and understanding of dyslexia in the local context can play an important part in the recognition of and support for the dyslexic individual. Although the following should not be taken as suggesting that one country has 'got it right' in comparison to another, there are obvious differences in perspectives. To take two examples from those discussed in the following pages. In the UK, it is estimated that there are two million severely dyslexic individuals, including 300,000 school children (Peer 2000). In contrast, there are no such estimates in China. Whether this reflects perceived importance or differences in incidence is as yet unknown; however, it indicates differences in awareness which will naturally lead to variations in provision. Similarly, despite dyslexia being recognised throughout the world (Salter and Smythe 1997), tests to identify the difficulties experienced by individuals with dyslexia exist in relatively fe\v languages. Given the perceived importance of dyslexia assessment and support (Salter and Smythe 1997), there is a need for systematic research that identifies similarities and differences between these contexts which will aid in the development of appropriate diagnostic and remediation tools. This chapter reports the preliminary stages of such a research project and in the process highlights a number of issues which must be addressed by cross-language dyslexia research.
