What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia occurs in around 1 out of 10 people world wide. It is a Literacy based learning need that has no impact on intelligence or creativity.

Dyslexia specifically effects the literacy skills needed for reading, writing and spelling. Usually a dyslexic child will have a phonological deficit. Phonemes make up the English Language and have been taught explicitly in schools as part of the Phonics programme. A child with dyslexia will find it difficult to recognize, remember and recall these units of sound and this impacts on their reading, writing and spelling ability.

Research is continuous and on going as there is no cure for Dyslexia and so many different variants. Each Dyslexic child will have lightly varying degrees of difficulties in many different areas.

All research shows that early intervention and diagnosis is key to getting the best outcomes for those students. It should be a systematic tutoring approach delivered by a specialist in literacy or dyslexia for it to be beneficial and have a real impact. However, it is never too late to be diagnosed even as an adult and help can be given and can be life changing.

Signs or Dyslexia in school age children are:

– Struggling to pronounce or sound out an unfamiliar word

– Problems processing what they hear

– Spending much longer than expected to complete a reading or writing task

– Difficulties with spellings

– Reading below the expected level for their age

– Struggling to remember the sequence of things

– Often a large gap from spoken vocabulary and sentence structure and what they are writing down on paper

We now have many tools and techniques to support dyslexic Children in school and adults beyond. If you feel yourself or your child may have Dyslexia contact a Dyslexia specialist in your area and arrange for a screening test. The sooner we diagnose the more help we can give and the better they will do at school.

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