Dylan Gunn has struggled with dyslexia all his life. “Spelling, handwriting and reading are difficult for me, and I had a scribe for the Junior Cert,” he says. “But I only found this out two months before I sat the exams – and I’m not 100 per cent sure that I will get a scribe for my Leaving Cert, as it doesn’t automatically follow.”
A transition year student at Midleton College in Cork, Dylan says his principal, Dr Edward Gash, has been very supportive.
“He really gets it, and he gets me. He helped me with the documentation I needed to prove how difficult it is for me – and other students – at second-level.”
Dylan’s mother, Andrea, says students with dyslexia or other neurodiversities, such as autism, ADHD or dyspraxia, can suffer from anxiety and a constant feeling that they need to prove themselves.
“They are high achievers, and they want to do well,” she says. “Dylan can see things in three dimensions, he loves swimming, water and sailing. He’s training as a lifeguard this year, and he wants to work as an entrepreneur. He is smart and has a lot to offer.
“People with dyslexia really don’t want to be seen as ‘stupid’, and Dylan would have been conscious of that in his earlier years; even the stress around the Drumcondra tests was off the charts.”
Neurodivergent people may struggle to learn through traditional styles of teaching, but are just as intelligent – if not more so – than the neurotypical population. Our assessment and exam systems, however, can present them with unique challenges.
That’s why Rosie Bissett, the chief executive of Dyslexia Ireland, is calling for dyslexic students – as well as those with other disabilities or additional needs – to be given more time in the State exams.
“This is because of how the exams are structured,” she says.
“If we were in an education system that used more universal design for learning principles, or had alternative assessment options, they would be under less pressure. In the system as it stands, up to 20 per cent of students may have some form of neurodivergence, but only 1.5 per cent are allowed to use computers instead of handwriting their exam. That is hard to square in 2024.”
[ ‘We’re disadvantaged’: Maths exams do not add up for dyslexic studentsOpens in new window ]
Dyslexia Ireland met the State Examinations Commission (SEC) in May 2023, arguing the case that extra time should be provided for State exams students.
“We’ve highlighted how students don’t know until the spring of their exam year if they can use a particular accommodation,” says Bissett.
“This should be decided at the end of first year, or ideally no later than early second year ... We hear from schools and parents that, even where students are granted assistive technology in class, they are afraid to use it too much, as the chances of being allowed to do so in the State exams is so slim.”
Earlier this year, student Philippa McIntosh was awarded runner-up in the BT Young Scientist for her project, which showed how dyslexic students are at a disadvantage in the State exams, particularly in exam papers like maths which can contain wordy sections.
But imminent change seems unlikely. The SEC, which oversees the State exams, provides a number of accommodations – officially referred to as “reasonable accommodations” at the certificate examinations”, or Race scheme – for neurodivergent students, as well as students with hearing or visual impairment and students with other disabilities. These can include word processors, recording devices and, “in exceptional circumstances”, access to a scribe if a word processor or recording device would not be an appropriate accommodation.
But, it says, additional exam time is not an accommodation that can be sanctioned in its own right under Race, including for candidates with a scribe, eligible candidates with a visual impairment and candidates who meet eligibility criteria for a mechanical aid, such as a laptop or tablet.
Quoting a report from an expert advisory group in the year 2000, the SEC told Dyslexia Ireland that extra time “could confer an unfair advantage on individual candidates ... To ensure that extra time is restricted only to those who would achieve no advantage is well-nigh impossible. It would require intensive screening of each individual applicant by professionals.”
Bissett rejects this, pointing out that Ireland is an outlier, with over 86 per cent of European countries providing additional time.
“In their response, the SEC fully fails to mention a 2008 Expert Advisory Group that recommended extra time be introduced.
“In France, dyslexic students have access to 33 per cent extra time, in Italy 30 per cent and, in the UK, 25 per cent.
“In the working world, employers regularly make accommodations for their employees. At third-level – where support tends to be much better – they use laptops all the time. Can you think of any other situation besides a State exam where you and your colleagues all have to do the same task at the same time, in the same position, and in the exact same circumstances?
“The SEC seems to think that making the exam terrible for everyone means it is the same for everyone, but this is to fundamentally misunderstand the principle of equity, which gives people what they need to thrive: if someone needs a ramp, give them a ramp.”
In the meantime, Ruth (17) a sixth year student who was diagnosed with dyslexia in first year, worries whether she will be able to realise her dream of becoming an art teacher.
“I didn’t get extra time for the Junior Cert; I did get a reader and a spelling and grammar waiver, but extra time would make such a difference to me and other students,” she says.
“I would have more time to process what I am being asked, so I don’t get stuck on one word, leaving me panicked when I can’t read the full question. I have never finished an exam. My message to the minister for education, Norma Foley: there are unnecessary barriers in our way, and it’s not our fault we can’t read at the speed of a neurotypical person.”
Ben Robinson (13) is another student hoping for change. He was diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia in 2019, after his family sought private assessment due to long waiting lists. An autism assessment and diagnosis followed in 2021.
He loves nature, space, science and Dungeons and Dragons, but says he struggles to keep up with reading and writing in the classroom. Written homework has been an issue for him.
In first year exams, he was given a laptop, but struggled to process the paper exam and switch between the two formats.
His mother, Kim, says Ben skips questions when they take up too much time, but that means he loses out on higher marks for longer questions.
“This is the sacrifice he has to make to try to complete the exam. I feel it is so demoralising for him, to work so hard and do all the study but not get the opportunity to demonstrate his ability.
“Many European countries already provide extra time accommodation for students with dyslexia. Why haven’t we and why is it been pushed out and not on the agenda now?
Schools must be equipped with the tools, knowledge, specialists and funding to adapt to the evolving and diverse classroom needs. Right now, our son and many other students with dyslexia could benefit from a number of accommodations, and extra time seems an achievable and realistic change for the immediate future.
“Ben does not have the same chance as everyone else, this is not a level playing field. The current system is not good enough and needs to change now, not later. The thought of going through this for the next five years is heartbreaking.”
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