About 60% of dyslexic people have phonological difficulties and struggle to sort out the sounds within words. This means that they have problems with reading, writing and spelling. The majority of dyslexic children have difficulty with language, memory and sequencing processes of basic mathematics.
Each dyslexic person's difficulties are different and vary from slight to very severe disruption of the learning process. There is no total cure but the effects of dyslexia can be alleviated by skilled specialist teaching and committed learning. On the positive side there is a hypothesis that the neurological anomalies also give some dyslexic people visual, spatial and lateral thinking abilities that enable them to be successful in a wide range of careers.
Because dyslexia is neurologically-based, children are born with dyslexia, but it is when they begin to learn using words, and sometimes other symbols, that it becomes a noticeable problem.
Recent research indicates that boys and girls are equally affected but our data suggests that three times as many boys as girls receive additional teaching because of their dyslexia.
Somewhere between four and five percent of the population. It is estimated that there are about 375,000 pupils in the UK with dyslexia and a total of some two million people who are severely affected.
Some dyslexic children have behavioural problems; these usually improve when the right kind of teaching for reading, writing, spelling and basic maths is provided.
No! Each dyslexic person has her/his own pattern of strengths and weaknesses. Many enjoy lateral thinking abilities and shine in such fields as the arts, creativity, design and computing. What they need is to be identified and taught, to enable them to release their talents in wide-ranging careers.
You should contact your nearest
Dyslexia Action Centre who will be able to take care of all the arrangements for you.
It is always a good idea to discuss your concerns with your child’s class teacher first. You can also arrange an appointment with the schools SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator), who you can ask to investigate your concerns and discuss whether they feel a referral to a Local Authority psychologist or other support teacher for an assessment is necessary.
If you do decide to have your child independently assessed then it can be beneficial to maintain a good dialog with the school and, if appropriate, that they are involved in the process as much as possible. However, it is your choice whether or not to involve the school or other third parties.
Dyslexia is covered by the Equality Act 2010. This means that your employer may be obliged to recognise your difficulties and make reasonable adjustments based on your individual needs. In some cases this might mean that your employer may be willing to pay for an assessment and provide continuing support but you should discuss this further with your employer and/or HR personnel. You could also approach your union representative for advice and support.
Dyslexia Action may be able to provide
assessment and support in the workplace.
The Equality Act 2010 protects disabled peoples rights in the areas of:
- access to goods, facilities and services, including larger private clubs and land-based transport services
- buying or renting land or property, including making it easier for disabled people to rent property and for tenants to make disability-related adaptations
- functions of public bodies, for example issuing of licenses
For more detailed information on the Equality Act
click here.
There is available information to help parents address their queries and concerns about the processing of their children’s special educational needs within their local authority a good website for general advice and support is provided by
IPSEA. More information about the SEN Code of Practice can be found by
clicking here.
For information on how to appeal local authorities’ decisions concerning provision of statements of Special Educational Needs
click here
Firstly you will be asked to complete a questionnaire. This will provide some background information about yourself / your child. If you are the parent of a child being assessed you may also need to ask your child’s school to complete a questionnaire.
The assessment lasts up to 2 hours during which time the psychologist or specialist teacher will conduct a series of different tests that give the assessor a full picture of strengths and weaknesses specific to the individual and their chronological age.
These include tests, for example, for: spelling and reading, verbal reasoning (understanding), comprehension, memory, processing speed, phonological awareness (sound knowledge), maths, writing speed and more.
The assessor should be able to offer you a conclusive evaluation of their key findings at the end of the assessment but a full report will be completed that will detail all results and outcomes.
You should receive a full written report within 3 weeks following the assessment. If your assessment has been paid for by your employer both you and your employer will receive reports. No confidential information of a personal nature will be included in the report that is sent to your employer.
It is important that you have the opportunity to discuss the findings of the assessment with either the assessor or a professional who can offer you further advice and guidance. Included in the cost of your assessment is a half hour post assessment consultation with the Centre Principal or Senior Teacher.
The assessment will provide in depth information about your child’s strengths and weaknesses in connection with the difficulties they are experiencing and is the first step in providing diagnostic information that will be useful for your child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) and support systems.
The information may also be useful for consideration of eligibility for
examination access arrangements and
Disabled Students’ Allowance.
The assessment will provide in depth information about your employee’s strengths and weaknesses in connection with the difficulties they are experiencing. This could help enable you to make positive changes in the workplace for the benefits of all concerned.
The assessment report will also be beneficial if you decide to purchase a workplace consultation from Dyslexia Action.
The assessment will provide in depth information about your strengths and weaknesses in connection with the difficulties you are experiencing.
You may have decided to be assessed for a variety of reasons. Dyslexia Action will take these reasons into account when performing your assessment.
If the assessment indicates that the subject would benefit from specialist support the assessor will advise on what in their professional opinion will best address the needs of the individual. Dyslexia Action offers support services for individual of all ages and as such you can either discuss this at your consultation appointment or contact your
local Centre to find out more.
It is important to be aware that while you may suspect dyslexia there are a large number of reasons why someone might have difficulties with literacy and/or present some of the other difficulties associated with dyslexia.
Tuition sessions with our specialist dyslexia teachers can be arranged in small groups or alone. Teaching is designed for the individual and aims to boost skills levels as well as building confidence and self-esteem.
Our Tuition is not solely for children and young people, many adults can benefit from our specialist teaching and support. In some cases your employer may pay for this provision.
You can discuss your requirements, based on the results of the assessment, with the centre principal or senior teacher.
If you have concerns about the costs of tuition then ask the centre staff about our bursary fund which, depending on your circumstances, can help with payments. The bursary is a limited fund and is awarded on the basis of individual need.
Dyslexia Action has developed a number of resources that can be used by teachers or at home to help develop literacy skills.
DIY Readers Support pack
A significant number of people we assess are found not to be dyslexic and therefore the individual/parent should be aware that they/their child may not be dyslexic.
All of the pyschologists that work for Dyslexia Action are consultants and they are not direct employees of Dyslexia Action. This means that the assessor is independent and the outcome of the assessment and any further recommendations will be based on the assessor's individual professional opinion. They will provide a detailed profile of strengths and weaknesses and provide advice on ways to cope with your difficulties no matter what the cause.
There is no government funding available for any of our services, and in most cases, payment is down to the individual, or parents in case of children.
Employers will sometimes refer and pay for their staff. In the case of children, it is rare for schools to provide funding. Universities and Colleges can sometimes help in the case of students in FE/HE. Occasionally you may get an assessment funded by your GP.
Dyslexia Action offers funding, in certain cases, from our bursary; however this is limited and is on the basis of individual need. Ask your centre principal for details.
Local Trusts and other bursaries such as Round Table, Rotarians or Bupa are also worth contacting.
Some regulatory bodies require updated assessment information, for example eligibility for Disabled Students’ Allowance. Also, review assessments are useful to make judgements on rate of improvement and response to support programmes.
In particular, young children’s development can change relatively rapidly and therefore their current strengths and weaknesses need to be appraised to ensure that support being given is relevant.
Speak to your
local Dyslexia Action Centre and ask, based on your individual circumstance, how we can help you.
A starting point is to refer to the Dyslexia Checklist. If the answer to most of the questions is 'Yes' it would be wise to seek professional advice.
Click here to download:
Dyslexia_Actions_Dyslexia_Checklist.pdf
Dyslexia is now firmly established as a congenital and developmental condition. Its cause has not been fully confirmed but the effect is to create neurological anomalies in the brain. These anomalies bring about varying degrees of difficulty in learning when using words, and sometimes symbols. For a more detailed explanation of the causes of dyslexia
click here.
Dyslexia can also be acquired by people who have lost some aspect of their literacy skills as a result of brain injury or where an illness such as otitis media (glue ear) has impeded normal literacy skills’ development. Some cases of acquired dyslexia display unusual types of difficulties with literacy and therefore require careful diagnostic assessment and specialised teaching and support programmes. Very understandably, people with acquired dyslexia can be in need of a high degree of support and counselling. Their educational needs are usually long-term and the priority aim is for them to see themselves making progress.