Page 2 - SENExtra October 2021

supporting Dyslexia Month The ups and downs of Dyslexia Arran Smith reflects, from personal experience, on the frustrations and positives experienced by those with dyslexia. According to the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) there is an estimated 10% of the population that has some severity of dyslexia. This is 6.7 million people in the UK today, and on average three students in every class, allowing us to say that it is one of the biggest hidden disabilities in the UK today. As a severely dyslexic adult, dyslexia affects my day to day life in many ways, as a difference, a disability, an annoyance. But also dyslexia is a strength, a positivity and a way of life for me. Dyslexia is definitely a spectrum of difficulties and strengths. Over the past 15 years we’ve used many words in association with dyslexia; this includes comorbidity, co-occurring differences and more recently part of neurodiversity. When I look at dyslexia it is a difference in the brain that affects the way that I learn, and it affects the way that I access the world today. We live in a world where literacy has been put on a very high pedestal, we communicate through words, letters and symbols. As a human race we naturally learn to listen and speak which is part of our genetic structure. When it comes to reading and writing these skills are taught. Now of course, when it comes to dyslexia we are not just about reading, writing and spelling. When I listen to the definitions of dyslexia there are many words used to describe the differences and difficulties that puts very much a negative connotation on the way we view dyslexia. READ MORE Time to stop playing the name game? Dr Jamie Galpin considers the issues around diagnosis, labels and being ‘normal’. Debates around the validity of diagnoses are not new, and few diagnoses have been more fiercely contested than dyslexia. Over fifty years ago, Davis and Cashdan highlighted why the term provides such potent fuel: “where aetiologies \[causes\] are but imperfectly understood, and where methods of treatment are still a matter of argument, it is not surprising that controversy should rage over appropriate groupings of symptoms and the terminology most suitable for them.” Despite improvements in methodology, and undoubted progress in our understanding of different needs, the causes for dyslexia are still imperfectly understood – and so debates continue. Typically, the focus is on the extent to which dyslexic individuals differ from non-dyslexics; whether their difficulties are discreet and sit within a clear category apart from other needs, or whether they represent an arbitrarily-defined section of continuously distributed skills. READ MORE Supporting Dyslexic learners beyond a year of learning loss Rick Bell highlights the lack of access to assistive technology for younger learners Amidst the disruption to education caused by the pandemic, there has been a significant difference in the digital support provided to Dyslexic students in schools and higher education. The Equality Acts ‘right to reasonable adjustments’ claimed by students in higher education allowed them to cope with studying remotely, yet younger learners who relied on the help of teaching assistants were profoundly affected by withdrawal from classrooms. It surprises some to learn that, in the UK, digital support for Dyslexic learners may not be available until they reach further education. Students can apply for the Government’s Disabled Students’ Allowance to cover the costs of specialist equipment, non- medical helpers and more. But in those formative early years, support is often essential in improving outcomes and, perhaps ironically, in reaching higher education. Not employing these rights may impinge individuals’ ability to achieve the grades needed to continue to learn outside of their school’s walls. It is usually the job of the classroom assistant to give extra help and guidance for learners with special educational needs, including Dyslexia. But this dependency on face-to-face support did not allow Dyslexic children learning at home during lockdowns to self-serve and progress at the same speed as their peers. READ MORE