Supporting Dyslexic Learners

For Adults & Children in Kent and across UK

A video from the British Dyslexia Association which explains dyslexia to young audiences.

A video made by the charity Made by dyslexia shows how some famous individuals have used their dyslexic thinking to their advantage.

Jo, an ambassador for the British Dyslexia Association talks about how an assessment has helped her.

Difficulty learning nursery rhymes
Difficulty paying attention, sitting still, listening to stories
Likes listening to stories but shows no interest in letters or words
Difficulty learning to sing or recite the alphabet
A history of slow speech development
Muddles words e.g. cubumber, flutterby
Difficulty keeping simple rhythm
Finds it hard to carry out two or more instructions at one time, (e.g. put the toys in the box, then put it on the shelf) but is fine if tasks are presented in smaller units
Forgets names of friends, teacher, colours etc.
Confusion between directional words e.g. up/down
Family history of dyslexia/reading difficulties
Difficulty with sequencing e.g. coloured beads, classroom routines
Substitutes words e.g. "lampshade" for "lamppost"
Appears not to be listening or paying attention
Obvious 'good' and 'bad' days for no apparent reason

General signs to look for are:

Poor standard of written work compared with oral ability
Produces messy work with many crossings out and words tried several times, e.g. wippe, wype, wiep, wipe
Confused by letters which look similar, particularly b/d, p/g, p/q, n/u, m/w
Poor handwriting with many ‘reversals’ and badly formed letters
Spells a word several different ways in one piece of writing
Poor pencil grip
Produces phonetic and bizarre spelling: not age/ability appropriate

Confusion with place value e.g. units, tens, hundreds
Confused by symbols such as + and x signs
Difficulty remembering anything in a sequential order, e.g. tables, days of the week, the alphabet

Has difficulty learning to tell the time
Poor personal organisation
Difficulty remembering what day of the week it is, their birth date, seasons of the year, months of the year
Difficulty with concepts – yesterday, today, tomorrow

Poor motor skills, leading to weaknesses in speed, control and accuracy of the pencil
Memory difficulties e.g. for daily routines, self-organisation, rote learning
Confused by the difference between left and right, up and down, east and west
Performs unevenly from day to day

Has a poor standard of written work compared with oral ability
Has poor handwriting with badly formed letters or has neat handwriting, but writes very slowly
Produces badly set out or messy written work, with spellings crossed out several times
Spells the same word differently in one piece of work
Has difficulty with punctuation and/or grammar
Confuses upper and lower case letters
Writes a great deal but 'loses the thread'
Writes very little, but to the point
Has difficulty taking notes in lessons
Has difficulty with organisation of homework
Finds tasks difficult to complete on time
Appears to know more than they can commit to paper

Has difficulty remembering tables and/or basic number sets
Finds sequencing problematic
Confuses signs such as x for +
Can think at a high level in mathematics, but needs a calculator for simple calculations
Misreads questions that include words
Finds mental arithmetic at speed very difficult
Finds memorising formulae difficult

Confuses direction - left/right
Has difficulty in learning foreign languages
Has difficulty in finding the name for an object
Has clear difficulties processing information at speed
Misunderstands complicated questions
Finds holding a list of instructions in memory difficult, although can perform all tasks when told individually

Is disorganised or forgetful e.g. over sports equipment, lessons, homework, appointments
Is easily distracted. May find it difficult to remain focused on the task
Is often in the wrong place at the wrong time
Is excessively tired, due to the amount of concentration and effort required