DEMOS Project - Module: Dyslexia

True or False - Question 2 (continued)

"Dyslexic students are lazy"

Many dyslexic students have been identified or labelled as lazy from an early age. This is because they show normal or above average development in most areas of their life but struggle with reading and writing (i.e. skills that are used to assess academic performance). They show a discrepancy in these skills and it is often assumed that they are just being lazy or are not trying hard enough.

Nothing at all. There was no acknowledgement - basically you were just treated as though you were just lazy. I don't think there were any facilities to actually accommodate people with dyslexia, my disability, anyway, which was really sad. I look back at it now and I'm really angry, it's so sad, I've wasted five or six years in academics when I could have got it over and done with ages ago.

Saptal, 3rd year, BSc Quality Management

"Dyslexic students work harder than other students"

It is also the case that dyslexic students frequently report working harder than other students when completing assignments and revising for exams. This is hardly surprising when you consider they often have to put more effort into organising themselves than other students, they have difficulties in processing written information, they have difficulty expressing themselves in writing and sometimes have to attend additional support sessions with study skills or dyslexia tutors. They also often have to rely upon or seek out additional social support to help them with study skills such as proofreading.

In past years, you pretty much read a text book and describe it. This year you have to analyse it and be critical about everything and evaluate everything. For me that process takes a hell of a lot longer than the average person. For me it's a hell of a lot harder. I had to read it about a thousand times just to make sense of it. I wasted almost three weeks just reading the question and trying to understand the damn thing.

Saptal, 3rd year, BSc Quality Management

"Excuse for lack of ability"

Many academic staff have had experience of a student having problems with their academic work and that student then stating that they think they are dyslexic. It is tempting to see this as the student's excuse for not putting enough effort into their work or not coping with the course. It should be noted that the assessment and identification of dyslexia is not a process that students enter into lightly. The student would usually go through some kind of screening with a member of staff from the support services of the university before they are referred on to an Educational Psychologist for a rigorous professional assessment. The process can also take a great deal of time, cause a good deal of stress and have financial implications.

It took me nearly a year for all the assessments to be done, so I've been getting the support since September.

Ruth, Diploma in Social Work

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