A lack of teacher training about dyslexia is the single biggest barrier facing dyslexic children in Ireland today, a survey of parents, teachers and children has found.
It is estimated that one in 10 children have dyslexia, a learning difference that can cause difficulties with reading, spelling and writing.
To mark the start of Dyslexia Awareness Month in October, Dyslexia Ireland surveyed more than 900 teachers, parents and students on what changes they want to see.
The results show 94 per cent of parents and 82 per cent of teachers said they want mandatory dyslexia training for every teacher in Ireland, the single biggest policy ask from both groups.
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Some 60 per cent of teachers said they don’t know the best reading or spelling programme to use to support dyslexic children, while 89 per cent of parents said teachers are not sufficiently trained to support them.
Some 68 per cent of dyslexic young people said a lack of knowledge about dyslexia from teachers was one of the biggest challenges they face, ranking it above exam supports, diagnosis delays, and public awareness.
Ava Scarlett (24) is a primary schoolteacher in west Dublin who has dyslexia, and says the level of training she received was insufficient.
“In my two years of a master’s in education, we only had one single lecture on dyslexia, about 30 minutes. I remember walking out and saying to the lecturer, ‘is that it’? And they said ‘yeah, dyslexia is covered now”, said Scarlett.
She received a late diagnosis when she was 15 years old, after a teacher whose daughter had dyslexia spotted some familiar characteristics.
“Without him, would I have known I’m dyslexic? I’m not too sure. I think teachers just need to be more educated and more aware. More training needs to be provided to teachers, especially new young teachers going into college. We know what it is, how to identify it and how to help the children with it,” said Scarlett.
Dyslexia Ireland chief executive Rosie Bisset said the level of dyslexia training for teachers is “hit and miss” and “sometimes they get a lot of mixed messages” about the correct literacy programmes they should be working with.
“We would love to see mandatory training and dedicated time available for this for every teacher on a regular basis. At the moment, there’s a huge amount of choice given to teachers as to whether they do CPD [continuing professional development] or what the topic of that CPD training is,” said Bisset.
The standards set for teacher training in Ireland by the Teaching Council are “far too broad and allow for too much scope”, creating a large variance in dyslexia training across various teaching colleges, added Bisset.
Louise Caffrey says the attention and guidance her eight-year-old daughter Rae received from school since receiving her dyslexia diagnosis is an example of how a child’s life can be turned around with the right intervention.
Rae, who attends a school in Dublin, received a diagnosis at the start of this year, which her parents paid for privately, and over the summer her teacher chose to do some training in dyslexia.
“She [Rae] is now getting a structured literacy programme, which is the key to unlocking reading and writing techniques for dyslexic kids ... it is amazing. She’s getting the right support,” said Caffrey.
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month and October 8th is World Dyslexia Day. If you would like to get involved, visit dyslexia.ie for further information.
