Dyslexia

About dyslexia

It's a ’specific learning difficulty’, which means it causes problems with certain abilities used for learning, such as reading and writing.

Unlike a learning disability, intelligence isn't affected.

Signs of dyslexia

Signs of dyslexia usually become clear when a child starts school and begins to focus more on learning how to read and write.

A person with dyslexia may:

• read and write very slowly
• confuse the order of letters in words
• put letters the wrong way round – such as writing b instead of d
• have poor or inconsistent spelling
• understand information when told verbally, but have difficulty with information that's written down
• find it hard to carry out a sequence of directions
• struggle with planning and organisation

However, people with dyslexia often have good skills in other areas, such as creative thinking and problem-solving.

Getting help

If you think your child may have dyslexia, the first step is to speak to their teacher about your concerns.

They may be able to offer additional support to help your child if necessary.

If your child continues to have problems despite extra support, you or the school may want to consider requesting a more in-depth assessment from an educational psychologist.

This can be arranged through the school, or you can request a private assessment.

Discuss the options with your child’s school to decide what approach is best.

Adults who wish to be assessed for dyslexia will require a private assessment from an educational psychologist.

You can find a directory of chartered psychologists on the British Psychological Society's website.

Support for people with dyslexia

If your child has dyslexia, they'll probably need extra educational support from their school.

With suitable support, there's usually no reason your child can't go to a mainstream school, although a few children may benefit from attending a specialist school.

Techniques and support that may help your child include:

• occasional one-to-one teaching or lessons in a small group with a specialist teacher
• phonics – a special learning technique that focuses on improving the ability to identify and process the smaller sounds that make up words
• technology, such as computers and speech recognition software, that may make it easier for your child to read and write when they're a bit older

Universities also have specialist staff who can support young people with dyslexia in higher education.

Technology such as word processors and electronic organisers can be useful for adults too.

Employers are required to make reasonable adjustments to the workplace to help people with dyslexia, such as allowing extra time for certain tasks.

Causes of dyslexia

People with dyslexia find it difficult to recognise the different sounds that make up words and relate these to letters. 

Dyslexia isn't related to a person's general level of intelligence. Children and adults of all intellectual abilities can be affected by dyslexia.

The exact cause of dyslexia is unknown, but it often appears to run in families.

In people with dyslexia, it's thought that certain genes inherited from your parents may act together in a way that affects how some parts of brain develop during early life.

More useful links

• How to use your health services
• British Dyslexia Association
• Dyslexia