Dyslexia

The NHS describes dyslexia as a common learning difficulty Learning difficulty The legal phrase schools use when learning is much harder for a child than for most children their age. It does not mean low ability, and it is not the same as a learning disability. Read the full definition of Learning difficulty where your brain works differently to most people, and is direct that it does not affect intelligence. The British Dyslexia Association's current definition is narrower and more useful when you are trying to work out what is going on: dyslexia is a set of processing difficulties that affect the acquisition of reading and spelling.

Getting an assessment works differently from most health routes. A GP GP Your family doctor. For many families the GP is the first person to talk to, and the person who refers your child on to a specialist. Read the full definition of GP cannot diagnose dyslexia, though they can check for other things that might be affecting your child at school, such as hearing or vision. The assessment is usually done by an educational psychologist Educational psychologist A psychologist who looks at how a child learns and copes at school. They advise the school on changes that would help your child. Read the full definition of Educational psychologist or a specialist teacher, not by a doctor. The first step is normally your child's school and its special educational needs coordinator.

Be aware of the cost. The NHS is blunt about it: most people have to pay for an assessment. Ask the school what it can do first, because support at school does not require a diagnosis.

On school paperwork dyslexia is usually filed under 'specific learning difficulty Specific learning difficulty An SpLD means one skill, such as reading or maths, is much harder for a child than the rest. Dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia all sit under this heading. Read the full definition of Specific learning difficulty ', often shortened to SpLD. In the international classification Descriptive range The words a report uses to sum up a score, like 'average' or 'extremely low'. Tests draw these bands in their own places, so the same word can mean different scores. Read the full definition of Descriptive range it sits under 'developmental learning disorder with impairment in reading'. Those are the classification's words. We say dyslexia.