Concerns raised over ‘misconceptions’ among professionals assessing for dyslexia

By Eleanor Busby, Reporter29th August 2024News EnglandChildrens Services, Learning Disabilities, News England, Special Education Needs / Disabilities

Children risk being misdiagnosed for dyslexia as professionals believe common myths about the learning difficulty, researchers have warned.

There is “significant variability” in the methods used by professionals for identifying dyslexia, according to a study led by Durham University.

A survey of 275 UK professionals involved in assessing students for dyslexia – including educational psychologists and specialists – was carried out to investigate their assessment methods and what they believed to be indicators of dyslexia, which mainly causes problems with reading, writing and spelling.

It found that almost half of dyslexia professionals who were surveyed believed at least one unproven indicator for dyslexia.

More than three in five (61%) specialists believed that people with dyslexia read letters in reverse order, while 33% believed that letters jumping around was a key feature of dyslexia.

But researchers from Durham University and National Taiwan Normal University said these were “common misconceptions” about the learning difficulty and that there was currently no evidence to show that either of these were reliable indicators of dyslexia.

The study, funded by the British Educational Research Association (Bera), warned that the misconceptions could influence assessors’ judgments and lead to “identification errors”.

It uncovered a general lack of consensus among assessors about the process of identifying someone with dyslexia.

The surveyed professionals reported using a number of other unsubstantiated dyslexia indicators – such as high levels of creativity, motor-skills issues or clumsiness, and difficulty with reading words in certain colours or fonts.

The researchers are calling for evidence-based knowledge to be built into the assessment procedures for children with reading difficulties.

Lead author Dr Johny Daniel, from the School of Education at Durham University, said: “Our findings show that there is a need for government policy to guide how students with reading disabilities should be assessed, based on reliable evidence.

“It’s also important that dyslexia and psychological associations in the UK ensure that any misconceptions amongst professionals are directly addressed in their guidelines so that children are assessed in a consistent way across the board.”

He added: “Early identification is absolutely crucial so that support can be put in place as quickly as possible.

“However, our study shows there is significant variability in the methods used for identifying reading disabilities such as dyslexia, which could lead to children being misdiagnosed or missed altogether.”

Kay Carter, chief executive of The Dyslexia Association, said: “This research is very interesting and highlights the disparity that we are aware of between professionals assessing for dyslexia.

“The Dyslexia Association work extremely hard to maintain high-quality diagnostic standards through our quality assurance processes and we would be keen to welcome the idea of a national policy.”