Introduction

Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty thatcan cause problems with reading, writingandspelling.

It's a "specific learning difficulty", which means it causes problems with certain abilitiesused forlearning, such as reading and writing. Unlike a learning disability, intelligence isn't affected.

It's estimated that up to 1 in every 10 to 20 people in the UK has some degree of dyslexia.

Dyslexia islifelong problem that can present challenges on adaily basis, butsupport is available to improve reading and writing skills and help those with the problembe successfulat schooland work.

What are the signs of dyslexia?

Signs of dyslexia usually become apparentwhen a child starts school and begins to focus more on learning how to read and write.

A person with dyslexia 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
  • understandinformation when told verbally, buthave difficultywith information that's written down
  • find it hard tocarry out a sequence of directions
  • struggle with planning and organisation

However,people with dyslexia often have good skills in other areas, such as creative thinking and problem solving.

They may be able to offer additional support to help your child if necessary.

If your child continues to have problems despite extra support, you or the school may want to consider requesting amore in-depth assessment from a specialist dyslexia teacher or an educational psychologist.

This can be arranged through the school, or you can request a private assessmentby contacting:

  • an educational psychologist directly you can find adirectory of chartered psychologists on the British Psychological Society's website
  • a voluntary organisation that can arrange an assessment,such as Dyslexia Actionor alocal dyslexia association

Adults who wish to be assessed for dyslexia should contact a local or national dyslexia association (see below) for advice.

Employers are required to make reasonable adjustments to the workplace to help people with dyslexia, such as allowing extra time for certain tasks.

You canfind your local LDA on the BDA website.


Content supplied by the NHS Website

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 28 Nov 2016