Supporting Dyslexia

Making Learning Accessible

Difficulties with reading and spelling should not become unnecessary barriers to learning in other areas of the curriculum. Small changes to the way information and activities are presented can make it easier for a child to concentrate on what they are actually being asked to learn.

Keep spoken and written instructions clear and manageable. Longer tasks can be broken into smaller stages, with written or visual prompts available so that the child does not have to rely entirely on remembering a sequence of verbal instructions. Task boards, checklists and worked examples can all be useful.

Consider the vocabulary a child will encounter in a lesson. Introducing important new words and their meanings beforehand can make it easier for them to follow explanations and participate in the lesson. The immediate priority may be understanding and using a new word rather than being able to spell it accurately.

Presentation matters too. Use clear, uncluttered resources and avoid unnecessarily dense amounts of text. However, there is no single font, colour or layout that is best for every dyslexic child. Ask the child what they find easiest to read and, where practical, allow them to adjust the presentation of digital material themselves.

Most importantly, distinguish between a difficulty with literacy and a difficulty understanding the subject. Adapt how information is presented without unnecessarily simplifying the ideas being taught.

Supporting Written Work

Writing can place several demands on a child at the same time. They may be trying to generate ideas, organise them into sentences, remember spellings, form letters or type accurately and keep track of what they want to say. When some of these processes require considerable effort, the quality of the finished work may not reflect the child's understanding or ideas.

Provide appropriate structure where it helps. Planning prompts, writing frames, word banks, sentence starters and examples can reduce some of the demands involved in organising a piece of writing. The amount of support should be adjusted as the child becomes more confident and independent.

Technology can also reduce barriers. Word processing makes it easier to edit and reorganise writing, while tools such as spellcheckers, text-to-speech and speech-to-text may help some children work more independently. Children need opportunities to learn how to use these tools effectively rather than simply being given access to them.

Consider what an activity is intended to assess. If the purpose is to demonstrate understanding of a topic rather than spelling or handwriting, it may sometimes be appropriate to allow the child to record their knowledge in a different way.

Support should enable the child to communicate increasingly independently, rather than making every piece of written work dependent upon adult help.

Time, Memory and Organisation

Some dyslexic children need longer to read information, organise their thoughts or produce written work. Others may find it difficult to hold several pieces of information in mind while completing a task. Where these difficulties are present, allowing additional time and reducing unnecessary memory demands can make learning more manageable.

Avoid assuming that working slowly means that a child is not trying. Consider the amount of reading and writing required and whether the time available is reasonable for that individual child. Sometimes reducing the quantity of repetitive work can be more useful than simply providing longer to complete it.

Break longer activities into manageable stages and provide reminders, checklists or visual prompts where helpful. Encourage children to develop strategies for organising equipment, remembering tasks

Providing Alternative Ways to Access Learning

Reading is an important skill to develop, but children should not have to rely entirely on their current reading ability to access information, stories and the wider curriculum.

Audiobooks and text-to-speech technology can give children access to books and other material that they might find difficult or very slow to read independently. This can allow them to encounter richer vocabulary, explore subjects that interest them and participate in learning alongside their peers.

Listening to a text while following the written version may also be useful for some children. However, access to audio should not be regarded simply as another way of practising reading. Sometimes its purpose is to remove

Confidence and Independence

Children who repeatedly find reading, spelling or written work difficult can begin to lose confidence in themselves as learners. Adults can help by recognising the effort involved, acknowledging genuine progress and ensuring that literacy difficulties do not overshadow the child's abilities and achievements in other areas.

Talk to the child about what they find difficult and, just as importantly, what helps. As children become older, encourage them to understand their own learning needs and to identify strategies, adjustments and tools that enable them to work successfully.

Avoid routinely stepping in to complete difficult parts of a task for them. Instead, provide enough support for the child to make progress and gradually reduce that support as their skills and confidence develop. The aim is to increase independence rather than create reliance on adult help.

Provide opportunities for children to use their strengths and experience genuine success. Praise should recognise real effort, progress, effective strategies and achievement rather than simply offering reassurance when something has been difficult.

Ultimately, successful support should help children develop an understanding of themselves as learners. A child who can say “I find this difficult, but I know what helps me” is developing an important skill that extends far beyond literacy.