Dyslexia England UK

Welcome to Dyslexia England - for everyone with an interest in dyslexia: dyslexia testing and assessment, teaching dyslexic children, advice for parents of a dyslexic child, coping techniques for dyslexic adults, free magazine articles, research, and much, much more!

Dyslexia England

Organizations

Dyslexia Teacher

- A listing of organizations in England offering assistance and advice about dyslexia in England is available on this website, with links to these organisations:

BRITISH DYSLEXIA ASSOCIATION - alphabetical listing of local dyslexia associations. The BDA is the national organisation for dyslexia in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with 130 Local Dyslexia Associations and Dyslexia Support Groups, and with professional Corporate members.

What does the BDA do?
Early identification and intervention. BDA works with parents, teachers, health care professionals.

Parents. BDA has information for parents about schools and about helping at home.

Education. BDA has discussions with the DfEE, LEAs, FE, HE and Teacher Training Colleges. e.g. BDA Response to SEN code of practice. BDA informs teachers, school governors and learning support assistants. BDA has Criteria for recognised Specialist dyslexia courses, and grants teachers AMBDA (Associate Membership of BDA); ATS (Approved Teacher Status).

Adults. BDA promotes awareness of the needs and talents of dyslexic adults. BDA has information for students, job-hunters, employees and employers.
Young people. BDA Youth Forum enables dyslexic youngsters to meet for mutual support. Media Publicity. BDA issues Press releases on its activities and current dyslexia topics. BDA contributes to Special Needs e-mailing forums.

BDA Helpline. Gives information, suggests publications, refers enquirers to their LDAs. 60 BDA information leaflets can be seen on the BDA website.

Support for Local Dyslexia Associations.
1. BDA sends information for LDA helpliners.
2. BDA trains LDA Befrienders who help parents in their dealings with LEAs, particularly with the Code of Practice and Statementing.
3. BDA Computer Committee gives information to LDA Computer Co-ordinators.
Publications. BDA publishes books, booklets, Contact magazine and collaborates with Wiley to produce Dyslexia Journal. BDA reviews other publications about dyslexia.

BECTA ICT Advice - There are a number of technologies that are of particular use when working with students with dyslexia or dyslexic-type difficulties in England:
* assessment software
* access to print (including visual display customisation)
* touch-typing " specific skills work, such as spelling patterns
* planning tools
* word processors (including predictive word processors)
* spellcheckers, glossaries and thesauri
* speech reproduction and synthesis
* support for mathematics.

Assessment software
Many people in England wonder if they might be dyslexic. There are several ways of getting an assessment and you should contact the British Dyslexia Association (BDA), Dyslexia Institute or Adult Dyslexia Organisation for up-to-date information on local facilities. Schools now aim to identify children's strengths and weaknesses in order to find the best strategies for teaching them and to try and stop failure before it starts. Cognitive Profiling Systems (CoPs) Baseline Assessment (available from Lucid Research Ltd) is a piece of software designed to assess children when they first enter school that produces reports showing a child's individual strengths and learning needs.
For older children and adults in England , Mastering Memory (available from CALSC) is a program based on the work of Buzan and Feuerstein that teaches people a range of strategies to improve their auditory and visual memory. Similarly, Wordswork (available from Iansyst Ltd) offers an interactive approach to study skills for secondary pupils and adult learners and covers essay writing, revision, handwriting and time management.

Access to print (including visual display customisation)
Research has shown that black print on white paper is difficult to focus on for long periods and some learners report that the words 'dance' on the page. With many packages, students can experiment with the background and text colours or alter the typeface and character size to suit their preferences. Using of double spacing can also make text clearer.
Some people may also suffer from the 'Meares-Irlen Syndrome'. In the early 1980s, Helen Irlen discovered a form of light sensitivity where the full spectrum of light causes distortions with print and the environment. She found that this could be treated with the use of coloured filters worn as glasses. It is possible to change the colour combinations on a computer and, via Asfedic tuning (as provided by specialist companies such as Tintavision), to identify and assess the most effective use of optimal colour background.

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Famous Dyslexic People - Many dyslexic people have become famous, especially through their strengths in artistic awareness, physical co-ordination and empathy. Here is a list of Famous People with Dyslexia.

dyslexia - dad reading to his schildren

Dyslexia Parents
Resource

Set up for the exchange of information
and advice about dyslexia.
Dyslexia Parents Resource

Dyslexia England
Facilitator: John Bradford Website: Dyslexia Parents Resource Copyright © World of Dyslexia. All rights reserved

Enabling the Dyslexic Student to Decode Information |The Sounds the Letters Make | Dyslexia and Writing | Multi-sensory Teaching methods | Arts Dyslexia Trust | Teaching Methods for Dyslexic Children | Why Can't I Read Like the Other Kids? | Approaching Your Child's School | International