The AchieveAbility Project would like to raise its concerns at Thursday night’s Channel 4 programme Dispatches: The Dyslexia Myth.
We feel that some of the views aired in the programme misrepresented the nature of dyslexia and could well mislead the public. It was implied that dyslexia is solely about poor reading ability, and seemed to be an attempt to criticise national literacy levels rather than to start a debate on the condition itself.
Dyslexia is not solely a literacy issue but a specific learning difficulty which is a neurological condition affecting information processing and understanding meaning. It can affect people from all backgrounds and with all levels of IQ.
The assertion that the diagnosis of dyslexia undermines literacy interventions is damaging to the good practice developed by experts in the field.
The Project assert that support in the classroom is key to achievement, not just in reading, but also in conceptualising information and the development of working memory.
It is for this reason that the Project is launching a pilot to enhance teaching methods in further education and schools for all learners, not just learners with SpLD.
At the end of September the AchieveAbility Project is releasing 4,000 CD ROMs to schools, colleges and Aimhigher practitioners. This CD has been developed in conjunction with the Dyslexic Institute and aims to raise awareness of the nature of the specific learning difficulties: dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia.
