Dyslexia

What works for children and young people with literacy difficulties? 5th ed. (Greg Brooks, 2016) is a free to download publication which provides an overview of interventions which have been proven to be effective. Schemes included in the publication are selected according to a rigorous set of criteria so that teachers can be confident of their effectiveness.

The British Dyslexia Association New Technologies Committee webpages provide information and reviews of the latest products designed to help dyslexic people.  An Overview of Assistive Learning e-learning course can be booked here.

Assistive technologies to help with a range of difficulties are explored on Dyslexia Action’s webpages.

Resources to support dyslexic learners

Crossbow Education

The Dyslexia Shop

BDA Store

Dyslexia Foundation

Facebook group

Dyslexia Assist

Dyslexiaida

Nasen

Information about dyslexia and multilingualism in a range of European countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK, and Wales) can be found on the Dyslang website.

Dyslexia often causes problems with understanding the language of maths, particularly in English, where so many synonyms exist to describe mathematical functions. For example, synonyms for ‘subtract’ might include ‘minus’, ‘take away’, ‘less than’, ‘fewer than’, ‘take(n) from’, ‘difference’, etc.

Difficulties may also be encountered where a maths problem involves reading a long and complicated question.

Co-occurring difficulties such as short term and/or working memory deficits, dyscalculia and dyspraxia can compound these issues.

Spelling is one of the greatest and most entrenched difficulties for children and adults with dyslexia. Many children with dyslexia will improve their reading skills but their spelling will remain severely impaired. The type of error that dyslexic people make is likely to be more extreme than others, and they do not seem to have the ability to write down the word and then check that it is right.

Co-occurring difficulties such as dyspraxia may affect dyslexic children in the early stages of learning to write. Various products are available commercially which may help pupils who find it difficult to hold a pencil or pen comfortably (see 4.8 Resources and suppliers). Sloping desk tops can also help pupils to find a comfortable position for writing.

As dyslexia is widely linked to difficulties with phonological processing, it should not be surprising that reading is one of the areas with which dyslexic individuals may struggle. Phonemic awareness is often cited as one of the most powerful predictors of success in learning to read (see, for example, Adams, 1990).

Literacy Leap is a new, three-tier certification framework for primary schools which celebrates and encourages best practice in identifying and supporting children at risk of dyslexia and other SpLD. The framework is designed to act as a series of stepping stones towards the Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark award. For information and training materials for the award, see Early Intervention Project.

What is a dyslexia friendly classroom? The simplest explanation would be that this is a classroom that considers individual differences in the way children learn and teaches each child in a way that facilitates their development and growth to the best of their potential. The Dyslexia Friendly Classroom is one in which all children – not only those with dyslexia – are able to learn and thrive.