More than 6 million people in the UK are affected by the specific learning difficulty dyslexia yet not everyone is aware that dyslexia should be a major concern.
Despite its 1 in 10 prevalence, teachers are still not automatically trained to understand and identify dyslexia - even though it may prevent:
- children from learning in the classroom;
- students and staff from gaining qualifications;
- job-seekers from accessing training or getting a job;
- staff from applying for promotions.
Yet all teachers must know that dyslexia, by law, requires:
special educational provision if their disability creates a ‘significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age’.
Being identified as dyslexic really matters to students like Ben Hunter, 14, as it was the turning point to his success. Ben is now soaring at secondary school after struggling to read and write whilst at primary. Ben began his GCSEs in September on the gifted and talented register in three subjects and in most of the top sets. His mother Ruth says he would have failed miserably at school if his dyslexia had not been identified and he had not received specialist support from a Dyslexia Action teacher. “Being labelled as dyslexic, gave Ben a reason for why he was struggling, helped him to understand himself more and gave him the confidence to persevere,” said Ruth. “He would have completely switched off and failed at school otherwise.”
Find out more about what dyslexia is, what the signs of dyslexia are and how you can get the right support at www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk
