Eight Questions Academics ask when marking the work of dyslexic students
Dr Michael Reynier, LTSN History, Classics and Archaeology (University of Leicester),
Fiona White, AccessAbility Centre (EDSC, University of Leicester)
Commissioned for the Demos Project - 16th December 2002
You are a busy academic, with forty student essays to mark by lunchtime. You are confronted with an essay from a good student who seems enthused by the course and yet the essay is littered with basic grammatical errors.
Alternatively, your department uses an identifying tag to indicate that this essay is by a student with dyslexia, but how should you respond? A search of the web returns many websites, all with lots of content. But you don't have time to read through them all. It's confusing. The University dyslexia guidelines are useful too, but you can't remember where the document is, or perhaps it's a little long on abstract concepts, and short on practical help. It's tempting to plough on regardless.
Wouldn't it be good if someone just summarized the key points, just so you know you're on track?
These pages are designed to provide accessible, practical help to academics and a starting point from which to build their own knowledge and understanding of dyslexia. They are not comprehensive. Whenever possible we recommend that you contact your University's student support services for guidance and attend a relevant training session. In the meantime, here are some typical questions that might be going through your mind:
Dyslexia is classified as a specific learning difficulty (SpLD) which means that a person might have normal or above average intelligence but have difficulties with acquiring specific skills. It is often described as an unusual balance of skills which is caused by specific cognitive processing difficulties.
The best source of information about dyslexia is the students themselves. Try asking them the question, 'How does dyslexia affect you?'
It is likely that dyslexic students may be affected in different ways because there may be a constellation of indicators, any or all of which might be present in a dyslexic person. These indicators might include:
Most often ignored are the difficulties with planning and personal organisation. Because of this dyslexic people are sometimes judged as being lazy, unmotivated, sloppy or careless. In fact nothing could be further from the truth; the final product (usually word processed work for assessment) is very unlikely to reflect the amount of time and effort that has gone into it.
Finally some, but not all, dyslexics do have excellent skills in other areas. For example they can have strong visual-spatial awareness or outstanding spoken language and oral presentation skills. Some famous people who have these skills and who are thought to be dyslexic include: Thomas Eddison, Michael Faraday, Leonardo da Vinci, AA Gill, Eddie Izzard.
Because dyslexia is a complex disorder it takes a qualified psychologist to diagnose the condition.
Some students will come to HE with a diagnosis and a report from an Educational Psychologist. However, some students will not have had a diagnosis and may never have seen a specialist of any sort. They may seek help during their university course at a point when they experience particular difficulty.
Providing opportunities in a comfortable environment for students to talk about these difficulties is important. Sometimes students reach postgraduate level before they ask for help or before help is suggested to them. The indicators listed above may be useful in identifying someone who has characteristics typical of dyslexia.
This piece of writing exemplifies some of the typical features of dyslexia.
...Immigration was a large problem after the war millions of people were leaving Europe to go to the land of freedom to fulfil their dreams and escape the chaos left after the war. In 1920 immigration shot through the roof as people had saved during the war picked up their belongings and left their homes. This mass immigration caused massive friction Americans were not receiving the immigrants with open arms now the war was over and were looking for the government to do something about it when bills were not passed and action was not taken the Ku Klux Klan seem to hold the answer for some people, even if members were not whiling to commit violent acts, they could share there feelings with like minded white Americans.
First of all students will need an assessment by an Educational Psychologist and following that they are likely to need an Access Centre report which will identify their technological and other study needs. The National Federation of Access Centres (http://www.nfac.org.uk/ ![[External link: Open in new browser window]](../../pics/newwin.gif "[External link: Open in new browser window]"){kind=small}
) can provide information on all their centres.
Recommendations for extra time in examinations and course work and other reasonable adjustments usually form part of the Educational Psychologist's report.
For information on the role of the Educational Psychologist see:
NADO (http://www.nado.ac.uk/ ) is a Professional Association for anyone who works in the post-16 education sector involved in the management or delivery of services for students with disabilities.
Most institutions will enable students to receive support from a qualified dyslexia support tutor. It is a good idea to encourage the student to visit the appropriate student support service to make contact with dyslexia support personnel.
There is considerable hardware and software which can help dyslexic students with their study. For further information on the kinds of equipment that are frequently recommended please see:
This is a new JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) service which offers information and advice to FE and HE sectors on Communication and Information Technologies.
UK students who have been assessed by an educational psychologist as having specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, are likely to be eligible to apply for the DSAs (Disabled Students' Allowances). For further information contact the disability unit in your institution or see the following website:
Deciding what adjustments are made when assessing dyslexic students is best addressed within individual departments. It is very difficult for support staff to give subject specific guidance on these matters. It is likely that if a piece of work is full of mistakes (spelling, grammar, organisation) which are persistent then the student may be dyslexic. It is not usually the case that mistakes in the work of a dyslexic person are the result of carelessness. They may not be able to spot spelling errors which the spell checker has not picked up.
It may be that some adjustments will need to be made when the assessment is being designed. General guidance from a number of institutions suggests the following:
However, for a student to make any improvement specific feedback should be given. It is best if this is positive with plenty of practical examples.
Opportunities for students to discuss their anxieties and confusions as well as their interest in coursework will be helpful. In addition, think about providing the following guidance:
It may be useful to check if there are any adjustments which may need to be made to the coursework brief for the student to be fairly assessed.
Dyslexic students often identify the following as procedures that would greatly help them:
There are now a number of resources which identify good practice teaching guidelines for lecturers and departments including:
It is fair to say that things which will help a student with dyslexia will also benefit all students. Given the new legislation (SENDA Part 4 of the DDA 2001), it is a good idea to discuss these kinds of questions within departments so that 'reasonable adjustments' can be made for dyslexic students.
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Last updated: 8 January 2003
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