What Is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling.
We use the Rose Report (2009) definition of dyslexia as adopted by the British Dyslexia Association:
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.
Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties with:
Phonological Awareness
The ability to recognise and manipulate the spoken parts of sentences and words
Verbal Memory
The capacity to retain and process information over a short period of time
Verbal Processing Speed
How quickly you can take in and use information
Key indicators:
Each learner is unique and will have their own individual strengths and needs.
Specific learning difficulties can present in different ways. There are however some key indicators that can help you to identify whether the difficulties being experienced could be indicative of dyslexia and would suggest that further investigation could be beneficial.
Early years:
- Difficulty learning nursery rhymes
- Difficulties learning/clapping a simple rhyme/syllables
- A history of slow speech development
- Enjoys being read to but shows little interest in letters or words
- Difficulties remembering names of known objects
- Forgets names of friends, teacher, colours etc.
- Poor auditory discrimination
- Confusion between directional words e.g. up/down
- Difficulty with sequencing e.g. coloured beads, classroom routines
- Family history of dyslexia/reading difficulties
Primary age:
- Difficulties with reading or spelling
- Confused by letters which look similar, particularly b/d, p/g, p/q, n/u, m/w
- Finds it difficult to blend letters together
- Reads a word but will not recognise it further down on the page
- No expression in reading, and poor comprehension
- Hesitant and laboured reading, especially when reading aloud
- Has difficulty recognising sounds in words/poor sense of rhyme
- Spells words several different ways in one piece of writing
- Poor standard of written work compared to oral ability
- Leaves letters out of words and/or writes them in the wrong order
- Poor concentration for reading and spelling
- Speed of processing: slow spoken and/or written language
- Low confidence and self-esteem
- Difficulties following instructions
- Poor organisational skills
- Poor handwriting with many ‘reversals’ and badly formed letters
- Sequencing difficulties e.g. days of week and months of the year
- Confusion with left and right
Secondary age:
- Has a poor standard of written work compared with oral ability
- Has poor formed letters or has neat handwriting, but writes very slowly
- Spells the same word differently in one piece of work
- Has difficulty with punctuation and/or grammar
- Confuses upper and lower case letters
- Writes a great deal but 'loses the thread'
- Writes very little, but to the point
- Has difficulty with organisation of homework
- Appears to know more than they can commit to paper
- Reading is hesitant and laboured, especially when reading aloud
- Omits, repeats or adds extra words
- Fails to recognise familiar words
- Misses a line or repeats the same line twice
- Loses their place easily/uses a finger or marker to keep the place
- Has difficulty in identifying the main idea in a passage
- Has difficulty using dictionaries, directories, encyclopaedias
- Confuses direction - left/right
- Has difficulty in finding the name for an object
- Has clear difficulties processing information at speed
- Misunderstands complicated questions
- Finds holding a list of instructions in memory difficult, although can perform all tasks when told individually
- Is disorganised or forgetful e.g. over sports equipment, lessons, homework, appointments
A number of these indicators may point to possible dyslexia and further assessment is recommended.
Phonological Awareness
The ability to recognise and manipulate the spoken parts of sentences and words
Verbal Memory
The capacity to retain and process information over a short period of time
Verbal Processing Speed
How quickly you can take in and use information
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