What to do next…
...If you have concerns about someone you know is showing signs of Dyslexia...
For an adult - you may find some general information about dyslexia useful by Dyslexia Scotland - Adults & Dyslexia here. You might also find information on the British Dyslexia Association helpful here.
For an adult still in Education, then you might find these links useful - although English focused, the British Dyslexia Association has some pointers here.
HMIE Education for Learners with Dyslexia & an overview of provision for students with dyslexia in Scotland - here.
For a child in primary or secondary education:
Having an awareness of the current legislation that influences the education system can be very useful. The Education Additional Support for Learning (Scotland Act 2004) and amendments made in 2009 provides the legal framework which underpins the system for identifying and addressing the additional support needs of children and young people who face a barrier to learning. You can find details of these acts here.
Enquire provides a clear guide to Additional Support for Learning here.
Under A Curriculum for Excellence, all children and young people are entitled to a curriculum that includes a range of features at the different stages. You will find the Learner entitlements here.
Journey to Excellence Professional Development Pack - Meeting the needs of learners with dyslexia.
For a teacher or professional - 'Assessing Dyslexia' toolkit- was launched last year in Edinburgh. This website is aimed at professionals involved in identifying and working pupils with dyslexia, but the website contains a lot of useful material for anyone interested in learning more about dysleixa and how current legislation is influencing the education system. Click on the title to take you there or this link - http://www.frameworkforinclusion.org/AssessingDyslexia/. Aberdeen City Council have also recently developed Dyslexia Practice Guidelines, along with a Family Leaflet, can be found here.
On a local level, it helps to understand the structure that Local Authorities follow. Here are the Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire links.
Dyslexia Scotland has an extensive range of information sheets and information about dyslexia - Downloadable PDFs.
It is always recommended that any concerns about a child's developments, education or literacy are intially discussed with the child's teacher/school staff.
If dyslexia is suspected, then it is also advisable to get a child's hearing & vision tested.
Parents/carers are within their rights to request an assessment of their child, if you feel that this is not being addressed, then you may want to discuss this further with staff from Dyslexia Scotland or our branch here.
Assessments
Dyslexia Scotland have a useful page about assessment here.
If you would like to receive a list of Psychologists in Scotland who can carry out assessments for adults or children you should call our Helpline on 0844 800 8484 or check out the British Association of Psychologists.
Dr. Gavin Reid (.com), Chartered Educational Psychologist regularly carries out full psychological assessments for children & adults through the coordination of our branch. He returns to Aberdeen about 3 times a year - please get in touch for more information.
Some qualified dyslexia tutors can also carry out a comprehensive assessment as part of their baseline assessment prior to commencing tutoring. Again it is advisable to contact the main office for a current list of local tutors - 0844 800 8484 or helpline@dyslexiascotland.org.uk.