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Learning difficulties are usually neurological in nature meaning they are caused by parts of the brain functioning differently to other learners. 

Learning difficulties often run in families with other members of the extended family experiencing some form of difficulty as well. However, this is not always the case.

Learning difficulties are:
  • not related to low intelligence
  •  present in all ethnic, socio-economic and cultural groups
  • not related to the amount of effort or support provided to the child.
Learning difficulties often coexist (have a co morbidity) with other learning disorders.

What is dyslexia?

"Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin.  It is characterised by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction." IDA Dyslexia Handbook What Every Family Should Know p.g. 2. 

How widespread is dyslexia?

The International Dyslexia Association states that as many as 15-20% of the population as a whole have symptoms of dyslexia. 

What are the common characteristics of dyslexia?

Dyslexia occurs on a spectrum, meaning that no two individuals will present with exactly the same characteristics or difficulties. A child or adult with dyslexia will usually display several of the characteristics mentioned below, and these will persist over time, usually interfering with learning.  For some students, reading and spelling will be easier on some days than others, this inconsistency can be frustrating for parents, teachers and the child themselves. 
                Oral Language
  • Delayed speech
  • Mispronouncing multi-syllabic words
i.e. hospital is pronounced as hop-ip-ul
  • Difficulty with remembering the alphabet, rhymes and songs
  • Difficulties following directions
  • Word retrieval  and  naming difficulties
  • Difficulty with concepts such as left/right,  before/ after
                      Reading
  • Difficulty with early phonological awareness skills: hearing rhyme, and clapping the syllables in words
  • Difficulty with phonemic awareness:  hearing and manipulating sounds in words
  • Delays in phonological processing; distinguishing different sounds in words, difficulty with mapping the order of sounds in words
  • Difficulty making a connection between letters and their sounds (phonics), automatic recall of sounds, and letter names
  • Misreading words even when they have read the same word on the page/ line before, omitting words, miss reading small words
  • Mumbles over longer words
        Written Expression/
​                    Spelling
  • Has lots of ideas, but experiences difficulties putting those ideas onto paper
  • Difficulty hearing individual sounds in words and getting them on the page in the correct order
  • May misspell the same word 5 different ways in the same paragraph
  • Might know a word is spelled incorrectly but is unable to fix it
  • Misses whole syllables when spelling multi-syllabic words
  • Difficulty with sentence/ paragraph structure

How is dyslexia diagnosed and treated?

The Australian Dyslexia Association provides pre-assessment and full assessments. Alternatively, assessment can be provided by Registered Psychologists. 

People with dyslexia  can learn, but they often require specialised therapy which is targeted to their language-based learning difference.  Whilst not a cure, The International Dyslexia Association  recommends: 
Explicit - instruction of reading, spelling and writing where learning is directly taught, modelled and deliberate practice provided to over learn individual skills.
Systematic and cumulative - instruction needs to be presented in a logical sequence beginning with simple and moving onto more complex concepts, always building on the known  and providing ample opportunity for review and revision. 
Structured - procedures for introducing, reviewing and practicing concepts. 
Want to learn more? Below are some links to support your understanding of Dyslexia.

Suggested Readings
Moats, L. C.,  & Dakin, K. E. (2008). Basic facts about dyslexia and other reading problems. Baltimore: The International Dyslexia Association.
Shaywitz, S. (2003). Overcoming dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level. New York: Knopf.
IDA. (2014). IDA Dyslexia Handbook What Every Family Should Know. Baltimore: The International Dyslexia Association.
IDA. (2013). IDA Dyslexia  in the Classroom: What Every Teacher Needs to  Know. Baltimore: The International Dyslexia Association.
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