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Teaching assistants have the opportunity to build close bonds with the pupils they support and play a highly significant role in shaping their experience of learning. In this article, we take a look at how TAs can provide the best support to dyslexic pupils, not only in terms of developing reading and writing skills, but also helping to build self-confident, independent learners.

We’ve included some top tips from teaching assistants currently working in Primary and Secondary schools as well as other Specialist Practitioners and Dyslexia Action tutor, Claire Green.
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This article was updated to reflect the amendments to the articles (Dr Anna Smith, 03/2026).

Professor Julia Carroll, Caroline Holden and Paul Thompson have released a paper looking at a new definition of dyslexia. 

The highly anticipated Delphi study was published in February 2025 and presented at the SpLD Assessment Standards Committee SASC conference. It outlines a new definition for dyslexia and will have implications for the assessment of specific learning difficulties (SpLD). The papers are free to access but are yet to be peer-reviewed and further edits may occur.

We highly recommend that dyslexia assessors and teachers read the articles in full, these are available on the Open Science Framework and also on the SASC website.

You can read more about the definition in the article below.

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Article by Kate Sutton – Dyslexia Assessor and tutor for Dyslexia Action

When you hear about someone working as a dyslexia assessor, you might picture someone who’s a master of language, with a mind like a dictionary and a perfect sense of grammar. 

But what if that assessor is dyslexic too? At first, it might sound ironic – like someone with a fear of heights becoming a skydiving instructor. However, being dyslexic while working as a dyslexia assessor is not just possible; it’s a superpower. 

For someone without dyslexia, understanding what it’s like to struggle with reading or writing is difficult. They can observe it, learn about it, and teach strategies to manage it – but they’ll never fully know the frustration of letters flipping around on a page or words that refuse to come together. This is where dyslexic assessors shine.

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The theme for Dyslexia Awareness Week 2024 is “What’s Your Story?” We caught up with Luke Hearne-Brown to hear more about his experience of dyslexia. 
  
Luke is a successful young filmmaker and co-founder of Imprint Films. He has worked on projects for clients including Running Bear and British Boarding Schools and is currently collaborating on a project with the Director behind Netflix’s drama, Top Boy.

Luke was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was in Year 3. His experience of primary school was not particularly positive until he started receiving specialist help from an external tutor who was trained using the Dyslexia Action Literacy Programme – DALP. Luke took the time to share his story with us and what motivated him to persevere with A-Levels and a degree in filmmaking, when at one point he’d fallen very much out of love with education.

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Although dyslexia and ADHD are two distinct conditions, the two frequently co-occur and can have a knock-on effect on one another. Between 18-42% of people with dyslexia also have ADHD. Conversely, dyslexia is also the most commonly co-occurring condition for people already diagnosed with ADHD. 

However, the two conditions are often not diagnosed simultaneously and often the order in which they are identified frequently differs between boys and girls – impacting the support they will have access to. In this article, we’ll take a look at how to provide early intervention and support for children, as well as ways to nurture the positive skills and capabilities that both conditions can bring.

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Julietta Howell, a dyslexic individual herself, is an ALN (Additional Learning Needs) Specialist Practitioner at St John’s College in Cardiff, an independent school for pupils aged three to eighteen. For over nineteen years she’s helped many young people with literacy difficulties go on to achieve academic and personal success, and was recognised as Teaching Assistant of the Year in 2020, in the South Wales Argus Schools and Education Awards.

Below Julietta describes her personal journey with dyslexia, how she ended up doing a job she never thought would be accessible to her, and what it’s like returning to study with Dyslexia Action as an adult.

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