Strategies for supporting dyslexic pupils

published:  December 2008

What challenges does dyslexia present to schools and teachers?

According to recent studies dyslexia is a major cause of literacy problems; at current estimates as many as 1 in 20 children are believed to be affected to a significant extent. There may be others for whom the effects are less significant. In schools, almost all teachers will have some dyslexic learners in their classes. The Disability Discrimination Act requires all teachers to adopt strategies to meet the needs of these children.

In light of this an immediate question is: what help should non-specialist teachers give dyslexic students? In the current drive to improve literacy standards among children this is a key issue for schools to address. Teachers are very aware of the high expectations of them in relation to responding to the needs of all their pupils.

In this Research for Teachers (RfT) summary, we explore the findings from a literature review that focused on the nature, causes, diagnosis and various forms of support for dyslexic students based on different underpinning theories and philosophies. The research highlighted what teachers and schools have done to enhance the learning of students with dyslexia. This includes the kind of teaching and learning environment that was found to be supportive of these learners and the strategies that enhanced the learning of some of them.

The study on which we based the RfT is a literature review carried out by researchers at Glasgow University in 2007, in order to inform HM Inspectorate of Education’s evaluation of the educational provision for children with dyslexia in Scotland:

Elliot, D. L., Davidson, J. K., and Lewin, J. (2007) Literature Review of Current Approaches to the Provision of Education for Children with Dyslexia, HM Inspectorate of Education

The authors identified a range of studies that were relevant to the purposes of the review which aimed to identify best practice in the teaching and learning of dyslexic students. Altogether the review authors extracted data from 102 studies, which they then analysed and from which they synthesised the messages from the research.

We think this RfT will provide teachers with useful background knowledge about dyslexia. We highlight ideas for ways forward in both the main summary and the accompanying case studies. The case studies include:

• a phonological approach to teaching reading
• forming a community of writers to help dyslexic learners overcome poor self-esteem, and
• what schools can do to build a dyslexia-friendly learning environment.
  

Like the review, this summary has adopted the British Psychological Association’s definition of dyslexia:

‘Dyslexia is evident when accurate and fluent word reading and/or spelling develops very incompletely or with great difficulty. This focuses on literacy learning at the ‘word level’ and implies that the problem is severe and persistent despite appropriate learning opportunities.'

Readers may be interested to note that, in England, Sir Jim Rose was asked by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (Ed Balls) in May 2008 to make recommendations about how dyslexic children learn best. His report, due to be published in Spring 2009, will be based on both research evidence and personal accounts from teachers, parents and pupils.