What is dyslexia?

Ten per cent of the population is believed to be dyslexic. Therefore, it's likely that you will encounter dyslexic pupils in the classroom. To help your students achieve their full potential it is essential that you have a good understanding of dyslexia and the challenges that it can present for the dyslexic learner.

As each person is unique, so is everyone's experience of dyslexia. Dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties or differences (SpLD) rarely occur in isolation, and so most dyslexic learners will show behaviours characteristic of a combination of other SpLD. These are often described as co-occurring difficulties, however, an alternative and more positive definition is to view these as a range of neurological differences - neurodiversity.

Whilst this can be challenging for the dyslexic learner, and their teacher, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that each student will also have their own strengths. Through effective teaching techniques you can build on these to help your student achieve success.

Find out more about dyslexia on the Definition of dyslexia webpage.