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Dyslexia Awareness Month
You probably have heard the term 'dyslexia' before. The media and most people think it is were someone can not read properly. Some think it is just laziness or low IQ. However, this is not the case. Dyslexia is far more involved than that and can cause considerable psychological and financial hardship as well as stigma for those suffering from this. So what is Dyslexia? And is there any way people can manage it?
What is Dyslexia?
According to the British Dyslexia Association (2026), dyslexia is a brain processing disorder. It can affect a person's ability to read, remember and understand written or spoken language. It can also disrupt our ability to process visual data too. For example, when writing something down it may look like this:
My name Ben is and am dyselxic (My name is Ben and I am dyslexic).
To the dyslexic person that sentence reads fine and they would not notice any or the errors unless they carried out a spelling and grammar check if using a computer. Dyslexia is considered part of a group of family of conditions called neurodivergence. So it is part of the same group as Autism, ADHD, Dyscalculia and Dyspraxia. In the United States of America, this group contains many more conditions.
What Dyslexia is not!
Dyslexia is not a problem with someone's intelligence A person having dyslexia can be highly intelligent, creative and adaptive. 99% of the time it is not the dyslexic person who holds themselves back in education, employment or family life. This tends to be down to others around them - from family members to managers or teachers. The stigma of havig this condition can be as bad if not worse as people looking down on them, holding them back, discriminating against them, lack of opportunities and bullying and victimisation causes considerable financial, psychological, physical and emotional harm.
Supporting is not pampering.
There is a lot people who know and love the dyslexic person can do to assit them. This is not pampering to a person's weakness, allowing someone to be lazy or giving them an unfair advantage over others. As a mental health professional working in the clinical and educational sectors I have heard missinformed teachers, lecturers and even family members say this about their children. How painful this must be for the young or older person. They do not want any attention drawn towards what the sufferer already thinks is an embarrassment let alone milk the situation. Althought there are a few who might be like this, the vast majority of dyslexic individuals would rather crawl under a dark rock than be like this.
Getting the right help.
So what assistance is out there? Lets briefly breakdown things down into sector headings as this will make understanding things much easier:
Education
In the United Kingdom education is what is called a 'devolved' issue that the countries parliament or assembly can decide upon. However, there are certain things that effect all 5 nations. For your country, why not look at your governments website or go to a local library to seek out information. Both primary and secondary education establishments - whether state or private, must provide adequate support to enable the student to be protected (safeguarded) and to provide an adequate education. In primary or infant schools, most have teaching assistants to assist teachers with students that may be struggling with keeping up with the fast paced environment. A parent or guardian can apply to their local council for an educational care plan. Sometimes school's might do this on the parents behalf or refer them to an educational psychologist or school counsellor for a formal diagnosis.
In Middle/High school or secondary school or academies if the child has not already been diagnosed with a health condition or neurodiversity, then they once again can be referred by the school to an educational psychologist for assessment. However, in practice secondary educational establishments, especially academies have a huge problem with children or young adults who need support. Almost every child I work with is singled out and ridiculed by the school making them a prime target for bullying and online trolling. I have also seen many schools permanently exclude children as they are more worried about so called 'grade achievement' than their statutory care obligations. Many parents end up home schooling like I did myself.
However, when the young adult moves tp college or university age, more support opens up for them. Peer support workers, specialist mentors and educational psychologists are more readily available with some even being employed by the educational establishment.
NHS and Healthcare
As we have already discussed, your child's school can refer them for an assessment. However, if you are and adult or your school will not make the referral, you can as your GP (family doctor) to refer you to your local mental health trust or paediatric specialist. A health visitor can also access this service for you too. You may see a private specialist via the NHS or a NHS speech and language therapist (SALT), psychologist, occupational therapist (OT) or psychiatrist. They will carry out an accredited and research based assessment of you or your child called a SpLD assessment. You may find that you may not be diagnosed with this type of neurodiversity. If you are, then you may also get another diagnosis of some other condition such as dyscalculia (difficulty processing numerical data). Dyslexia is often diagnosed alongside another type of condition. This is called a 'co-morbidity' or 'co-occurring' condition.
Charitable Sector