How to Support students with Reading Difficulties

What is it?

Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that mainly affects reading, spelling, and processing written information. It does not mean the student is less intelligent — it simply means their brain processes written language differently.

How can I identify it?

You might notice students:

Struggle to read or spell accurately.
Mix up letters or words.
Avoid reading out loud.
Take longer to complete reading or writing tasks.

How can I support this student?

Break reading and writing tasks into small, manageable parts.
Provide clear, step-by-step instructions.
Use audiobooks or text-to-speech software.
Encourage oral explanations or discussions instead of only written responses.

How can other students support?

Be patient if a student reads or writes slowly.
Listen carefully and repeat information if needed.
Help with proofreading or reading aloud without taking over.
Encourage and praise effort, not just accuracy.

This could potentially be problematic with assessment deadline. the position for academic centre to suggest this will require some ‘fine print’ as to when and how is this communicated? Do we have the student’s medical information on file where neurodiversity is included so lecturers dont need to make that extra call to determine