3.3 Challenges in identifying dyslexia

Dyslexia is often described as a ‘spiky profile’, with test results showing a combination of cognitive strengths and weaknesses that underpin learning. A neurotypical learner (someone with no known specific learning difficulty) would have a ‘flat profile’ with little variation across the test results. The more extreme the spikiness, the stronger the specific learning difficulty.

In a typical dyslexic profile, word reading accuracy, fluency, spelling ability and speed of writing are often weak, while verbal and visual reasoning can often be much stronger than working memory and processing speed. The ‘double’ deficit of a weak working memory and a slow processing speed mean that an individual can easily experience memory overload and take longer to absorb information. However, these weaknesses are no reflection of intelligence or intellectual ability, as the stronger verbal and visual reasoning skills demonstrate (Week 3 will discuss this in more detail).

Dyslexia does co-occur with other learning difficulties, and these will influence the learning profile.

Dyslexia manifests differently in different people. It is difficult to identify based on symptoms alone, and co-occurrence with other learning difficulties can complicate the identification process. There is also a lack of awareness among many educators who are not trained to identify the signs of dyslexia which can result in delayed support. This is especially the case in many countries outside of the UK and the USA, where dyslexia is not recognised or supported within standard education systems (Dyslexic Help, 2024).