According to the British Dyslexia Association (BDA), around 10% of the UK population have dyslexia, but it is still often poorly understood. With the right support, the strengths and talents of dyslexic learners can really shine.
Dyslexia is primarily a set of processing difficulties that affect the ability to read and spell. However, dyslexia can also affect the ability to acquire other skills, such as maths or reading comprehension. A learner may experience persistent difficulties in these areas in relation to their other abilities and attainments; for example, they may be orally very able and knowledgeable, creative, artistic, or sporting. The cluster of abilities and difficulties will be different for every person.
Dyslexia can have a significant impact during education, in the workplace and in everyday life. As each person is unique, so is everyone's experience of dyslexia. Dyslexia can also co-occur with other specific learning difficulties, such as developmental language disorder, dyscalculia, ADHD and developmental coordination disorder. It is a life-long condition and can be affected by multiple genetic and environmental influences.
It is important to remember that there are positives to thinking and learning differently; many people with dyslexia show strengths in areas such as reasoning and in visual and creative fields.
Signs of dyslexia (British Dyslexia Association)
Primary school age
General signs:
Speed of processing: slow spoken and/or written language
Poor concentration
Difficulty following instructions
Forgetting words
Difficulty remembering anything in a sequential order, e.g. tables, days of the week, the alphabet
Poor time keeping
Poor personal organisation
Memory difficulties e.g. for daily routines, self-organisation, rote learning
Confused by the difference between left and right, up and down, east and west
Written work:
Poor standard of written work compared with oral ability
Produces messy work with many crossings out and words tried several times, e.g. wippe, wype, wiep, wipe
Confused by letters which look similar, particularly b/d, p/g, p/q, n/u, m/w
Poor handwriting with many ‘reversals’ and badly formed letters
Spells a word several different ways in one piece of writing
Makes anagrams of words, e.g. tired for tried, bread for beard
Produces badly set-out written work, doesn’t stay close to the margin
Poor pencil grip
Produces phonetic and bizarre spelling: not age/ability appropriate
Uses unusual sequencing of letters or words
Reading:
Slow reading progress
Finds it difficult to blend letters together
Has difficulty in establishing syllable division or knowing the beginnings and endings of words
Unusual pronunciation of words
No expression in reading, and poor comprehension
Hesitant and laboured reading, especially when reading aloud
Misses out words when reading, or adds extra words
Fails to recognise familiar words
Loses the point of a story being read or written
Has difficulty in picking out the most important points from a passage
Secondary school age
Written work
Has a poor standard of written work compared with oral ability
Has poor handwriting with badly formed letters or has neat handwriting, but writes very slowly
Produces badly set out or messy written work, with spellings crossed out several times
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 taking notes in lessons
Has difficulty with organisation of homework
Finds tasks difficult to complete on time
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
Reads at a reasonable rate, but has a low level of comprehension
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 pin-pointing the main idea in a passage
Has difficulty using dictionaries, directories, encyclopaedias
Numeracy
Has difficulty remembering tables and/or basic number sets
Finds sequencing problematic
Confuses signs such as x for +
Can think at a high level in mathematics, but needs a calculator for simple calculations
Misreads questions that include words
Finds mental arithmetic at speed very difficult
Finds memorising formulae difficult
Other areas
Confuses direction - left/right
Misreads questions that include words
Finds mental arithmetic at speed difficult
Finds memorising formulae difficult
Finds sequencing problematic
Has difficulty in learning foreign languages
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
Is easily distracted. May find it difficult to remain focused on the task
Is often in the wrong place at the wrong time
Is excessively tired, due to the amount of concentration and effort required
A cluster of these indicators alongside areas of ability may point to possible dyslexia and further investigation is recommended.