Dyslexia Awareness Week

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The 5th – 8th October marks Dyslexia Awareness Week in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, while, in Scotland, 2015’s events will be from 2nd – 8th November. The theme this year is ‘Making Sense of Dyslexia’ and will explore how support and interventions can really impact the futures of both children and adults with dyslexia. To find out more about various Dyslexia Awareness events across the country click here. Make sure you scroll down for information on dyslexia-friendly books, ways to get involved, and this year’s incredible awareness posters.

Here is a description of dyslexia from the British Dyslexia Association website:

“Dyslexia is a hidden disability thought to affect around 10% of the population, 4% severely. It is the most common of the SpLDs. Dyslexia is usually hereditary. A student with dyslexia may mix up letters within words and words within sentences while reading. They may also have difficulty with spelling words correctly while writing; letter reversals are common. However Dyslexia is not only about literacy, although weaknesses in literacy are often the most visible sign. Dyslexia affects the way information is processed, stored and retrieved, with problems of memory, speed of processing, time perception, organisation and sequencing. Some may also have difficulty navigating a route, left and right and compass directions.”

All Spellzone resources are suitable for dyslexics. If you are a dyslexia tutor, click here to read more about how to use Spellzone to support your students, and here to read about the theory underpinning our course. You may also be interested in our tips for managing dyslexia.

Our Spelling course was written by Shireen Shuster, a teacher who had many years of experience teaching dyslexics from children aged seven to adults. Our website text and backgrounds are adaptable to suit individual user needs, and our course uses multi-sensory learning techniques, involving sight, sound and movement, to help fix spellings into the memory. Our method also focuses on words where the sound is unclear (such as ‘calender or calendar?’ or ‘importent or important’) and provides students with strategies for learning the correct spellings.

While Spellzone does not claim to be a complete cure, our course should help fill in any gaps in basic spelling knowledge.Do get in touch if you’re a dyslexic using Spellzone – we’d love to hear about your experience using the site as well as any suggestions you may have on how we can improve.

If you enjoyed this article, make sure to check out our archive where you’ll find our previous Dyslexia Awareness Week posts, a series of profiles on famous and successful dyslexics, and a variety of tips and tricks to help with spelling, grammar, and reading.

Have a great week raising awareness!


06 Oct 2015
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"Thank goodness for Spellzone during this remote learning phase. The site is easy for students to navigate independently and they're really enjoying the activities and spelling games. You get an awful lot for your money with Spellzone. Really reassuring is the very prompt response with helpdesk queries. I've very rarely needed the helpdesk, but when I have, the issue has been addressed and sorted within a very short time."

Sarah Taggart, Oasis Academy Lord's Hill