14/06/2025
Jamie Oliver's recent programme on dyslexia has sparked important conversations about screening, support, and creating more inclusive learning environments. It's crucial for policymakers to develop an educational system that better supports learners with dyslexia and this programme has helped to raise awareness and the profile of dyslexia.
While it was brilliant overall, there were a couple of points I wanted to raise, as a specialist dyslexia teacher and dyslexia assessor. These are based on peer-reviewed academic research and the latest academic understanding of dyslexia.
Words moving on the page
Jamie mentioned this and it's a commonly held belief that this is linked to dyslexia. However, this sensation is actually a visual difficulty, not a direct feature of dyslexia itself (although these visual difficulties can co-occur with dyslexia). If you or your child experience this, it's really important to see a good optician for a thorough eye test to investigate the cause. In fact, SASC, who regulate dyslexia assessments, require a visual screener to be completed before an assessment and any reported visual difficulties must be investigated by an optician before an assessment can take place. This ensures that any underlying visual issues are addressed first.
Born with Dyslexia
Jamie mentioned this, and peer-reviewed research confirms there's often a strong genetic predisposition to dyslexia. However, it's not always a simple 'yes' or 'no' like, for example, having green eyes. It can be thought of more like hypertension (high blood pressure) where there is a continuum. You might have a genetic risk, but your lifestyle and environment (like diet and exercise) significantly impact whether you develop it and to what severity. Similarly, for dyslexia, while there's a genetic component, a child's experiences, early language opportunities and learning environment significantly impact how that predisposition presents. Early, high-quality interventions, like phonological awareness activities, can be incredibly effective. For some children with dyslexic-type difficulties, early support might mean they don't experience challenges severe enough to warrant a formal dyslexia diagnosis later on.
Dyslexic Thinking
This concept of dyslexic thinking is gaining popularity in the media, but it's crucial to understand the scientific evidence. The term dyslexic thinking refers to a perceived inherent and distinct cognitive style with consistently enhanced skills found in all people with dyslexia. However, it is not yet definitively established or widely accepted in peer-reviewed research that people with dyslexia as a group have these skills at a higher rate than the non-dyslexic population. In addition, the documents accompanying the new Delphi definition of dyslexia ( Carroll et al. 2024) state, “The evidence is too limited to suggest dyslexia is associated with improved creativity or visual-spatial skills.”
Assuming that people have automatic skills that come with dyslexia can reduce the amount of support that they are offered, as some people perceive that they can just compensate for any challenges. It can also disappoint people when they do not have these expected innate special thinking skills.
Individuals with dyslexia can develop incredible strengths – whether it's through innovative problem-solving, developing strong coping strategies or putting in significant time and effort to build particular skills. However, these should be credited as their own skills that they have developed and should be proud of, rather than automatic skills that came with dyslexia. This can be thought of as being like Batman (who achieves greatness through dedication, training, opportunities and access to support) rather than Superman (whose powers are innate).
Understanding these nuances enables the provision of the most effective and evidence-based support for individuals with dyslexia.
If you're looking for tailored advice or support regarding dyslexia, please feel free to get in touch with me at [email protected] or see my website at www.riverstone.dyslexia.learning.co.uk for more information about dyslexia and helpful resources that can be used at home or at school to support learning.
