Table Of ContentDyslexia
Also available from Continuum
100 Ideas for Supporting Pupils with Dyslexia, Gavin Reid & Shannon
Green
ADHD: 2nd Edition, Fintan O’Regan
Dyslexia in the Digital Age, Ian Smythe
Dyspraxia: 2nd Edition, Geoff Brookes
Meeting the Needs of Students with Dyslexia, June Massey
Supporting Children with Dyslexia: 2nd edition, Garry Squires & Sally
McKeown
The Teaching Assistant’s Guide to Dyslexia, Gavin Reid & Shannon
Green
Dyslexia
Third Edition
Gavin Reid
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First edition published 2005, London
Second edition published 2007, London
This third edition published 2011, London
© Gavin Reid 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage
or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the
publishers.
Gavin Reid has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988, to be identifi ed as Author of this work.
British Library Cataloguing- in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 9781441165855 (paperback)
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of
Congress.
Typeset by Pindar NZ, Auckand, New Zealand
Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt Ltd
Contents
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Dyslexia: Current Perspectives 4
Chapter 2 Research in Dyslexia 20
Chapter 3 Identifi cation and Assessment 29
Chapter 4 Teaching Approaches 49
Chapter 5 Spelling 77
Chapter 6 Supporting the Writing Process 86
Chapter 7 Learning Differences 94
Chapter 8 Making Learning Effective 113
Chapter 9 Dyslexia in the Secondary School: Making
Inclusion Effective 134
Chapter 10 Specifi c Learning Diffi culties: Overlap,
Continuum and Intervention 153
Chapter 11 Specifi c Learning Diffi culties and Alternative
Interventions 190
Chapter 12 Working with Parents 197
Appendix 1 Suggestions for Follow-u p 209
Appendix 2 Contacts 214
Appendix 3 Tests Used for Dyslexia 225
References 230
Web links 240
Index 245
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Introduction
This new third edition of Dyslexia incorporates all the advances in the
fi eld of dyslexia in both research and practice. Policy developments
in the UK have resulted in a much brighter picture all round in terms
of awareness of dyslexia. The UK government report ‘Identifying
and Teaching Children and Young People with Dyslexia and Literacy
Diffi culties’ written by Sir Jim Rose (June 2009) is expected to have a
considerable impact on the learning outcomes of children with dyslexia
in the UK.
The report provides an up-t o-date picture of the nature of dyslexia
and literacy diffi culties, and of the evidence on interventions for tackling
it. The report accepts that there is a need to develop better access
for schools, parents and children to the advice and skills of specialist
dyslexia teachers, who can devise tailored interventions for children
struggling with literacy, whether or not they have been identifi ed as
having dyslexia.
In the UK, teachers can now apply for Training and Development
Agency (TDA)- funded places on specialist dyslexia training, leading to
the award of Approved Teacher Status (ATS) or Associate Membership
of the British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA).
The UK government department, which incorporates the TDA
Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), endorsed all of
the recommendations in the Rose report, including one supporting the
training of teachers in specialist dyslexia qualifi cations. The aim of this
training, according to the DCSF, is to build capacity within the schools
system and improve access to specialist, high-q uality support for pupils
with dyslexia. It is expected that teachers obtaining specialist dyslexia
qualifi cations with the support of Government funding from the TDA
will work across schools to support other staff and pupils.
This progress seems light years in advance of the situation that
abounded when I wrote my fi rst book on dyslexia in 1993. At that
time the priorities were to lobby government for recognition of dys-
lexia, to develop an awareness of dyslexia among teachers and to
promote extended specialist training in the fi eld of dyslexia. Although
the priorities might still be very similar to what they were all those
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Dyslexia
years ago, the progress that has been made to meet these targets
has been considerable. Today, governments themselves are taking
the initiative – although, it must be remembered that much of this is
due to the early work and the ongoing lobbying of dedicated parent
and teacher groups.
There has been signifi cant progress in the scientifi c fi eld regarding
the nature and origins of dyslexia – particularly in genetics, where a
number of possible genetic permutations associated with dyslexia
have been identifi ed. In other areas, too, our understanding of the
reading process and the skills associated with language and learning
have been revisited many times, and intervention strategies have
been revised and contextualized for learners with dyslexia. Indeed,
it has been recognized that many of the strategies and programmes
long advocated for children with dyslexia can be useful for all. This
has been acknowledged in government reports on reading in the UK,
US and New Zealand, and more recently in the New Zealand literacy
benchmarks, which should have a big impact on providing support for
children with dyslexia in Australasia.
It is encouraging that in most countries there has been recognition
of the need to develop policies for dyslexia at both national and local
levels. There are some excellent examples of policies for dyslexia in
the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and other countries further
afi eld, such as New Zealand and North America. I mention the Republic
of Ireland as an example as governments there have shown a dedica-
tion to dealing with dyslexia at all levels, and the rhetoric of policy has
been supported by the essential follow-t hrough in staff-d evelopment
programmes and classroom practices.
Having presented courses on dyslexia in over 60 countries, in every
continent, I have noted the progress and desire among practitioners
and policy-m akers to establish and develop knowledge and expertise in
dealing with dyslexia in the classroom. It is impressive to witness the
endeavours of individuals in some places with few resources (such as
Africa), who are attempting to ensure that there is adequate training
and knowledge in schools in relation to dyslexia.
At the same time it is equally impressive to note how in other
countries, such as Scotland, dyslexia and other specifi c learning dif-
fi culties have been seen as a government priority area and supported
with funding to enable innovative intervention, research and training
programmes to be developed. This pattern has also been seen in
many areas of the US, too numerous to mention in this introduction.
In Tennessee, for example, the Tennessee Center for the Study and
Treatment of Dyslexia at Middle Tennessee State University has been
developing training programmes for teachers since 1993, as well as
offering diagnostic and consulting services.
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Introduction
In Western Australia, the innovative learning centre ‘Fun Track
Learning’ under the direction of Mandy Appleyard has made enormous
progress in providing a complimentary service to parents and children
with dyslexia. There are in fact many examples of this type of excellence
in practice in schools and in learning centres in various countries.
Several independent schools dedicated to dyslexia are complement-
ing the work being carried out by education authorities across the
world. For example, Fraser Academy in Vancouver, Canada – a fully
accredited day school for students with dyslexia and language-b ased
learning diffi culties; the Kenneth Gordon Maplewood School, also in
Vancouver, whose school statement is ‘they are bright, their potential
is extraordinary, they simply learn differently’; the Red Rose School in
Lancashire, UK, who received an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted report in 2009;
the Center for Child Evaluation and Teaching (CCET) in Kuwait – a spe-
cialized Learning Disabilities Center developing innovative practices in
assessment, teaching and training; and the Institute for Child Education
and Psychology (ICEP) Europe – a source for online continuing educa-
tion and professional development for educators and dyslexia course
provision for teachers and parents.
These are just a few of the organizations that have done a great deal
to develop excellence in meeting the educational and social needs of
children with dyslexia. Interestingly, the International Book of Dyslexia
(Smythe, Everatt and Salter 2004) features 53 countries, all showing a
commitment to tackling dyslexia.
This new edition, therefore, is timely. The effect of the increase in
recognition and training in dyslexia has resulted in classroom teachers
and parents being much more aware of the learning diffi culty. This
book is therefore geared towards that end – that is, to provide class-
room teachers with a range of strategies for identifying and teaching
students with dyslexia.
The aim of this book is primarily to empower teachers to recognize
that they have the skills to deal with dyslexia. What they need is the
knowledge to develop an understanding of children with dyslexia: an
understanding of their needs and their skills, as well as of the challenges
they face in education and in the world at large. An understanding of
children with dyslexia is at the heart of this book. It is hoped this will
transmit into constructive and effective practice in schools, and allow
all people with dyslexia to develop to their full potential, academi-
cally and socially, so that they can have a ‘sense of belonging’ in the
community.
There is much still to be done, but one of the crucial areas – that
of teacher awareness – has been a priority for education authorities
in several countries, leading to, I hope, more opportunities and better
teaching for children and young people around the world.
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