Dyslexia
Understanding dyslexia
What it is, how to spot it, and how to get support.
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that primarily affects reading and writing skills — but it doesn't only affect those. Dyslexia is really about information processing: dyslexic people may have difficulty processing and remembering information they see and hear, which can affect learning and the acquisition of literacy skills. It can also impact other areas, such as organisational skills. Approximately 10% of children have dyslexia.
The Delphi definition (2024)
"Dyslexia is a set of processing difficulties that affect the acquisition of reading and spelling." — the headline definition from the 2024 Delphi consensus study (Carroll et al.), which brought a wide range of experts together to reduce confusion about how dyslexia is defined.
Signs of dyslexia
Primary ages 5–11
- Learning letters
- Hearing the sounds in words, rhyme, etc.
- Pronouncing words, especially longer words
- Spelling and copying
- Slow reading, poor decoding and/or comprehension
- Sequencing stories; learning times tables
- Left/right confusion
- Organisation difficulties
- Remembering instructions; not finishing work
Secondary ages 11–16
- Poor reading fluency and comprehension
- Reluctant reader
- Remembering instructions, phone numbers, etc.
- Slower handwriting speed
- Poor organisation and expression of written work
- Remembering and meeting deadlines
- Low self-esteem; daydreaming
- Discrepancy between oral and written ability
Ways to get support for children
- Understand the signs of dyslexia and the difficulties associated with it
- Intervention using a targeted, structured programme that meets individual needs
- Appropriate assistive technology
- Give time to process information and formulate an answer
- Alternative methods of recording ideas and work
- Talk to your school's SENDCo