Dyslexia is a neurological disorder that results in difficulty learning to read and spell (dyslexia). There may also be difficulties with writing (dysgraphia) and maths (dyscalculia).
Students with dyslexia will take longer to learn to read and may need extra tuition at school to make progress. Some will find it difficult to sound out letters and blend the sounds to make a word, while others may be able to sound out and blend but the next time they see the word it is as though they haven't seen it before. Sometimes student may appear to be reading well in Years 1 & 2 but then suddenly fail to make good progress as they progress into Year 3 and 4.
Students with dysgraphia find it difficult to write words, sentences, and paragraphs. They may avoid writing words they know because they cant spell the words and they may not use correct punctuation in sentences. They often have good ideas but struggle to get their ideas on paper. Their writing is often untidy, with variable letter shapes, size, slope, and spacing.
Students with dyscalculia usually have difficulty with learning number facts and recalling them automatically. They often continue to use their fingers into adulthood to do additions and subtractions and find it almost impossible to learn tables by heart. They may be able to solve maths problems but are slowed down by having poor number fact recall. Some students with dyscalculia will have difficulty solving maths problems as well.
Adults with dyslexia may be able to read but do not enjoy it or avoid it. They may be able to write but do not feel confident that they are spelling words correctly. They prefer to use dot points rather than writing text.
Children who have difficulty with learning to read and write well often have a parent or other relative who had similar difficulties at school.
Schools often cater for students with dyslexia and other learning difficulties by offering small group interventions. These interventions are designed to provide more intense instruction and more practice than is available in the classroom. Learning takes place at the point of need rather than following what the whole class is learning.
If progress after intervention is not as fast as expected, schools may refer students for an assessment to better understand why the student is having more difficulty than other students. An assessment will provide teachers and parents with information that will make the interventions more targetted to the students individual's needs.
