An analysis of perception through the narrative of the self in students of primary school with dyslexia

This research focuses on the mechanisms of Self-construction through the narrative creation of Self. The purpose is to evaluate the perception of reality and the elaboration of self in people with dyslexia. In fact, the functional difficulties of reading and writing due to Specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills may generate two main “steps” of re-elaboration of personal Identity: pre- and post-diagnosis. The diagnosis creates a “turning point” in the elaboration of their own identity and a redefinition of difficulties. However, these processes do not always lead to a proper individual or social adaptation. Within the investigation we have been used several tests for the evaluation of personality traits and emotional and affective aspects (in press). It was also used as a main instrument the narrative of the self and from an “open-interview” we developed a multiple choice questionnaire for the analysis of different aspects of personal identity (Fulgeri, 2012) During the analysys it appears that the perception seems to be regulated by three main aspects: 1) Understanding: regarding the meaning attributed to the object; 2) Acceptance: concerning the adaptation with the object to one’s personality, or its cohabitation; 3) Psychological Compensation: inherent in the structure that the object has is in the subject’s life. This aspect is also inherent in the processing of the personal future and the sense of self-efficacy. This analysis can be used for any object of our perception, both external and internal. Therefore, the primary aim of this research was aimed at investigating the perception that each person with dyslexia has about its own difficulties in reading and writing. In addition to functional deficits there are several other factors - both internal and external – which help to create a perception of reading and writing difficulties which do not always coincide with their objective difficulties detected by neuropsychological assessment. This perception is also important for the definition of compensatory measures in school, the sense of self-efficacy and self-definition in social, family and school context. Another aspect was to investigate which elements of uneasiness could be an obstacle to a correct processing of personal identity and appropriate social inclusion in subjects with dyslexia.