Abstract: By identifying the dyslexic detective as a unique subtype of the neurodivergent detective figure present in children's and young adult mysteries, this study questions the limited agency afforded to dyslexic sleuths. As dyslexia is typified by poor reading, writing, and spelling due to slow processing speeds and working memory, dyslexic detectives are inherently at a disadvantage when it comes to reading printed clues. While the dyslexic detective shares some similarities with other neurodivergent (primarily autistic) sleuths, including their creative thinking and criminal potential, dyslexics avoid the trope of the "savant" as the dyslexic's intelligence is constantly questioned. Using Lexism, a theory that questions the assumptions that literacy is a marker of intelligence, this article argues that dyslexic detectives cannot reach this same prestige as the autistic savant (for better or for worse) as they continue to struggle with "stupid" and "lazy" stereotypes associated with their learning disability. Dyslexic sleuths are able to enact personal justice—demonstrating their intelligence by solving mysteries through their own creative methods—but are unable to widely address the Lexist ideals that continue to disable them.
ELIZABETH LEACH-LEUNG (Thu,) studied this question.