The Problem of Dyslexia among East African Children: Calvin’s Creatio Imago Dei Imago Christ for Invitational-Inclusive Education, Faith and Life

Abstract

The spirituality of children can be explained by their being and existential limits. Childhood
itself is an open divine mystery. At the center of their spirituality, is their Creatio Imago Dei
Imago Christ. This study focuses on dyslexia among children in East Africa. It offers doctrinal
position for authentic care. Dyslexia is a pediatric problem, perhaps unrecognized in East
Africa, a silent tragedy of gigantic proportion. Dyslexia in children is a learning disorder
and/or disability involving difficulty reading and writing due to problems identifying speech
sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding). Dyslexia specifically
affects areas of the child’s brain that process language. Dyslexia awareness is limited, which
is the other added problem. If as Church, we want to be true to ourselves, we better admit not
only insufficient parenting-child-educational psychology, but also insufficient educational
ethics in East Africa. The Church is chief facilitator to proper knowledge-informationeducation to parents, doctors, and nurses on handling dyslexia. The dyslexic child is an
Imago Dei. If the doctrine of creation is taught properly, we will gain consciousness and
increase care for all children. The objectives of the study include to: i) mention the seven
types of dyslexia in children: phonological, surface, rapid-automatic-naming, double-deficit,
dyscalculia, dysgraphia and, left-right confusion. ii) Avoid generalization: the child is not a
general child, cared for from a generalization; a tendency common in East Africa; but
instead, the child is a unique being who comes not only with own gifts, talents, possibilities;
but also, with difficulties, problems and challenges as well. It is important to address
individual child challenges. iii) Renaming: Dyslexia is not a mental illness as many have
wrongly held. It is a neurological disorder or problem instead, but people with dyslexia are
rather typical when it comes to emotions, learning and social interaction. Stigma attached
indeed may lead to a mental illness in the adult life in the future of the child. The method used
is Calvin’s qualitative Creatio Imago Dei Imago Christ.
Keywords: Child- theology, Creatio Imago Dei-Imago Christ, Dyslexia, Ethics, Disability,
Medicine, Psychology.