19 Sep Lost for Words Documentary
Dyslexia Ireland is pleased that a high-profile documentary highlighting dyslexia was aired on RTÉ One in a prime-time slot last night. As the national charity advocating for dyslexic individuals, we are always keen to support any initiative that increases public awareness of dyslexia, a learning difference that affects one in ten of the population, across a spectrum from mild to severe. While everyone with dyslexia is different, there is a commonality of difficulties with reading, spelling and writing and related cognitive/processing difficulties.
The documentary titled ‘Lost for Words’ provided a snapshot of a diverse range of individual experiences and perspectives of dyslexia, and other co-occurring neurodiverse conditions. Dyslexia Ireland appreciates that the individuals involved shared their own experiences of dyslexia with very powerful personal insights. It is particularly welcome that the documentary illustrated the emotional impact of dyslexia, especially in cases where individuals are unable to access a dyslexia assessment until later in life.
Dyslexia Ireland was also pleased to see the profiling of specific issues that have been the focus of our campaigning for many years, including the difficulty accessing public dyslexia assessments; the lack of intensive supports, especially for those most severely affected; and the lack of sufficient training for teachers in how to identify and support dyslexic learners at school.
Despite the positive nature of the majority of the programme, we have concerns about the section that focused on visual aspects related to dyslexia. Scientific consensus would be that dyslexia is not caused by visual difficulties, and coloured lenses and other visual therapies are not effective treatments for dyslexia. While some individuals may experience some benefit from coloured lenses, there is insufficient evidence to support this approach. Ineffective methods can give individuals and parents a false sense that dyslexic difficulties are being addressed, when in fact they may be a waste of resources and critically time that would be better spent on effective literacy instruction informed by the science of reading.
The settled science of reading tells us that explicit and systematic instruction in decoding and encoding (phonics, phonological awareness and fluency) combined with vocabulary building all support the development of reading, reading comprehension and spelling skills.
To learn more about the facts of dyslexia and effective interventions, as well as the range of supports provided by Dyslexia Ireland, please visit our website www.dyslexia.ie or contact our helpline at 01 8776001 or email info@dyslexia.ie
The documentary will be available to watch back on the RTÉ Player.