What causes dyslexia?

This is still being researched but we know that there are neurological differences in the brain's make up in people with Dyslexia. These differences bring about varying degrees of difficulty in learning when using words, and sometimes symbols.

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Can dyslexia be cured?

Dyslexia is not an illness but a feature of the way some people learn. Each individual with dyslexia has a different profile of strengths and weaknesses.  Because dyslexia is neurologically-based children are born with it, but it is only when formal education begins that we start to see potential issues as they begin to learn using words and symbols. Dyslexia does not disappear as you get older but you do start to develop your own coping strategies.

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How many people are thought to have dyslexia?

Around 10% of the population may have dyslexia with about 4% being severely affected.

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Dyslexia 'Diagnosis'

Dyslexia can only be formally identified by a specialist dyslexia assessor. It is not funded by the NHS and forms no part of medical training. You will notice in my reports I prefer not to use the term 'diagnosis' instead I will use the term 'identification'. 

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How old do you need to be to get a test for dyslexia?

Because of the heavy emphasis on reading as part of a full dyslexia assessment, it is better to wait until your child is a 7 or over. You may already be noticing areas of difficulty with your child's learning so it is really important to keep talking to their school and to share your concerns. There are many 'reasonable adjustments' to classroom practice that can be put in place to help children with signs of dyslexia and no need to wait until these difficulties with learning are formally identified. 

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What about ADHD, Autism, Dyscalculia?

Dyslexia frequently co-occurs with other specific learning difficulties such as ADD/ADHD, Dyscalculia and Developmental Co-ordination Difficulties (DCD). It can also co-occur with Asperger's syndrome. It is thought that approximately 15% of people who have dyslexia also have ADHD, and about 35% of people with ADHD also have dyslexia. 

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My child has had a Dyslexia Screening test at school- do I still need them to have a formal assessment?

Dyslexia screeners are used in many schools as part of their Graduated Response to identifying pupils with Special Educational Needs. This information helps the school to identify possible barriers to learning and plan appropriate provision. There are many children with dyslexia who never go on to have a formal assessment as they are able to make good progress with the provision made available to them in school. 

If you feel that the next step for your child is a formal assessment then you might consider a full diagnostic assessment as this will provide you with a more detailed profile of your child's strengths and weaknesses. 

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Sharing this information with the school may help to ensure their needs are more fully understood and for support to be more effectively targeted. 

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What support can a child with dyslexia have in exams?

Access Arrangements are the 'reasonable adjustments' that can be made for students who have a disability or special educational need that significantly affects them in exams. There are many different access arrangements and their use in exams is based on them being a 'normal way of working' in the classroom- especially in tests and exams. Some examples of Access Arrangements include:

Support for reading ( e.g. a reader, text-to-speech software, a reading pen)

Support for writing (e.g. a scribe, speech-to-text software, a word processor)

Support for working to time (e.g. 25% extra time, rest breaks)

Evidence is needed for some access arrangements and these need to be applied for and approved before they can be used in external exams.  Testing takes place in school/college. Strict rules must be followed so that the test scores can be used as evidence for access arrangements. 

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