Dyslexia is a learning difference which affects approximately 10% of the population.
In 2009, Sir Jim Rose’s report on ‘Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties’ gave the following definition of dyslexia:
- ‘Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling.
- Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed.
- Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities.
- It is best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and there are no clear cut-off points.
- Co-occurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor co-ordination, mental calculation, concentration and personal organisation, but these are not, by themselves, markers of dyslexia.