Rashtrapati Bhavan glows red on International Dyslexia Awareness Month

Every year the month of October is celebrated as ‘International Dyslexia Awareness Month’. Rashtrapati Bhavan, North and South Block as well as several other historical monuments and official buildings across the country were illuminated red on the evening of 29 October to raise awareness about dyslexia.

Theme of International Dyslexia Awareness Month:

• This year's theme is 'Go Red'.
• Events were planned around the theme and the campaigns to support it.
• Under this, Rashtrapati Bhavan was lit in red color in support of the 'Go Red' campaign for dyslexia.

Objective of organizing International Dyslexia Awareness Month:

• The event aims to eliminate discrimination, raise public awareness, and erase the stigma associated with dyslexia and other learning disorders.

Walk4Dyslexia event:

• As part of a nationwide campaign to raise awareness, 'Walk4Dyslexia' was co-organized by ChangeInkk Foundation, UNESCO MGIEP, Orchids Foundation and Soch Foundation at Kartavya Path, New Delhi on 28 October.

Dyslexia:

• Dyslexia is a type of mental illness which is more common in children. In this disease, the patient faces difficulty in reading, writing and speaking words as well as in remembering and retaining them.
• This disease can happen to a person of any age. Children especially suffer more from dyslexia.
• This disease is directly related to the brain. However, on many occasions it is also a congenital disease. There are three stages of dyslexia. 
  • In the primary stage the patient is unable to read and write. 
  • In the second stage, the child's brain does not develop properly in the womb. 
  • Whereas, in the third stage, due to serious illness or brain injury, the person becomes suffering from dyslexia.
• Even many great personalities have not remained untouched by this disease. Telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell and scientist Albert Einstein also suffered from dyslexia. However, he never let Dyslexia dominate him.
• According to statistics, more than 3 crore children in India are suffering from dyslexia.

What are the main causes of dyslexia?

• There is no single clear cause of dyslexia. However, many clues indicate that there is no clear evidence as to how and why most cases occur.
• Its reasons are considered to be difficulty in reading, writing and speaking, difficulty in pronouncing difficult words, difficulty in understanding and remembering and difficulty in learning another language, etc.
• Genetics:- It is a mainly genetic disease. A child with one parent with dyslexia has a 30% to 50% chance of inheriting it.
• Genetic conditions such as Down syndrome can also make it more likely to have dyslexia.
• Differences in brain development and function:- If someone has dyslexia, he is neurodivergent. That is, his brain develops or functions differently than expected.
• Research shows that people with dyslexia have differences in brain structure and function.
• Disruptions in brain development and function:- Infections, toxic exposures, and other events can disrupt fetal development and increase the odds of later developing dyslexia.