Support and help for a child with Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty which causes problems with reading, writing and spelling. It is estimated up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has some degree of dyslexia.

It is a lifelong problem that can present daily challenges but support is available to help those with dyslexia be successful at school and work.

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

Dyslexia usually presents itself when a child starts school and begins to learn to read and write. A child may display the following signs;

• read and write very slowly 
• confuse the order of letters in words 
• be confused by letters that look similar and write letters the wrong way round (such as “b” and “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 

Getting help 

The first step is to speak to a child’s teacher or Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO).

If a child continues to have problems, despite additional support, an in-depth assessment from a specialist to look into specific learning difficulties can be undertaken, an educational psychologist or a speech and language therapist could also help. These things can be arranged through school or you can request a private assessment. 

• an educational psychologist directly (see the directory of chartered psychologists on the British Psychological Society’s website) 
• a voluntary organisation that can arrange an assessment or share details of a qualified assessor in your area, such as the British Dyslexia Association, The Dyslexia Association, or Patoss 

For adults, support and advice can be sourced from the British Dyslexia Association.  

Support groups 

As well as national dyslexia charities such as the British Dyslexia Association (BDA), there are several local dyslexia associations listed on the BDA website.   These are independently registered charities that run workshops and help to provide local support and access to information. 

This blog was created using information from the NHS website. For full information click here.