Page 2842 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 14 August 2019
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Learning difficulties and dyslexia – description and prevalence
Dyslexia is a brain-based learning condition with a strong genetic component that typically results from a deficit in the phonological component of language. Phonological awareness is the ability to hear sounds that make up words in spoken language. Dyslexia is often not related to the cognitive abilities of a person.
Dyslexia is a term often used in the community to describe difficulties with reading. Clinicians use the term ‘dyslexia’ to describe a specific learning difficulty in the area of reading, which is associated with a variety of causes and symptoms. Diagnosing dyslexia requires evidence of at least six months of targeted reading interventions, significant delay in reading compared to peers and the ruling out of other factors, such as an intellectual disability or sensory impairments (needs glasses or hearing aids).
Students with dyslexia may struggle with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and have poor spelling and decoding abilities. Unlike their peers, these difficulties do not diminish with maturity or through continual practice with reading.
Teaching students with dyslexia requires individualised/specialised or alternative approaches. Students with dyslexia have unique learning profiles and can have mild to significant learning needs depending on the severity of the condition. Strategies that work for one student may not work for another student.
Dyslexia can result in poor literacy development, which in turn can limit an individual’s capacity to engage in learning. Poor literacy can lead to undesirable outcomes including: low self-esteem, social, emotional and behavioural problems and disengagement from education.
In Australia, the terms ‘Specific/Significant Learning Difficulty/Disability’ and ‘Learning Difficulty’ are used interchangeably and as an umbrella term for a variety of learning difficulties that may or may not be dyslexia.
Due to the inconsistent use of terminology, it is difficult to estimate the prevalence of dyslexia. It can also be difficult to differentiate between dyslexia, other learning difficulties and the risk factors that may impact learning to read, such as teaching that has not been targeted to meet the needs of the individual child; developmental trauma; lack of early exposure to reading; disadvantageous socio-economic circumstances; or a mix of these factors.
The Australian Dyslexia Association estimates that approximately 10 percent of the Australian population is affected by dyslexia. There are no figures available on the prevalence of dyslexia in the ACT.
Learning Difficulties Taskforce
On 21 August 2012 a petition was tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly calling for the Assembly to recognise Dyslexia as a ‘learning disability’ and enable assistance to be given to schools to effectively support dyslexic students. This resulted in the establishment of a Taskforce on Students with Learning
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