Dyslexia Awareness Week 2016

As special educational needs specialists we often meet clients who have been diagnosed with dyslexia and see how challenging this disability can be in day to day life.  But what many people do not realise is that one in 10 people struggle with dyslexia as a hidden disability.

Over the next five days we will look to highlight this year’s key theme ‘Identification’ as well as exploring dyslexia in greater detail and how it will affect children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). In our first article in Dyslexia Awareness Week 2016 we will be looking at how dyslexia is defined and explained.

What is dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a recognised disability under the Equality Act 2010 and a specific learning disability. This means schools and the workplace should offer reasonable adjustments to cater for those with dyslexia. Dyslexia stems from a difficulty in processing the sounds of words, which affects the person’s ability to learn how to read and write.

The Rose Report was published in 2009 under the title ‘Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties’. It drafted a comprehensive definition of dyslexia that was adopted by the Department for Education in 2009. It reads:

“Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed. Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities. It is best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and there are no clear cut-off points. Co-occurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor co-ordination, mental calculation, concentration and personal organisation, but these are not, by themselves, markers of dyslexia. A good indication of the severity and persistence of dyslexic difficulties can be gained by examining how the individual responds or has responded to well-founded intervention.”

This definition raised several interesting points.

The report set out very clearly that dyslexia does not predetermine intelligence and it is completely independent of socio- economic or language barriers. In fact, dyslexia runs in families, so if a parent has dyslexia their child is 50% more likely to have it too.

The root of dyslexia is a difficulty in learning the phonetics of words which can make learning spelling, reading or writing more challenging. However, dyslexia also encompasses a wide range of difficulties, including short term memory, concentration and organisation. The charity Dyslexia Action also notes how a child suffering from a range of dyslexic symptoms can be more sensitive to a “feeling of failure and alienation” from their peers.

The report was clear in describing dyslexia as a “continuum” or a scale. This means that every person will show different symptoms of dyslexia and respond differently to treatments. Some children will suffer from severe dyslexia that requires significant and specialist steps to aid education. These children will probably require an EHCP to ensure the support they require is funded and protected by the local authority. However, some other children with a milder form of dyslexia may be able to get sufficient support from within their school, such as support from a Teaching Assistant. Dyslexia Action discovered that pupils with dyslexia or other special educational needs without an EHCP or Statement of Special Educational Needs (Statement) are up to 10 times more likely to be excluded from schools, as opposed to six times more likely for pupils with an EHCP or a Statement. This demonstrates the importance of a personal and well-structured EHCP for the welfare and future education of children with special educational needs.