| People with dyslexia usually have a difficulty with the written word impacting on reading and/or writing. They often struggle with verbal working memory and can be slower than their peers when processing verbal and visual information.
This impacts on speed of reading and writing, spelling and how learning is accessed in a class room environment. Additional difficulties can sometimes be seen with handwriting, organisation, telling the time and learning common sequences such as times tables and months of the year. People with dyslexia can have any level of intelligence and, with the right support, are able to fulfill their aspirations. As dyslexia is seen as a ‘brain difference’, there is no ‘cure’ for dyslexia, but a good understanding of one’s own profile of learning strengths and weaknesses can help to develop strategies to overcome specific learning difficulties. |
Early identification and intervention will result in the best outcome. Sometimes dyslexia is not identified for years and is not recognised until adulthood, but it is never too late to seek help.
Signs of dyslexia can be difficult to recognise before your child enters school, but some early clues may indicate a problem: – a difficulty identifying rhyme in words – word finding difficulties – longer than other children of the same age speaking in spoonerisms such as ‘par cark’ for ‘car park’ – difficulty remembering common sequences such as the days of the week – struggling with the order of daily routines and/or getting themselves dressed |
Severity varies, but the condition often becomes apparent as a child starts learning to read.
Dyslexia often runs in families, although some of the previous generations may not have had dyslexia identified. There are a few theories of dyslexia pointing to different causation, but the phonological deficit theory is generally accepted and well evidenced and is summarised in the Rose definition of dyslexia (2009).
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