About Dyslexia

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that primarily affects reading and writing skills. However, it does not only affect these skills. Dyslexia is actually about information processing. Dyslexic people may have difficulty processing and remembering information they see and hear, which can affect learning and acquisition of literacy skills. Dyslexia can also impact other areas such as organisational skills. Approximately 10% of children have Dyslexia.

Signs of Dyslexia

Primary aged children

• Learning letters

• Hearing the sounds in words, rhyme etc.

• Pronouncing words, especially longer words

• Cpelling

• Copying

• Slow reading/poor decoding and/ or poor comprehension

• Sequencing stories, learning times tables

• Left/right confusion

• Organisation difficulties

• Remembering instructions

• Does not finish work

Adolescence

• Poor reading fluency

• Poor reading comprehension

• Reluctant reader

• Remembering instructions, telephone numbers, etc.

• Slower handwriting speed

• Spelling

• Poor organisation and expression of written work

• Remembering and meeting deadlines

• Low self-esteem

• Daydreaming

• Does not finish work

• Discrepancy between oral and written ability

Ways to get support for children

• Understanding the signs of Dyslexia and the difficulties associated with it

• Intervention for children using a targeted and structured programme that meets their individual needs

• Appropriate assistive technology

• Give them time to process information and to formulate an answer

• Alternative methods of recording their ideas/ work

• Talk to your school’s SENDCo

What are Specific Learning Difficulties?

A Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD) is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting an individual’s ability to receive, process, and recall information. It is a difference or difficulty with particular aspects of learning. The term SpLD is used to denote a range of learning difficulties:

• Dyslexia

• Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)

• Dyscalculia

• Dysgraphia

• ADHD (is considered to be a mental health difficulty and a SpLD

An individual may have one of these or may exhibit signs of more than one SpLD.

SpLDs are not connected to intellectual ability, social, economic, or cultural background.

Having a SpLD does not mean an individual can’t achieve academically. However, it will be harder and require greater effort.

Understanding strengths and areas for development can help individuals develop a ‘toolkit’ of strategies suited to their learning preferences and needs, enabling them to achieve their academic goals.

Neurodiversity & SpLDs

Neurodiversity recognises normal variations in brain function that occur naturally across the human population. Every one of us has a unique brain.

Neurodiversity encompasses all Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs), many of which may co-occur or overlap. Under the ‘umbrella’ of neurodiversity. The following conditions/difficulties may also co-occur if somebody has a SpLD:

• Autism

• Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

• Tourette’s Syndrome

• Anxiety

• Speech, Language and Communication Disorders

Dyslexia & Speech, Language & Communication Needs

Many children with Dyslexia do not have speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN). A child with SLCN has a broader difficulty with language which means their receptive skills (understanding language) or expressive skills (use of spoken language) are impaired.

However, there is a higher rate of SLCN among children who have Dyslexia. Depending on the age and a range of other factors, experts state that between 14% to 50% of children with Dyslexia also show signs of additional speech and language difficulties (McArthur et al 2000; Catts et al 2005).