Are Dyslexic People Grittier? Examining difference in the non-cognitive skill grit for dyslexic and non-dyslexic Swedes

Abstract: Associated with the specific learning disability, commonly known as dyslexia, there exists a notion that dyslexia bring with it some positive side-effects. One of these is that the reading disability supposedly leads to the development of positive traits, traits that could be crucial for long-term achievement. One non-cognitive ability that is a predictive measure of success is the construct grit , defined as the ability to persevere towards long-term goals. With grit as a measure, this work empirically tests if there exists such an "positive dyslexia effect" using self-reported grit scores of dyslexic and non-dyslexic Swedish people. Results: Using analysis of variance in a regression framework, difference in variance and simple difference in mean methods of inference, all indicated there being no difference in self-reported grit between the two groups, suggesting the held perception of there being such an effect to be false. The implications these results concerning one of the more common societal phenomenon that is dyslexia is also further explored.