First recognised by Oswald Berkhan in 1881, dyslexia is said to affect, to some extent, around 5% of the population, although the true scale of the situation is unclear.

Described as a learning difficulty rather than a disability, it is characterised by an inability to process written language in reading and writing where there is no connection with visual or hearing problems.

Indeed when a diagnosis of dyslexia is being made it is important that other possible reasons for falling behind at school (a common alarm sign) are ruled out, such as short-sightedness, stress or ‘glue ear’, which can temporarily severely affect a child’s hearing.

Typically a dyslexic person would find it difficult to recognise letters and words when reading, be poor at spelling and might also have problems identifying numbers, leading to mathematical failings.

Signs of dyslexia are varied and often subtle, but could include, in young children, getting everyday words muddled up, not doing as well as expected at primary school, and problems with note taking and meeting assignment deadlines at secondary school.

There are several theories as to why dyslexia should occur, but modern neuroimaging techniques have shown that people with dyslexia have anatomical differences in the left side of the brain compared to those without dyslexia.

The condition is often asso-ciated with poor short-term memory, poor working memory and a slower mental processing speed. But it does not affect intelligence, so there is no reason why dyslexics, when given the opportunity to reach their full potential, should not also be high achievers.

In our society where the ability to interpret the written word is paramount for success, a key to fulfilling potential is to obtain recognition of the problem and subsequent help.

It is not a condition that can be cured, and it is lifelong, but with appropriate coping strategies in place a sufferer can overcome their difficulties.

Helping dyslexics to do just this is the Helen Arkell Dyslexic Centre in Frensham just out-side Farnham. The registered charity was set up in 1971 by dyslexia sufferer Helen Arkell.

At the time there was no other facility in the UK for dyslexics, and some in the medical and educational professions questioned its existence as a recognised condition.

As a result Helen’s experience of dyslexia was fairly typical — pigeonholed as an underachiever at school with no encouragement or extra support to improve matters. In the event her problem did not come to light until adulthood.

Because she had always felt inhibited by her lack of academic success, wrongly assuming that she was merely not very clever, she was determined to help others suffering the same difficulties and discrimination at school and at work.

As a dyslexic she understood that it was not just a case of helping with reading and writing, but also of boosting self-esteem and aspirations.

The new centre took as its core value the idea that expert assessment and tuition should be available to all with dyslexia regardless of ability to pay.

It started to achieve this by providing special teaching to adults and children with dyslexia. But this could only ever deal with the tip of the iceberg and soon the centre’s activities expanded into teacher training designed to take its skills out into the country’s schools.

It did this by sending its own teachers out to where they were needed and also by giving specialised knowledge to those already employed in schools.

Bernadette McLean is the current principal of the centre, which today provides services to children, parents, adults and teachers. She explained that with dyslexia there is a range of difficulty from mild to severe and it can often go unnoticed in a child, particularly at the milder end of the spectrum.

She said: “It often isn’t picked up until the child is older, when school work starts to get more demanding. It can be missed in girls until even later in their academic life as they tend to be better at compensating for their deficiency and are less likely to resort to behavioural problems than boys.”

There are many more adults with dyslexia than children and a large number of these may have spent their entire lives struggling with their difficulties.

To look after the next generation the centre’s policy is to raise awareness of the tell-tale signs to allow for identification in a child as early as possible. The sooner this is done, the sooner remedial steps can be taken and any frustrations and fears of failure can be tackled.

But getting action in schools can be an uphill struggle.

“One of the things we do is lobby the Houses of Parliament on behalf of children with dyslexia,” said Bernadette.

“One of the sticking points is the link between government and local authorities.

“The government suggests guidelines of what should be done but in reality local authorities can more or less do what they like. We would like to see money for special needs such as dyslexia ring-fenced so schools have to put aside a specific percentage of their money for this purpose.

“At present it is very variable across the country — schools are often more keen to spend money on computer rooms and sports equipment than on the minority of children with difficulties.

“We also want to see teachers better equipped. I would say, at present, most teachers can teach children who are able to learn but find it difficult to teach those that can’t.”

For dyslexic people who make it through to university things are much more positive. There are grants available for equipment such as voice recognition devices and special computer programs.

Many employers are starting to invest in this equipment for staff who need it.

An important service the centre offers is assessment of children and adults by looking for a specific difficulty rather than a general one.

Bernadette said: “At school brightness is often assessed by achieve-ments in the three Rs, but we concentrate on talking and looking. We assess the discrep-ancy between verbal work and written work, which gives a clearer picture of true ability.”

But problems are not necessarily confined to those to do with writing and reading.

Many sufferers find processing of problems — what is termed the working memory — more difficult as the part of the brain involved in doing this tends to be smaller in dyslexics.
Information gathering can be slower and the subsequent speed of action is also compromised, so dyslexics can find the working out of complex instructions quite demanding.

“The problems for children and adults are quite different,” continued Bernadette.

“Children first learn how to read and they then go on to read to learn.

“If they can’t read it can be a very isolating and frustrating experience, and this can come out via behavioural difficulties, which in some cases can even be bad enough to lead to exclusion from school.

“As children get older they have to learn how to learn but dyslexic children don’t learn like other children.

“They need extra lessons in this area, for example in study skills and exam technique.

“When it comes to reading there appears to be a difference between boys and girls.

“Boys need more structured phonic teaching and tend to respond better to non-fiction books than fiction.

“For both girls and boys, we use books from the publishers Barrington Stoke designed to encourage reluctant readers.

“They have an easy to read font, an inviting page layout and contain very visual stories.

“We find the children really enjoy these books and they form a very useful tool in our work.”

If a parent is concerned about their child and contacts the centre they are invited to fill out a questionnaire to decide if the child is a likely candidate.

If it appears they are, the parents are invited to the centre for a chat to find out the type and extent of the problem, after which the child attends for an assessment.

The parents are given a report detailing the child’s test results and sets out recommendations for them, with advice on how these might be achieved, all in an easy to understand format.

Bernadette said: “One thing we come across quite often is that when a parent finds out about their child’s dyslexia they realise they have suffered from the same problems themselves, so we end up helping the child and the parent.”

During the assessment other difficulties might be picked up, such as dyspraxia, symptoms of which include poor motor co-ordination.

Bernadette said: “If a person has learning difficulties in one area they are likely to have some in another too. Dyspraxia is commonly found with dyslexia, although not always, and there is some overlap in symptoms.

"An affected child will be slow to reach milestones for physical tasks, such as tying shoelaces, and could have language impairment. Both conditions are to an extent ‘invi-sible’ and it’s important to pick them up if a child is to develop their potential.”

Once a child is identified the wheels can be set in motion to allow them to learn to the best of their ability in and out of school.

Many attend the centre’s summer school, offering classes for all ages in subjects such as touch typing, creative writing, preparation for exams and social interaction.

“The courses are very popular with the children,” said Bernadette. “We make them fun and they’re nothing like school.”

To get the right help for children out into the general education system, a major part of the centre’s work is teacher training and there are currently 12 staff carrying out this role.

The courses are aimed at three levels. Level 3 is for classroom assistants who have daily contact with children and can offer continuous effective support.

Level 5 turns a qualified teacher into a specialist developing programmes specific to each child.

The highest, Level 7, is a diploma equivalent to a master’s degree allowing holders to do assessments and other specialised tasks.

Teachers on the courses come from primary and secondary schools in the public and independent sectors.

The centre also has links with several special needs schools.

So for dyslexic children, with increasing amounts of skilled help available, the future is looking brighter.

In the case of dyslexic adults, Bernadette said it was more a case of helping them to help themselves.

After the initial assessment, the aim is to demystify the condition, allowing the sufferer to understand why they experience difficulties and behave as they do.

Much of the work involves neuro linguistic programming (NLP) techniques, which have been developed to link behaviour and communication patterns to lead to desired outcomes.

“NLP is a powerful tool,” said Bernadette. “We find it works well with adults who often have had years of using compensatory strategies.

“We teach them to be their own advocate and be prepared to tell people they’re dyslexic, so it’s a case of trouble avoiding and trouble shooting.

“When people come to us they sometimes think they have a mental problem because they have never appreciated what is wrong with them or that there is a different way of doing things.

“For example, they might find it difficult to filter out extraneous noises during a conversation, which is all part of the information processing side of things.

"We can teach them coping strategies to improve their concentration levels and prevent them from being distracted so easily.”

There is some evidence to suggest that dyslexics may have greater visual skills than non-dyslexics. Most of this remains anecdotal but there is so much of it that it can’t be ignored.

Art schools are full of dyslexics and many designers also are sufferers.

It seems dyslexics are not short of original thoughts, it’s the turning of their ideas into words which is the difficult part, and visual expression tends to come more easily.

Bernadette said: “Dyslexic people go right across the ability spectrum and many are highly intelligent and gifted.

“We have made so much progress in recognising dyslexia and dealing with it, but despite this too many children are continuing to go undiagnosed.

“I have a dream that one day I will be able to run Friday classes for children who have been excluded from school.

“A large proportion of these excluded children have special needs, and for those who are dyslexic my goal is to get them learning and give them back their confidence.”

Anyone interested in the work of the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre can call 01252 792400 or visit www.arkell centre.org.uk.