Now is the key time in the secondary school calendar for spotting dyslexia according to Dr Neville Brown, dyslexia expert and founder of Maple Hayes School.
He said: "With half term fast approaching, most year 7 children will be settling into their new schools, enjoying the experience of new surroundings and challenges. For a small number of children, the move away from their comfort zone may have highlighted a number of difficulties, including dyslexia. If dyslexia is not tackled at this stage, the interventions become less effective, because essentially the child is missing more and more of their education.
To help parents and teachers spot the signs of dyslexia, the Lichfield based school has issued a set of guidelines called Underachieving Children - The Signs.
The signs can sometimes include indications that the child is lazy, or a 'late developer'. They always include a widening discrepancy between the child's intelligence and their performance in reading and spelling.
The Maple Hayes School team have used these and other indicators to diagnose dyslexia for many years.
Recently crowned ITV's Midlands Teacher of the Year, Dr Brown has pioneered revolutionary teaching methods that allow children to achieve a significantly higher standard of literacy compared to conventional phonic teaching methods. The 'icon-meaning method' works by assigning pictures to letter strings, avoiding the phonological coding process that many dyslexics struggle with.
Dr Brown added, "I would encourage any concerned parent to look at the guidelines. We are more than happy to help with any diagnosis or just have an informal chat. At this relatively early stage in a secondary education it is not too late to do something about it and get the child the help they not only need, but deserve.
More information for parents can be found at www.dyslexia.gb.com
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