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Dyslexia and Support for Literacy

An adult teaching a child in class.

Overview

All children develop and learn to read and write at different rates and in different ways.

Some children have an ongoing difficulty with literacy. They may have a ‘specific learning difficulty’ such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or dysgraphia. Others have difficulties that don’t fit neatly into a diagnosis.

If you notice your child is struggling with reading and writing, you can get advice and support from:

Find out more on The Children's Literacy Charity website.

Diagnosing Dyslexia

The NHS website outlines the steps taken in diagnosing dyslexia and explains what happens during an assessment:

Waiting for a Dyslexia Assessment or Diagnosis

Assessment and diagnosis of dyslexia can include a long wait.

During this time, your child may still require support. 

Schools will use good quality inclusive teaching strategies for all children and young people and these approaches will support learners with a wide range of learning needs, including those having difficulty in learning to read and write with or without a diagnosed difficulty.

If your child needs more targeted support, schools use a wide range of interventions in order to assist their learning. These interventions should be of high quality and assessed on a regular basis to check they are supporting them to develop the skills they need.

Find out more about the support offered by schools, by visiting our pages on SEND Support at School (Universally Available Provision).

Some schools have a specialist teacher or teaching assistant for dyslexia. 

We created a Dyslexia Handbook for teachers when supporting dyslexia and literacy needs. You can read the handbook for an idea on what support is offered:

If your child needs extra and more specialist support the school may refer them to Communication, Learning, Autism Support Service (CLASS).

In some circumstances you may want to request an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan assessment for your child. To learn more about EHC plans, please visit this websites pages on Education, Health and Care Plans.

Additional Help and Services

Amaze SENDIASS

Amaze SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service) are a local charity who offer free, independent, and impartial advice for all matters relating to SEND, including dyslexia. Contact Amaze SENDIASS:

East Sussex Local Offer directory of services

You can visit our SEND-specific online directory, hosted on East Sussex 1Space, that lists many different services both throughout the county and online. Services include advice, guidance and support groups, activities and events and mental health and wellbeing support among many other topics:

All services on 1Space have been split into categories. Once you have selected the category that you wish to visit, you can then use the filters and search function to further refine the results, depending on your need:

NHS - Health A to Z

While the East Sussex Local Offer aims to provide as much information as possible, there may be some conditions that aren't covered in thorough detail. The NHS website has pages that list all conditions, with information and advice on how to get extra support:

Glossary of East Sussex SEND Terms

Some of the terms used on this website are explained on our page, Glossary of East Sussex SEND Terms.

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