Breaking through barriers to reading, learning, and success.

It’s Dyslexia Awareness Week 2022, and this year’s theme of Breaking Through Barriers is appropriate, since dyslexia is still too much of a barrier to success for too many. 

Dyslexia is a neurological difference. It affects people in different ways and to different degrees of severity. Although difficulties with reading and writing are the most commonly known issues, there’s more to dyslexia than has traditionally been understood.

Dyslexia can affect both visual and auditory memory and processing, leading to issues with concentration, organisation and memory. It can also co-exist with other learning difficulties.

It is believed that up to 10% of the UK population is dyslexic to some degree. Some of the most creative people I ever taught were dyslexic. And they were in great company – Tom Cruise, Richard Branson, Steven Spielberg, Walt Disney and Albert Einstein are notable figures with dyslexia.

In education, much has been learned and much great work done to diagnose and improve the learning experience of students with dyslexia, to ensure the challenges they face do not prevent them achieving their full potential.

Here are some resources that will potentially help teachers, educators, parents, carers, and anyone interested in the best outcomes for people with dyslexia.

The British Dyslexia Association is a fantastic source of information and resources for families, educators and employers. You can even use the BDA helpline to speak to an advisor, or email with any enquiries.

Dyslexia Action is celebrating 50 years of being the leading provider of accredited training for educators. If you want to undertake training, or purchase educational materials and resources, this is your best bet.

Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity offers advice and support to anyone who needs it, whether they have dyslexia or are seeking to support someone with dyslexia.

Barrington Stoke are simply the best publishers out there for anyone who wants to help young people struggling to read because of dyslexia. As a librarian, I found that their fantastic range of books never failed to engage and inspire a love of reading in my students. 

Not only that, but the amazing Barrington Stoke Young Editors scheme allows students to read manuscripts before they are even published and provide feedback to the authors and Barrington Stoke. My pupils loved these sessions and heated debates were common as they engaged with the books so entirely that they often read past the bell!

I wrote about the Young Editors experience on Barrington Stoke’s website.

If you’re looking for a range of books that may appeal to young people with reading difficulties that may include dyslexia, Booktrust have compiled an excellent list to help you.

The list includes Sally Gardner’s unforgettable Maggot Moon, the ebook of which enabled me to experience for the first time what dyslexia actually feels like to some readers.

Recently I wrote about a range of tools to make note-taking and studying easier for neurodivergent students as well as time-planning tools to help people with Executive Function Disorder focus.

Finally, here’s for a great information pack for teachers and professionals, produced with the input and support of all of the groups mentioned above.