Assembly Committee Report - Supporting People with Dyslexia in Wales
The National Assembly for Wales’ Enterprise and Learning Committee today (Wednesday 16 July 2008) launched a report containing far-reaching recommendations on how best to provide support for people with dyslexia in Wales.
It notes that there is no accepted standard definition of dyslexia that is agreed by the Welsh Assembly Government nor any local authority in Wales, which precludes a consistent approach to the screening, assessment and provision of local authority funded services for people with dyslexia.
In addition, the report recommends that the Welsh Assembly Government, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and individual institutions reassess the content of Initial Teacher Training courses to significantly improve trainee teachers’ understanding of additional learning needs.
The National Assembly for Wales’ Enterprise and Learning Committee has also produced a synopsis of the report aimed specifically for people with dyslexia.
Members of the Enterprise and Learning Committee:
Chair: Gareth Jones, AM Aberconwy
Christine Chapman, AM Cynon Valley;
Jeff Cuthbert, AM Caerphilly;
Andrew R T Davies, AM South Wales Central;
Huw Lewis, AM Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney;
David Melding, AM South Wales Central;
Sandy Mewies, AM Delyn;
Janet Ryder, AM North Wales
Kirsty Williams, AM Brecon and Radnorshire
Rapporteur Group
In July 2007, the Committee elected a Rapporteur Group (a number of delegates from the Enterprise and Learning Committee charged with reporting on the treatment of dyslexia) to undertake an inquiry into the support for people with dyslexia in Wales. Four Assembly Members were elected to carry out the work:
Alun Cairns
Jeff Cuthbert
Janet Ryder
Kirsty Williams
Its remit was:
“To consider established, innovative and emerging approaches to the treatment of dyslexia and to submit a report and recommendations on its findings to the Enterprise and Learning Committee by the end of the Autumn term 2007
.”
The Committee published an interim report on 12 December. The report was laid before the Assembly and recommended that the Rapporteur Group continue its work and bring forward a final report when appropriate.
What is Dyslexia?
People with dyslexia find reading, writing and spelling difficult, and the condition is often characterised by getting letters in the wrong order when spelling and also a difficulty in putting words in the correct order.
It is a persistent condition, and is not linked to levels of intelligence.
While there are no official statistics, it is estimated that about one in ten people has dyslexia.
There is currently no standard and agreed definition of dyslexia.