Dyslexia and Study Development
What is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is characterised by a pattern of
difficulties which varies from one individual to another. It can
affect individuals severely/moderately/mildly so each individual’s
profile is different.
The British Dyslexia Association (BDA) defines
dyslexia as
…a learning difference. It affects the way
that the brain processes auditory, visual and motor information,
particularly related to language. It affects the working and
short term memory processes. It is not related to
intelligence, race or gender.
Common indicators of
dyslexia:
- A significant discrepancy between verbal and written
performance.
- Difficulty getting ideas on paper.
- Written work may fail to adequately
express understanding of content.
- Problems ordering things sequentially.
- Difficulty in maintaining a place in a
numerical series, or in reading.
- Slow reading speed with word omissions,
leading to misunderstanding the text.
- Problems comprehending the text without
substantial re-reading.
- Difficulty memorising or remembering new
facts, terminology, names etc.
- Misreading or miscopying information.
- Persistent or severe problems with spelling
even with ‘easy’ or common words; spelling may also be
erratic.
- Handwriting may be untidy, poorly constructed
or immature.
- Handwriting speed may be slow and include
words omissions.
- Persistent problems with sentence structure,
punctuation and organisation of written work.
- Tendency to misinterpret or miscopy complex
written or spoken instructions.
- Difficulty seeing own errors in print
- Poor short-term memory and forgetting things
very easily such as names/ procedures etc.
- Poor time management.
It is important to understand that the nature
and severity of these difficulties can vary considerably.
(This checklist has been adapted from
Bournemouth University Dyslexia Marking Guidelines)