What is Dyslexia?
In the UK at least, Dyslexia is defined as set out below. You can read it or skip straight to the translation further down.
Dyslexia is a set of processing difficulties that affect the acquisition of reading and spelling. In dyslexia, some or all aspects of literacy attainment are weak in relation to age, standard teaching and instruction, and level of other attainments. Across languages and age groups, difficulties in reading and spelling fluency are a key marker of dyslexia. Dyslexic difficulties exist on a continuum and can be experienced to various degrees of severity. The nature and developmental trajectory of dyslexia depends on multiple genetic and environmental influences. Dyslexia can affect the acquisition of other skills, such as mathematics, reading comprehension or learning another language.
The most commonly observed cognitive impairment in dyslexia is a difficulty in phonological processing (i.e. in phonological awareness, phonological processing speed or phonological memory). However, phonological difficulties do not fully explain the variability that is observed. Working memory, processing speed and orthographic skills can contribute to the impact of dyslexia. Dyslexia frequently co-occurs with one or more other developmental difficulties, including developmental language disorder, dyscalculia, ADHD, and developmental coordination disorder
What all that means in plain speak is this...
Dyslexia makes it hard to read and spell because the brain processes information differently. This can vary in severity and is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. People with dyslexia often have trouble with phonological processing and may also struggle with other skills like maths or language learning.
Phonological processing is simply manipulating sounds and words. For example, take the word 'sting' and remove the 't' to get 'sing'. Easy, eh? But not everyone can do it with ease so what to do about it?
*
Because there is no 'one size fits all' answer to this and no two people with dyslexic tendencies present in the same way the answer is to first assess the learner's strengths and weaknesses and then target any weaknesses with specific learning goals.
Assessment
Whether it's Dyslexia or Dyscalculia, assessment involves completing a range of written exercises to highlight any strengths and weaknesses and typically takes a couple of hours with comfort breaks then a rummage in the desk of treats at the end but it also comprises fun tasks and challenges to head off any boredom and keep the learner engaged.
Afterwards, the results will be interpreted, a comprehensive report produced and recommendations made.
Of course, not everyone can get to YooSed so, coming soon is an assessment you can download, print off and carry out at home. This will come with an accompanying video showing how to use it and how to interpret the results.
This will appear in our shop in due course so please subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the page and we'll mail you when it's ready. In the meantime please feel free to visit our contact page and fire away with any questions you may have.
Learning
YooSed offers in-house, individually tailored Dyslexia and Dyscalculia tutoring for learners between the ages of 7 and 18 years. All work books and resources are provided.
An initial meeting is free of charge because, as Rachel likes to point out, no one needs their child to get back in the car and say, please don't leave me with that woman! It hasn't happened yet.
Visitors can choose what soft drink or fruit juice they'd like and are always encouraged to kick off their shoes and get comfy.
There's a separate space a few doors down with a desk if mums and dads prefer to stay. There's tea, coffee and WiFi or plenty to do locally if they prefer to go for a wander.
As with the assessments, not everyone is close enough to visit so YooSed will shortly be offering a range of fun resources to help with reading and spelling at home. These are simple and fun to use and of benefit with or without an assessment so please subscribe to our newsletter and we'll mail you when they're ready. In the meantime please feel free to visit our contact page and fire away with any questions you may have.