This week is World Dyslexia Awareness Week.  This year the British Dyslexia Association are focusing on Invisible Dyslexia.  This is because dyslexia itself isn't visible, individuals with dyslexia often feel unsupported, unseen,  invisible.

Do you know what dyslexia is or how to spot it?

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia  is a specific learning difficulty that alters the way the brain processes the written word and is characterised by difficulties in recognising, spelling and decoding words.  As such, children with dyslexia also have problems with reading comprehension.

Dyslexia is not linked to intelligence, but it is a genetic condition that is neurological and cannot be cured. It's estimated that between 10 and 20 per cent of people in the UK have some degree of dyslexia.

Dyslexia affects people from all ethnic backgrounds, although a person's first language can play an important role.  A language where there is a clear connection between how a word is written and how it sound, and consistent grammatical rules, such as Italian and Spanish, can be easier for a person with mild to moderate dyslexia.  English is undoubtedly more difficult to learn owing to the irregularities in spelling structures and pronunciation.

Dyslexia isn't just delayed reading development; it can impact on academic progress more widely.  Dyslexia can cause a delay in, or lack of advancement of:

• development of language (frequent mispronunciation of words);
• development milestones (crawling and walking later than peers);
• hand-eye coordination;
• concentration span;
• ability to sequence and order things (including sense of direction).

If you require any further information you can go to the British Dyslexia Association website: www.bdadyslexia.org.uk