Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty mainly affecting reading and spelling. However it can also cause other difficulties. A person may:
- read and write very slowly
- confuse the order of letters in words
- put letters the wrong way round – such as writing “b” instead of “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
- good in speech but unable to reflect knowledge in writing
- have a poor short-term memory
The British Dyslexia Association estimates that dyslexia affects 10% of the population. This would mean that in a class of 30 students, you can expect that 3 will have some degree of dyslexia.
Dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence, most dyslexic people have average or above average ability. It is identified as a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010.
A helpful short video called “Seeing Dyslexia Differently” produced by the British Dyslexia Association can be found by clicking here.
Working Memory leaflet for parents – Click here to download a free copy.