2. How to learn to read (or not)

‘How to learn to read (or not)’ looks at the stages through which a child must progress on the journey to literacy and the demands of learning to read. It argues that literacy builds on a foundation of spoken language and emphasizes the importance of the skills a child brings to reading. It also discusses the alphabetic principle, phoneme awareness, learning to spell, reading for meaning, and learning to read in different languages. In summary, a ‘triple foundation’ of symbol knowledge, phonological awareness, and rapid naming ability appears to underpin reading development universally. However, there are also additional predictors that are language-specific.

1. Does dyslexia exist?

Difficulties with reading and writing have wide-ranging effects beyond academic achievement, including effects on career opportunities, personal well-being, and to some extent mental health. Literacy difficulties, when they are not caused by lack of education, are known as dyslexia. Dyslexia can be defined as a problem with learning that primarily affects the development of reading accuracy and fluency and spelling skills. ‘Does dyslexia exist?’ explains that it is now widely understood that dyslexia is a specific learning disorder, but that there is no clear, diagnostic profile. However, dyslexia can be a disabling condition and we can do a great deal to ameliorate its effects.

4. Dyslexia genes and the environment—a class act?

‘Dyslexia genes and the environment—a class act?’ considers the biological bases of dyslexia. Is dyslexia heritable? It has been known for many years that dyslexia runs in families. Like other neurodevelopmental disorders, dyslexia has an early onset in childhood, is persistent, and is likely to be heritable. The genetics of dyslexia is a complicated issue and there is still a long way to go before we fully understand the mechanisms that are involved. The role of the environment in the genesis of dyslexia is considered and some of the factors that can potentially moderate its impact. These include: the home literacy environment, the effects of school, teaching, and learning; and gene–environment correlations.

3. What are the cognitive causes of dyslexia?

The defining feature of dyslexia—poor reading—is a behaviour that depends upon a range of cognitive abilities. A key challenge is to understand dyslexia’s cognitive or ‘proximal’ causes. Furthermore, a causal theory at the cognitive level of explanation provides the rationale for the design of interventions that can moderate dyslexia’s impact. ‘What are the cognitive causes of dyslexia?’ considers a number of different cognitive theories concerning the causes of dyslexia including the Verbal Deficit Hypothesis and the Phonological Deficit Hypothesis as well as theories proposing deficits in auditory, speech, or visual processing in dyslexia.

5. The dyslexic brain

All behaviour, including reading, is controlled by the brain. It is therefore natural to ask: are there differences in brain structure or function in dyslexia that cause difficulties in learning to read? ‘The dyslexic brain’ discusses different methods of neuroimaging for investigating the brain. It focuses on measures of brain function, noting that differences in brain structure between dyslexic and non-impaired readers have been confirmed in left-language regions. It then considers some key questions: Is the brain’s signature for dyslexia the same across languages? Does literacy change the brain? Can brain imaging be used as a predictor of the ease of learning to read? Are there biomarkers that indicate dyslexia risk?

7. The three Cs

Dyslexia is not a ‘category’— it exists on a continuum. Even if it is difficult to be precise about the criteria for defining dyslexia, there are strong theoretical and moral grounds to use the label ‘dyslexia’ to refer to people with severe and persistent reading difficulties. Moreover, ‘naming it’ dyslexia is justified on the grounds of a large body of empirical evidence. ‘The three Cs: caveats, comorbidities, and compensation’ are framed within the Rose Review of dyslexia, an independent study published in 2009, which drew on the best evidence and practice surrounding the nature and remediation of dyslexia.

6. What works for dyslexia?

There is no ‘quick fix’ or cure for dyslexia; it is a lifelong condition. Nevertheless, there are ways of helping to improve reading and spelling as well as ways to get around some of the problems that come with dyslexia. In addition, early intervention can set a child on to the right track to developing adequate literacy skills. ‘What works for dyslexia?’ discusses the importance of evidence-based approaches in order to provide advice as to what works. Screening in the mainstream classroom can be used to identify children with potential problems and tiers of intervention can then be put in place. It also considers what parents, schools, and employers can do to help.