This week is Dyslexia Awareness Week in the UK. Dyslexia is a processing issue in the brain relating to written language, and affects as many as 1 in 10 people. It’s not linked to intelligence, it’s just that the brain works a little differently and needs different strategies to process information, however children can end up feeling left behind and label themselves ‘stupid’ or ‘lazy’ because they cannot acquire reading, a skill which is necessary for future learning, as quickly as their peers. Struggling at school early on creates negative associations of learning and can make forming relationships with other children more difficult.
When we hear that someone has dyslexia we automatically associate that with difficult reading and writing, but this year’s Dyslexia Awareness Week is focusing on the theme Beyond Words. People with dyslexia might also have trouble with mental arithmetic, short-term memory, organisation, sequencing (for example ordering the days of the week), following directions, telling left from right or timekeeping, which can impact on many areas of their life even when they aren’t confronted with written language. If you care for a child with dyslexia you can have a really positive impact by helping them find ways to organise themselves and improve their memory.
These are some traits which might help identify dyslexia – it’s not a checklist but if you notice that a child has difficulty with several things on the list the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) recommends further investigation. Something which really helps dyslexic learners throughout their lives is early identification of problems which allows them to get targeted support from a young age. We’ve found a great document which contains helpful hints and tips for identifying dyslexic tendencies in preschoolers and activities you can do to help, as well as ideas to support children of all ages.
Dyslexic learners often struggle with their confidence so it’s just as important to find things they can do and enjoy. Dr Sears calls this the ‘carry-over principle’, the idea that being good at something will improve performance in all areas. Do acknowledge that a child has dyslexia and might find some things more difficult but don’t label a child ‘dyslexic’ because that will encourage them to define themselves by a specific problem they face and not by all their other positive qualities. It’s also important to emphasise that dyslexia doesn’t need to hold them back in any way. There are lots of famous people with dyslexia: Lord Sugar, Richard Branson, Keira Knightley, Picasso and Einstein all are or were dyslexic!
If you’re reading this and thinking ‘hmmm that sounds like me’ then you should know that xyslexia doesn’t just affect children. Although you might not feel it’s worth getting a formal diagnosis as an adult you can still try to implement some strategies yourself and see if they help you.
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