How can dyslexia be diagnosed and treated most effectively? A new collaboration between the Dyslexia Institute and scientists from the Literacy Research Group at the University of Dundee aims to answer this question.
The collaboration is being launched during Dyslexia Awareness Week to raise awareness of the difficulties suffered by dyslexics in learning to read, write and spell. These problems are not the result of poor motivation or lack of opportunities. Instead, dyslexia reflects a weakness in the processing of language-based information which has a genetic basis.
The Literacy Research Group in the Psychology department at the University of Dundee was formed by Professor Philip Seymour in 1980. Today the group comprises Dr Lynne Duncan, Dr Jane Erskine, Dr Leila Kalliokoski and two postgraduate students, Stella Tsesmeli and Sheila Baillie. The group has recently received £250,000 in funding from the Economic and Social Research Council and The Leverhulme Trust to fund cooperations with academic experts on dyslexia in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
Philip Seymour says: "Initial comparisons of the reading and spelling problems suffered by dyslexics in these European countries show that dyslexics who learn to read in English have a particularly difficult time. English is one of the more complex European languages and even normal reading development is slower than in other countries."
The Dyslexia Institute is an educational charity which provides specialist teaching, assessments and advice for dyslexics all ages. This year the Dyslexia Institute celebrates its 30th birthday. Keryn Evely, a senior teacher with the Dyslexia Institute, explains: "The organisation was founded in Staines, Middlesex to offer tuition for dyslexics and to train expert teachers. The first Scottish centre opened in Glasgow sixteen years ago and since then other Institute teaching units have opened in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Perth."
Keryn Evely will be responsible for extending this service to the unit at Dundee University. The Dyslexia Institute will be offering a Literacy Teaching Programme for dyslexic adults and children that is highly structured, multi-sensory, and research-based. They will also be sponsoring Hannah Bownass, a postgraduate student at the University of Dundee with a special interest in dyslexia.
Both the Dyslexia Institute and the Literacy Research Group are currently recruiting participants for their activities. Free half-hour clinics may be booked with the Dyslexia Institute and bursaries are available to help fund lessons. Further information is available from the Dyslexia Institute (01738 444 373 or www.dyslexia-inst.org.uk) or from the Literacy Research Group (01382 344623 or j.m.erskine@dundee.ac.uk).
Contact Lynne Duncan 01382 344629 or Philip Seymour 01382 344614
By Jenny Marra, Press Officer 01382 344910 j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk