Dyslexia, education and creativity, a cross-cultural study

Abstract

Are dyslexic children and teenagers particularly creative? Although controversial, several theories hypothesized putative neuro-physiological mechanisms: disequilibrium of magno- and parvo-cellular systems, the latter compensating weakness of the former, and inter-hemispheric connectivity difference. In this study, we further hypothesized a role of the educational approach. Creativity in dyslexic and non-dyslexic children and teenagers from different schools in France and in Belgium, as well as in students from different universities, were evaluated with the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). The results show that dyslexic children and teenagers can be highly creative in the TTCT. Yet, expression of creativity can be modulated by educational approach, revealing a probable advantage for personal follow-up compared to normalizing.