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Dyslexiamatters

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CreatedonTuesday,09September201409:17
KateSaundersandEmmaAbdulaallookathowdyslexiaaffectspeople
throughouttheirlives,andwhatwecanalldotohelp

Whetheryouareateacherstrugglingtofindawaytoengage
thestudentwhohasdifficultywithreadingandwriting,a
dyslexicparentfearingyourdaughterwillaskyoutohelp
withherhomeworkwhenyoucan'treadyourself,oran
employerlookingtomakeyourcompanymoreinclusive,itis
clearthatdyslexiatouchesallofus.

Problemswithreadingcanhaveaprofoundeffect
onachildseverydaylife.

Oneintenpeoplehassomedegreeofdyslexicdifficulty.
Manyhavenotbeenformallydiagnosed,buthavestruggledthroughtheirliveswithweakreading,
writingand/orspellingskills.Forsome,thatstrugglehasledtodisinterestoraninabilitytoengagein
tasksusingliteracyskills,whentheirpeerscandothesametaskinhalfthetime.
ThethemeofDyslexiaAwarenessWeek2014is"DyslexiaMatters..."Itwillfocusathowthis
specificlearningdifficulty(SpLD)affectstheindividualswhoexperiencedyslexicdifficulties
themselves,andhowallofuscanworktowardscreatingadyslexiafriendlysocietythrough
awarenessraising.2014hasalreadyprovedtobefullofchangesforthosewithdyslexia,includingthe
SENreformsandcutstotheDisabledStudentAllowanceinEngland.Butwhydoesallofthismatter?
Inthisarticle,wewilllookatdyslexiafromthedifferentperspectivesofparents,adultswiththe
condition,educatorsandemployersofthosewithdyslexiatoseehowtheconditionimpactsupon
them,andhowdyslexicscanbeprovidedwiththesupporttheyneed.

Theparent
OliviaLoderwasjustsixandahalfyearsoldwhenshewasdiagnosedwithdyslexia.Aftershewas
bulliedintwostateschools,herparentswereabletomovehertoadyslexiaspecialistschoolatthe
ageofeight,whereshehassinceblossomed.Herfather,TimLoder,acknowledgesthatitisn'tjustthe
dyslexicchild,buttheparentsandanysiblingsaswellwhoendupgoingonwhathecallsa"huge
journeyofunderstandingandresearch"followingadiagnosisofdyslexia,inordertohelpthechildas
muchaspossible.
Asaparentofachildwithdyslexia,Timsays"Yougothrougharollercoasterofemotions,like
wantingyourchildtojustbeabletodoschoolworkwithoutanystruggles,likeanondyslexicchild,
anditseemssounfairthattheydostrugglewhenyouknowtheyaresobright.Youhavethehuge
emotionalsideofseeingthemfallbehindinschool,watchingtheirselfesteemendupontheflooras
theyfeeluselessandinadequate,butyouasaparentknowtheyhavesomuchtoofferand
unbelievableamountsofpotentialtoachieveandsucceed."
OneoftheissuesthatTimbelievesfacesparentsisthatthereisnotagreatdealunderstandingofa
dyslexicchildinschools,perhapsduetothelackofinitialteachertrainingindyslexiaawareness.
"Dyslexiamattersbecauseitcantearachildapart,butwiththerightsupportandhelpitcanalsoopen
theirvastandhugepotentialinlife",hesays.

Theadult
Formanyadultswithdyslexia,lackofdiagnosisatschoolhasmeanttheystruggledthroughearly

educationandemployment.Despiteshowingsignsofdyslexiafromayoungage,WilliamFord,part
ofBirminghamAdultDyslexiaGroup,wasn'tformallyidentifiedasbeingdyslexicuntilhewas29
yearsold.Frombothhispersonalandprofessionalexperience,earlyinterventionisincredibly
importantashebelievesitcauseslesstraumaandbaggageforthepersonwithdyslexiainlaterlife.
OneissuethatisparticularlyclosetoWilliam'sheartisthewaysocietyisbecomingmoretextbased
thanever,withpeoplechoosingtoemailandtextratherthanpickupthephone.Duetothis
development,Williamsaidthathehasstruggledtoengagewithsocietyasmuchashewouldlikeand
thatdespitedyslexiabeingrecognisedasadisabilityundertheEqualitiesAct2010,manyprofessional
bodiesandfrontlinestaffdonotunderstandtheimplicationsandramificationsoftheirfailuresto
implement,engageandapplyequalityintheworkplaceorschool.Itisthislackofappropriatetraining
thatWilliambelievesneedstobeaddressed.
ForWilliam,everyonehasarighttoparticipatein,andengagewith,theircommunitybut,inhiscase,
alackofappropriateprovisionandsupportcreatedabarrierwhichpreventedhimfrombeingableto
dothis.Ashenotes,beingunabletoreadpublishedmateriallimitsyourabilitytoreaduponfactsand
usethesetoformyourownopinions"Iamforcedtorelyoneveryoneelse'sviewsandopinions
ratherthanbasingmyopinionsonfact".What'smore,asWilliampointsout,dyslexianeverleaves
him."Idon'tgettimeoffforgoodbehaviour",hesays.

Theeducator
WiththeSENCodeofPracticeinoperation(from1September2014),bigchangesintheeducation
sectorarenowuponus.Theyincludetheintroductionofeducation,healthandcareplansforpeople
upto25yearsold,whichwill,overtime,replacestatementsofSENandlearningdifficulty
assessments,aswellasthenew"localoffer"fromlocalauthorities,wherecouncilswillpublishwhat
servicesandopportunitiesareavailableforchildrenandyoungpeopleintheirarea.Asbothateacher
andaparentofachildwithdyslexia,LizLolyisnotconvincedthatthesereformswillmakeanyreal
differencetoherchildorotherchildrenthoughshehopestobeprovedwrongonthis.
Buildingtheconfidenceofchildrenwithdyslexiaisveryimportant."Ihavealwaysfeltpassionately
abouthelpingchildrenwithdyslexia",Lizsays."Inmyfirstteachingjob[in1999]Ihada
conversationwiththeparentsofanintelligenteightyearoldboywithdyslexia.Iwasexplainingto
themhowimpressedIwaswithhowhardheworkedtoovercomehisproblemsandwhataconfident
boyhewas.Theyexplainedthatheactuallywasn'tconfidentatallandathomeoftengotveryupset
aboutnotbeingabletoreadandwriteaswellashispeers.Thismademesoupsetthataveryable
childthoughtbadlyofhimselfbecauseofdyslexiaandhadnoideahowintelligentheactuallywas."
Severalyearslater,shenowfindsherselfinasimilarsituation,butsheistheparentandherseven
yearoldisthechildwholacksconfidenceinallthingsrelatingtoliteracy.

Theemployer
ForHampshireConstabulary,itwastheneedtolookathowitsupportsitsstaffwithdyslexiathatled
tothemstartinguptheSpecificLearningDifficulties(SpLD)Project.Theylookedatstaffacrossthe
forceandidentifiedthehighestareasofriskfromwithinit.Oneofthepositivestepsmadewasthe
decisiontoensureallstaffweresupportedasneededfromdayonebyscreeningnewpoliceofficers,
specialconstables,policecommunitysupportofficers,controlroomstaffandpolicestaffinvestigators
fordyslexia.
Staffwerescreenedbybeingmatchedupwithanassessorwhounderstoodtheirparticularareaof
workandwasthereforeabletoassesswhat,ifanything,theyneededinordertobeabletocarryout
theirjobtotheirfullability.Theycarriedoutthisscreeningbyinitiallytraining,throughtheBritish
DyslexiaAssociation,tenstaffmemberstocarryoutworkplaceassessmentsin2010.By2012,the

projectwassuchasuccessthatafurther12membersofstaffweretrainedtocarryoutthiswork
withintheforce.
Whydidthismatterthough?Staffandsupervisorsreportedthatfollowingthelaunchoftheproject,
theynowfeelmoresupportedandinformed,aswellashavingimprovedrelationsbetweenthe
differentdepartments.Areductioninstigmasurroundingthelearningdifficulty,aswellasbetter
motivatedandhappierstaff,showthatitisnotjustthosewithdyslexiawhobenefitedfromthe
project,butthewholeworkforce.

Movingforward
Thecallfordyslexiaawarenesstrainingtobepartofinitialteachertraininghascomefrommany
differentsourcesrecently,includingthemainUKdyslexiacharities.ThisisclearlysomethingthatLiz
feelsisimportant,asherexperience,asbothaparentandateacher,suggeststhatthereisstillalimited
understandinginschoolsofhowtohelpchildrenwhoareshowingsignsofdyslexia.Lizhasfound
thatmanyprofessionalsdonotunderstandatwhatagechildrencanbeaccuratelytestedfordyslexia
andwhentheycanbehelpedtoovercometheirproblems.
Ingeneral,though,Lizdoesfeelthereismoresupportaroundnow,thoughitoftentakesalotofinput
fromparentstogetactionsothatchildrengetthesupporttheyneed."Ifeelstronglythatthesystem
shouldbesetupsothatchildreninneedofsupportreceiveitregardlessofhowinformedandinvolved
theirparentsare",saysLiz."Dyslexiamattersbecauseeveryonedeservestherighttoachievetheirfull
potentialwiththeirconfidenceintact."
Allteachersareteachersofdyslexicchildrenbecausetenpercentofthepopulationisdyslexic,
meaningthatonaverage,threechildreninaclassof30havedyslexia.Weneedlastingchangeinthe
educationsystem.Keytothisisthatabasiclevelofdyslexiaawarenesstrainingshouldbeprovidedin
allinitialteachertrainingcourses.Thisdoesnotcurrentlyhappenandisnotagovernment
requirementforteachertrainingproviders.
Allteachersshouldbetrainedtoknowhowtospotthesignsofdyslexiaintheclassroom,howto
teachinadyslexiafriendlywayandwhentosignpostthechildonforfurtherspecialistintervention
andassessment.TheGovernmenthasrecentlylaunchedaReviewofSpecialEducationalNeedsinput
inTeacherTraininganddyslexiacharitiesareprovidingevidencetothereviewteam,butitisalso
importantforthepublictohavetheirsayandtohelpraiseawarenessofdyslexia.Dyslexiaisahidden
disability,sothosewhoknowthehugeimpactitcanhaveonlivesneedtospeakout.Thisistheway
toovercomestigmaandlackofunderstanding.Thereisanopportunityheretoimprovetheliteracy
skillsandprospectsofafulfilledlifeforfuturegenerations.

DyslexiaAwarenessWeek
3to9November2014
Thethemeofthisyear'sDyslexiaAwarenessWeekis"DyslexiaMatters..."Downloadableresources
forschools,includingPowerPointpresentationsforschoolassembliesandpostersfordisplayboards,
areavailable(fromSeptember2014)from:
www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/getinvolvedandfundraising/dyslexiaawarenessweek

Furtherinformation
DrKateSaundersisCEOandEmmaAbdulaalMediaandCommunicationsOfficeratthecharitythe
BritishDyslexiaAssociation:
www.bdadyslexia.org.uk

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