The BDA definition: “Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that mainly affects the development of literacy and language related skills. It is likely to be present at birth and to be life-long in its effects. It is characterised by difficulties with phonological processing, rapid naming, working memory, processing speed, and the automatic development of skills that may not match up to an individual's other cognitive abilities.
It tends to be resistant to conventional teaching methods, but its effect can be mitigated by appropriately specific intervention, including the application of information technology and supportive counseling.”

My explanation: For many of us here, reading and writing skills are pretty automatic. We learnt them without too much difficulty and don’t really think about them now. For someone with dyslexia, this is not the case. Think about when you learnt to drive ; at the beginning, you had to think about everything and you were slower. Now, it’s something you don’t really think about. For someone with dyslexia, reading and writing can be like learning to drive, every day.

What are the characteristics of dyslexia?
As you saw from the BDA definition, it’s difficult to talk about dyslexia without including its characteristics. They do not apply in all people with dyslexia, but they will have a range of the following characteristics:
There two associated conditions which are common in those with dyslexia: 1) dyspraxia – a motor processing condition which affects things such as balance and co-ordination, 2) Irlen syndrome – visual disturbance, when reading black text on white paper, the text can appear to move.

A mismatch between intellectual ability and reading and written skills.

Weaknesses in short-term and working memory where there is a struggle to hold onto information for long enough to manipulate it.

Vulnerabilities in areas of phonological awareness. This results in weak decoding and spelling skills. E.g. realy, tought, everythink, extentions, dilexia

Weaknesses in information processing skills which makes it difficult to organise thoughts coherently.

Only use a limited vocabulary as they limit themselves to words they can spell.

Slow writing speed, it’s often around 10 words per minutes for someone with dyslexia. Twenty five words per minute is average for an undergraduate student.

There has been a lot of research into dyslexia and there are 5 key theories behind its cause:
Magnoceullular impairment
Cerebellar impairment
Phonological disorder
Auditory processing disorder
Visual disorder
If you want to find out more, then you can look at the resources at the end or do your own research.

How does dyslexia impact on study?
The style of learning at University study poses particular challenges to students with dyslexia:

Taking notes in lectures is difficult as they have to decode what is being said and then record it accurately – at pace and in a brand new subject.

Reading is difficult as weaknesses in phonological awareness and memory means it takes much longer to do the reading for lectures and essays.

Organisation and time management can be a challenge, although some students will make a conscious effort to be organised as they know it’s a weakness and understand its importance.

Producing an essay takes a long time and may still result in spelling and grammatical issues, as well as structural issues

There are also significant areas of strength, such as; creativity, problem solving and good study skills.
Assessment does not always take place at school due the expense or the fact that it was not done at the time. Most of our students have been formally assessed just before they began their studies or during their studies.

What’s it like being a student with dyslexia? :
One student will share their experience:
What their experience of being assessed with dyslexia?
What are their strengths and difficulty when it comes to study?

Under the Equality Act (2010) the college has to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ so that students with disabilities are not put at a substantial disadvantage compared to those without a disability.

Support provided through Disabled Students Allowance (a government grant given to help meet the additional costs of studying with a disability).

DSA support is invaluable for many students, but:
It’s not free as students have to have a formal assessment for dyslexia to apply (costs £370+) and from this September they had to pay a £200 contribution towards the cost of their computer.

It's a lengthy process, and it can take more than three months for everything to be put in place.

The Conservative government wants HEIs to take on more of the financial burden in providing these reasonable adjustments.

Future Government funding for students with disabilities is not guaranteed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRNLonXAhdk

This is a video lecture from Professor Maggie Snowling. The first ten minutes provide a good explanation of what dyslexia is and what causes it (she is a proponent of a phonological cause for dyslexia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVA0JdtTuoI

This short video outlines the argument of Professor John Stein who is a proponent of magnocellular impairment.

Funding Cuts to DSA
Two links to information on the planned cuts to DSA:
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-st...
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/dec/02/government-to-cut-funding-...