The area of dyslexia is a controversial one which has received a great deal of attention over the past several years. Defined by the British Dyslexia Association as “a complex neurological condition which is constitutional in origin” it is widely believed to present as a mismatch between achievement in literacy tasks and in other curriculum areas and has therefore also been called a specific learning difficulty. However, the British Psychological Society (BPS) provides a wider definition which allows the term dyslexia to be applied across the full range of abilities.
The BPS definition has been adopted at Puzzle:
“Dyslexia is evident when accurate and fluent word reading and/or spelling develops very incompletely or with great difficulty. This focuses on literacy learning at the ‘word level’ and implies that the problem is severe and persistent despite appropriate learning opportunities. It provides the basis for a staged process of assessment through teaching.”
Our assessments in this area therefore would require examination of curriculum materials, discussion with schools and parents as well as individual assessment work in order to obtain a full picture of an individual’s literacy learning in context. We are then able to make suggestions as to appropriate literacy interventions which will target the particular areas of need and improve basic reading and writing skills. We might also then suggest ways of presenting work differently to help think creatively about overcoming problems such as how to record a child’s work to reflect the thinking that has gone into it without relying solely on the written word.