Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that mainly causes problems with reading, writing and spelling.
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.
It's estimated up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has some degree of 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.
It's estimated up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has some degree of dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a lifelong problem that can present challenges on a daily basis, but support is available to improve reading and writing skills and help those with the problem be successful at school and work.
What are the signs of dyslexia?
What are the signs of dyslexia?
Signs of dyslexia usually become apparent 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
- be confused by letters that look similar and write letters the wrong way round (such as "b" and "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
Symptoms of dyslexia usually become more obvious when children start school and begin to focus more on learning how to read and write.
Symptoms of dyslexia in children aged 5 to 12 include:
Symptoms of dyslexia in children aged 5 to 12 include:
- problems learning the names and sounds of letters
- spelling that's unpredictable and inconsistent
- confusion over letters that look similar and putting letters the wrong way round (such as writing "b" instead of "d")
- confusing the order of letters in words
- reading slowly or making errors when reading aloud
- answering questions well orally, but having difficulty writing the answer down
- difficulty carrying out a sequence of directions
- struggling to learn sequences, such as days of the week or the alphabet
- slow writing speed
- poor handwriting
- problems copying written language and taking longer than normal to complete written work
- poor phonological awareness and word attack skills
Phonological awareness
Phonological awareness is the ability to recognise that words are made up of smaller units of sound (phonemes) and that changing and manipulating phonemes can create new words and meanings.
A child with poor phonological awareness may not be able to correctly answer these questions:
What sounds do you think make up the word "hot", and are these different from the sounds that make up the word "hat"?
What word would you have if you changed the "p" sound in "pot" to an "h" sound?
How many words can you think of that rhyme with the word "cat"?
A child with poor phonological awareness may not be able to correctly answer these questions:
What sounds do you think make up the word "hot", and are these different from the sounds that make up the word "hat"?
What word would you have if you changed the "p" sound in "pot" to an "h" sound?
How many words can you think of that rhyme with the word "cat"?
Word attack skills
Young children with dyslexia can also have problems with word attack skills.
This is the ability to make sense of unfamiliar words by looking for smaller words or collections of letters that a child has previously learned.
For example, a child with good word attack skills may read the word "sunbathing" for the first time and gain a sense of the meaning of the word by breaking it down into "sun", "bath", and "ing".
Young children with dyslexia can also have problems with word attack skills.
This is the ability to make sense of unfamiliar words by looking for smaller words or collections of letters that a child has previously learned.
For example, a child with good word attack skills may read the word "sunbathing" for the first time and gain a sense of the meaning of the word by breaking it down into "sun", "bath", and "ing".
If you think your child may have dyslexia, the first step is to speak to their teacher about your concerns. We will ask you to take your child to see your GP so they can check for signs of any underlying health issues, such as hearing or vision problems, that could be affecting their ability to learn.
How does Saltaire Primary support children who we suspect have dyslexia?
We aim to make our classrooms as inclusive as possible. Many approaches to supporting children with dyslexia are embedded into our classroom practices and the environment that surrounds our children. This enables all children to benefit from appropriate support without feeling singled out or different from their peers.
Key Classroom Strategies for Dyslexia Support
Multi-Sensory Teaching: Use tactile, auditory, and visual methods simultaneously to strengthen learning, such as using sand trays, flashcards, puppets, and physical objects to represent ideas.
Optimised Environment and Resources:
- Visual Aids: Utilise, coloured overlays, reading rulers, and large-print text.
- Strategic Seating: Seat students in the teacher's peripheral vision to allow for discreet support and non-verbal cues.
- Clear Information: Keep whiteboards, handouts, and instructions simple, using clear fonts, and consistent, organised layouts.
- Reduce Copying: Provide photocopied notes or handouts to avoid overwhelming students with note-taking, which can be exhausting for them.
- Break Down Tasks: Divide instructions and assignments into small, manageable, sequential steps.
- Repetition and Checking: Frequently repeat key points and check for understanding, as processing speed may be slower.
- Encourage the use of spellcheckers, text-to-speech, and speech-to-text software for writing assignments.
- Utilise audiobooks to facilitate access to text without the barrier of decoding.
- Mark work based on content, ideas, and effort rather than spelling and grammar.
- Provide extra time for reading and writing tasks.
An individual support plan (ISP) will be created to detail your child's areas of strength and need and the strategies in place to support them. This follows the graduated response cycle of Assess, Plan, Do, Review. Children who we suspect may have dyslexia will be given extra processing time during assessments and timed activities.
Dyslexia assessments
At Saltaire Primary School, we use the GL Assessment-Dyslexia Screener, to screen pupils when we are concerned about their literacy progress and skills application. The screener gives us an indication of whether they have dyslexia, but it is not a formal assessment.
A formal assessment can be carried out by an educational psychologist or an appropriately qualified specialist dyslexia teacher. Currently, Bradford Local Authority, is not offering dyslexia assessments. We do have some specialist dyslexia teachers who are supporting children in school at the moment and can provide details for parents to contact them directly if they wish to pursue a formal diagnosis.
Support groups
As well as national dyslexia charities such as the British Dyslexia Association (BDA), there are several local dyslexia associations listed on the BDA website.
These are independently registered charities that run workshops and help to provide local support and access to information.