Dyslexia: A Student's Guide

Do you find reading arduous and have difficulty in remembering what you have just read? Do you write down numbers wrongly and mix up the letters in words? Do you confuse right and left? Do you have trouble expressing your ideas clearly in writing? Finally, do you feel baffled and frustrated by your difficulties, feeling that they constantly hold you back in your course of study or professional career? If you answered 'yes' to some or all of these questions, then it could be that you are experiencing dyslexic difficulties (also termed 'specific learning difficulties'). What is dyslexia?

The term 'dyslexia' has changed its meaning over the years: originally, it was used to mean difficulty with reading; then it was extended to cover difficulty with all the three Rs; more recently, it has come to denote a whole range of difficulties which are typically associated with weaknesses in short-term memory, sequencing, perceptual, spatial and motor skills. (Difficulties in these last three areas are often termed 'dyspraxia'.)

Dyslexic people, therefore, may have difficulty not just with reading and writing, but also with remembering instructions, procedures, appointments; they may find it hard to take notes efficiently from books or lectures and to deal with charts, tables of figures, dictionaries and maps; they may operate generally in a state of muddle, typically failing to hand in course assignments on time and to schedule revision properly.

All these difficulties will become more apparent in situations such as interviews or examinations where there is pressure to present information in a short space of time. The anxiety that dyslexics feel in such situations can exacerbate their difficulties so much that they may fail to do justice to themselves, or may even appear totally incompetent.

When asked how they feel about their difficulties, dyslexic people use such words as: angry, frustrated, embarrassed, humiliated – and these reactions act, like anxiety, to compound the original difficulties. Many dyslexic people struggle on, feeling disconsolate about, but resigned to, their problems; others become depressed, even desperate, and give up hope of achieving any academic or professional success.

In fact there is no need for despair. There are effective ways of managing dyslexic difficulties, and, in recent years, there has been a growing recognition among college authorities that dyslexic/dyspraxic students should be given appropriate help and granted appropriate concessions in both course work and examinations.

Ways to manage dyslexia and dyspraxia

Management of dyslexic/dyspraxic difficulties should have six components:

1. A systematic tuition programme to improve literacy and study skills,
e.g., reading for comprehension, planning and organising written work,
note-taking, spelling, syntax and punctuation.

2. Strategies to compensate for poor memory, motor, perceptual and
organisational skills, e.g., the use of mnemonics, work timetables, flow
charts.

3. IT support.

4. Training in relaxation and confidence-building.

5. Examination concessions:
     Students who wish to apply for examination concessions (e.g., extra time,
     use of a word processor), will be required to seek a cognitive
     assessment from either a chartered psychologist or a suitably qualified
     tutor. Such an assessment can be arranged privately through one of the
     main dyslexia organisations. Many colleges are willing to fund the
     assessment through their Hardship Funds. A referral through the N.H.S.
     is also possible, but it should be noted that very few N.H.S. psychologists
     specialise in assessing development dyslexia / specific learning
     difficulties in adults.

6. Disabled Students Allowance:
     Dyslexic students in higher education can also claim a Disabled
     Students Allowance - a lump sum which students can use to pay for
     equipment or services which may be helpful. They may wish, for example,
     to buy a voice recorder, to photocopy reference texts, or to engage the
     services of a tutor or audio-typist. The Allowance, which is not means-
     tested, is claimed from the L.E.A. along with the normal grant.

Visual stress

Visual stress (Meares-Irlen syndrome) is often associated with dyslexia. Symptoms include print seeming to jump around, and white paper causing "glare". An assessment with an optometrist can usually be arranged through the university.

© Author of this article: Dr Sylvia Moody, Dyslexia Assessment Service, London. This article can be freely reproduced with due attribution of authorship.