Education & Training Matters

LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
JUST A WORD...
What do you think Alexander Graham Bell,
Winston Churchill, Leonardo da Vinci and
Albert Einstein had in common? You might
be surprised to learn that they all suffered
from dyslexia.
What we know...
Around 10% of the population in the UK
are dyslexic, with 4% being severely
affected. It’s quite likely that some of your
students (or even yourself) may have the
condition.
Dyslexia is a subject that has caused
much debate over the years. The first
descriptions – from over a hundred years
ago – used the term ‘word blindness’,
reflecting the view that difficulties in reading
were caused by problems in visual
perception. It was not until the 1970s that
the role of language processing was
recognised and only in the last 20 years it
has been accepted as the primary feature
of dyslexia.
While controversy and debate continued,
it was easier for some in professional
practice to ignore the issue and harder to
argue for specific approaches and
Dysl xia
e
methods. Instead, those living with
dyslexia were often wrongly labelled as
‘slow’, ‘thick’ and/or ‘lazy’, with school
reports warning parents not to expect
much from their son/daughter!
Interestingly, a fair number of plumbers
are dyslexic. This is because dyslexics
often enjoy and excel at solving puzzles –
one of the traits that is a mark of a good
plumber.
How can you help?
Unfortunately, dyslexia isn’t always picked
up on by the time children leave secondary
school. When they go on to further or
higher education, their confidence can be
low as they know they have a reading/
writing problem and don’t know what can
be done about it.
The first thing to do if you suspect one of
your students is dyslexic is to encourage
them to be assessed. Unfortunately, these
assessments, which are carried out by
psychologists, are not funded by the NHS
and can be expensive, costing hundreds of
pounds. However, there are online screening
tests, which cost between £30-£50.
Colleges should have a Learning Support
Department that can offer advice on this
subject. They may offer Access Arrangements
for dyslexic students, which will
give them additional help in exams. To
qualify for an Access Arrangement the
student must have an assessment of their
reading, writing and other skills that shows
they have dyslexia.
Help is also available for dyslexics in the
form of computer software, including voice
recognition and text to speech applications.
Coloured overlays or question
papers printed on coloured paper can be
beneficial, as well as changing the colour
of the font used.
12 Summer 2015 ETM