The challenges at second level for students with dyslexia are very different from those at primary level. This can take students, their parents and subject teachers by surprise.
At primary level the key focus is on developing literacy and numeracy. At second level they may face difficulties with organisation, note-taking, memory and learning, and continuing difficulties with reading, spelling and writing.
With dyslexia affecting approximately one in 10 people, there are many thousands of students with the condition. While there have been improvements in special education supports, many students are above the criteria to access them, such as additional teaching, language exemptions and help in exams. They are reliant on mainstream teachers who may not have received much input on dyslexia in their training.
My interest in dyslexia comes from the fact that my three sons are dyslexic. When they were going through second-level several decades ago, I became very active in campaigning for improvements in supports for students with dyslexia through writing and giving courses. A key focus has been to provide in-service to school staff.
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I am retiring by September 2025 and in order to share the resources and strategies I have collected, I have uploaded nine YouTube webinars on dyslexia at second-level. The majority are for second-level teachers and schools. There are four for parents and one for students on study skills. (You can access the playlist at YouTube (tinyurl.com/26nnwxaj) or on my website www.dyslexiacourses.ie)
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A key change I would love to see is the adoption of dyslexia-friendly policies and strategies in schools.
All students benefit from these, but some students with dyslexia will not cope without them. Examples include:
· In-service on dyslexia for all school staff.
· The adoption of a dyslexia-friendly style makes materials more readable.
· Positive correction techniques.
· Use of colour for timetables, signs with words and pictures.
· Provision of key notes if the student cannot make notes easily.
· Help with making and filing notes, mind maps and templates for written answers.
One of my YouTube webinars is on dyslexia-friendly school and contains many more ideas.
Maths
The language used in Project Maths is another area which needs to be addressed.
An educational psychologist told me of a girl with dyslexia who said: “If they put maths into the English syllabus, there would be ructions. They have put English into maths.”
Philippa McIntosh, a TY student in Bandon High School, achieved runner-up prize at the Young Scientist in 2024. Her project found dyslexic students were heavily disadvantaged by the complex vocabulary used in the Junior Cycle Project Maths. “It is as though they have to solve a word puzzle rather than just focus on what is being asked of them,” she found. McIntosh argues the case for different approaches, including simplification of language without reducing the mathematical complexity, multiple choice questions or direct calculation responses.
Subjects with less verbal content suit many students with dyslexia. Maths was one of these subjects. Project Maths changed this. Could her suggestions be taken on board?
Language
On the issue of dyslexia and students, it is important to realise that if students have difficulty in the study of their own language, they may struggle when learning another.
Difficulties may include pronunciation, phonics, tenses, spelling, sequencing words in a sentence, vocabulary development and grammar. It is possible to get an exemption from the study of Irish from the Department of Education and to get an exemption from the 3rd language entry requirement from the National University of Ireland (NUI). For both exemptions, the literacy score must be at or below the 10th percentile.
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Many students with dyslexia do not qualify for these exemptions as their score is above that criteria. They may still have considerable difficulties with languages. Take a student whose abilities are mostly in the high 80s or 90s percentile scores, but their verbal scores might be in the 20s or 30s. This discrepancy affects their ability to study languages, and yet they must study three languages to keep all their options open in the super-competitive gateway exam of the Leaving Certificate. Students I have personally known have taken all three languages at ordinary level and then taken extra subjects outside school to have six higher-level subjects. It is making the Leaving Certificate far more onerous and unfair for these students.
Could Irish be an option in senior cycle rather than an obligatory subject?
Why does NUI still require students to have a third language as an entry requirement for some faculties? You do not need a language when studying medicine, veterinary, etc – so why is it a requirement for these faculties?
Time
Extra time is not available for dyslexic students in State exams. In many other countries, extra time is an established option for dyslexic students, both at second and third level. In France, students with dyslexia have access to 33 per cent extra time, in Italy, 30 per cent, and in the UK, 25 per cent. Dyslexia Ireland has submitted a petition with 32,000+ signatures on it requesting extra time in State exams. Could such extra time be granted?
Wyn McCormack is a former guidance counsellor and special education teacher in St David’s, Greystones, Co Wicklow, and the author of books and factsheets on dyslexia at second level
