MESHGuides

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.

A great many publications and resources are available which provide ideas for supporting dyslexic children at home and in the classroom. A collection of ideas recommended by Local Education Authorities throughout England as well as by a range of experts in the field are presented in the BDA Dyslexia Friendly Schools Good Practice Guide (2012).

Assessing multilingual students who are learning English for dyslexia is problematic as standardized assessment tools are not valid in this case. An assessment tool designed specifically for EAL learners, from age 7 to adult, is available through ELT Well.

The Adult Checklist and Online Screener+ Profiler may be used by students over the age of 16 to identify dyslexic-type traits and also to provide suggestions to support dyslexic adults in education and employment.

The Do-It Profiler is an online screening tool for individuals aged 16+ which has been developed not only to identify traits and difficulties associated with dyslexia, but also to provide suggestions to help individuals maximize their strengths and potential.

Identification of older learners is likely to be more complex as the pupil may have acquired a range of compensatory strategies which may mask their difficulties to an extent. A list of possible indicators of dyslexia/SpLD for pupils at secondary school level can be found on the BDA website.