Report contributes to dyslexia debate
On 8 September 2005, the Channel 4 Dispatches programme on dyslexia and the article by Professor Julian Elliot in the Times Educational Supplement last week, have both re-invigorated the debate about the nature of Dyslexia. A key factual element in assessing the current state of understanding of dyslexia is a report issued by the British Psychological Society in June 2005.
The Division of Educational and Child Psychology of the British Psychological Society produced the report entitled 'Dyslexia, literacy and psychological assessment' to shed more light on an issue which affects thousands of children and their parents.
The report recommends that educational psychologists work together with teachers and parents/carers to develop approaches and skills so that individual needs can be identified from an early stage allowing teaching to be adjusted to accommodate these needs. This collaborative process identifies those children whose dyslexic difficulties remain severe and persistent and leads to appropriate additional teaching.
The report examines research into children's literacy learning and the causal factors underpinning literacy learning difficulties. While acknowledging that children may have other associated difficulties, in this report the concept of dyslexia focuses on reading and spelling. As in the Channel 4 programme, phonological processing, how children distinguish the sounds contained in words, is regarded as one of the most convincing explanatory elements. Learners representing a wide range of general ability and IQ can have dyslexic problems.
The results of a recent survey demonstrate the extensive nationwide influence of the report on psychological service policy and practice. Common elements in policy documents are the following: An explanation of the working definition introduced in the report; outline of a graduated response to intervention; delineation of responsibilities across schools, support services and the local authority; consideration of issues of inclusion; involvement of parents/carers; and the provision of different levels of training opportunities for school staff ranging from awareness-raising sessions to extended skill-based courses.
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