Although dyslexia does not mean that pupils are illiterate, a number, especially those that the system has missed out or forgotten, may well be. We will all have heard of adults saying they did not get diagnosed until much later in life and talking of the impact it has had on them. A study by KPMG finds that by the age of 37, each illiterate person has cost the taxpayer an additional £45,000 to £55,000 if you add in the extra costs relating to education, unemployment support and, very often, a tangle with the criminal justice system. We do not just have a duty to help those with dyslexia, but we also have a duty to wider society.

Now, let’s be clear: having dyslexia is not a bad thing. Many people with dyslexia are incredibly successful and are fantastic role models who show these youngsters what they can do. Entrepreneurs such as Sir Richard Branson and Sir Alan Sugar, giants of the entertainment industry Steven Spielberg and Anthony Hopkins, sports stars, including Scott Quinell and—probably shouldn’t mention him, really, but—the former England manager Sam Allardyce, and historical figures such as Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo: all dyslexics.

It’s all about getting the right help and support and ensuring that coping strategies are in place. If they’re not in place, then life becomes incredibly difficult for people with dyslexia. So, I’d just like you to hear what Hannah has to say—and these are her words:

‘Dyslexia is a brain disorder that effects the way the brain understands words.’

Hannah, by the way, is 15.

‘Research shows that 3 genes are responsible for the disorder and because of this, it means that it is hereditary. A person can have dyslexia even if they are very smart and well- educated despite the stereotype that they are stupid and that they are just bad at spellings so they must be bad at English but instead it is more of a memory problem.

‘Reading comprehension can be difficult, they have difficulty articulating ideas and points, words can move around on a page or in the head, Slow writing, can affect every-day things like paying for food and talking to friends and can be a genuinely life effecting disorder.

‘Dyslexia differs from person to person, for example one person can have a mild case when another can have a severe case of dyslexia. People with severe dyslexia are even sensitive to loud noises, may have problems speaking, are unable to concentrate, also 60% of people diagnosed are also diagnosed with ADHD. All of the points I have just said relate to me. I was diagnosed by school in year 8 when I really should have been diagnosed earlier, in primary school. If I was, maybe I wouldn’t be having as much trouble as I am having now in school now. My mum wanted me to be tested when I was younger but my teacher kept on saying “no” because “I was too cleaver to be dyslexic”. The reason she wanted me tested was because my dad had it and like I said, it is hereditary.

‘The effects later on in life and especially in GCSE can be damaging, not just because of the stress but because most of the questions are word based. Even maths can be hard for dyslexics especially numeracy. All of his can lead’—

I’m reading it how Hannah wrote this:

‘All of his can lead to a lot of dyslexic students not getting the results they want, which can lead people to not getting into sixth form and then maybe even university. Teachers say that our GCSE’s are so important, well if they are so important, let us get the recognition and help we need. Students who know the risks get really stressed about not getting their work to a good enough standard. It can cause them great anxiety and may even lead them to depression.

‘Do you know that in exams students get marked down for poor spelling, even if you are dyslexic and this isn’t fair at all? Albert Einstein once said “Everybody is a genius, but once you judge a fish by the way it can climb a tree it will live is entire life thinking that it is stupid.” There are no schools in Wales that specialise in dyslexia. My school only has a small department for dyslexia that only helps us until year 9. After that we are left to our own devices and expected to work and learn the same as everyone else. For some people it really does help but for other people it just isn’t enough and we need to seek help in our free time. The fact that some teachers aren’t even aware that certain pupils have dyslexia doesn’t help either. 74% of teachers didn’t feel happy with their training to provide them with the skill to teach dyslexic children. 2 thirds of parents felt that dyslexia is not recognised across he schooling system. But you don’t need to be a parent to know that.

‘Wales isn’t falling behind though. From what I have found, not having enough support in schools with dyslexia is a worldwide problem, but to help Wales I sent a letter to the Minister of Education’— not the current one, I would add.

[Continues.]—‘and the response was that they couldn’t do anything about it and it was out of their control (it was up to local Authorities). I think that there should be so much more help for those who suffer. Pupils should be allowed to stay in the dyslexia lessons right the way up into year 11 if they wish to do so.’

Now, you can’t help but be moved by this letter, and it shouldn’t take a child, albeit a bright child, to give us sensible guidance as to the way forward. The second, much shorter contribution is from an adult who wrote to me at the end of last week when he saw that I’d tabled this debate. He said:

‘I always believe that dyslexia is something that anyone can overcome with support and methods. In my experience the hardest aspect of having dyslexia was firstly the recognition by the teachers. My first school would not accept that I had it, they just thought I was a slow learner. It was only down to my parents who persisted and ultimately ending in me moving schools and a private psychological assessment. The second aspect is the stigma associated with people with dyslexia. I think this could be because of the wide range of cases on a spectrum; some being worse than others—some life changing, and people just don’t understand that.’

Both of these communications, Minister, raise some very pertinent points. It is inexcusable in this day and age that only by having pushy parents things get done. There is no way, as Hannah pointed out, that over two thirds of parents should be feeling that dyslexia was not recognised across the system.

Teachers also feel let down by the training they receive to deal with dyslexic pupils. If you think that every class will have at least two or three pupils with dyslexia, it becomes even more imperative that teachers know the best ways to address those problems. Seventy-four per cent of teachers surveyed recently said they did not feel that their training provided them with the skills they needed to identify and teach children with dyslexia. So, is it any wonder that, when the professionals feel so untrained, so many pupils slip through the net undiagnosed?

Screening for dyslexia must be done consistently and in a fair manner. At the moment it still appears that local education authorities have differing threshold scores, which can lead to pupils who achieve the same scores, but in neighbouring counties, following completely different pathways for support. The January 2016 school census highlights some stark differences between authorities. For example, Pembrokeshire has 460 pupils under school action plans compared to only 45 in Neath Port Talbot; Caerphilly has 296 pupils under school action plus, compared to only 35 in Flintshire; Cardiff has 65 pupils with statements assessing them as having severe dyslexia, whereas 10 councils have between zero and five individuals with a statement of dyslexia. Given the foregoing, it does appear that there is a huge amount of subjectivity at play in assessing the needs of a dyslexic and I am concerned that there are such huge discrepancies amongst these figures. It seems to me that each LEA and, perhaps, cluster of schools has a slightly different method of assessment and classification. If those pupils are identified as dyslexic but are failing to get the correct level of support, then, Minister, the Government must look at doing something more to address this issue.

The then Minister for education said back in November 2014,

‘We need to adopt approaches for dyslexia and specific learning difficulties that build on our current education policies, so that we have a consistent and robust approach across Wales’.

Minister, I wonder if you could tell me how this is progressing following the publication of the specific learning difficulties framework, which was published in July 2015.

Through my research and during my time as shadow education spokesman for the Welsh Conservatives, I have encountered some additional thinking that I would like to bring to the Minister’s attention. One such piece of work has been undertaken by Simon Leyshon of the highly regarded Moon Hall College for dyslexics in Reigate, Surrey. He posits that the current public examination system makes it very difficult for dyslexics who are not mildly dyslexic to succeed in an exam system that is geared towards memory-based tests. To tackle this issue, three key educational interventions need to take place, alongside individual learning plans: the mindset of the dyslexic child has to be changed to a positive learning one—‘can do’ rather than ‘can’t’; a clear focus on English and maths within the child’s daily learning; and the development of an active curriculum, which would be a structured educational day with a focus on coaching and independent learning, broken up into variable blocks of time, with refocusing sessions and opportunities to explore studies of interest for the learner.

A toolbox of English and maths is critical to the overall confidence and development of the dyslexic learner. And this chimes with much that I’ve heard from parents and carers. The frustrations of an exam system that insists on children sitting early exams—you could do something about this, Minister—when dyslexics need every possible minute to be prepared. The extra time never given during the yearly national reading and numeracy tests and mock exams, which promotes, then, a sense of failure and adds to the stress already faced by child and parent. I wonder if you would look at how an active curriculum might be interfaced with the Successful Futures developments in Welsh education. I was encouraged to see the additional learning needs transformation programme statement last week. I do hope that it will live up to its promise of putting learners, parents and carers at the heart of the process. The announcement of the ALN innovation fund is exciting and I would like to know, Minister, how this might be used, in part, to support dyslexic children.

People can live very successful and full lives with dyslexia, but they require support. We shouldn’t be seeing different rates of diagnosis across Wales and we should not have professionals saying they do not feel adequately trained to deal with the problem. Dyslexics have a unique way of seeing things. It is life through a different lens and it can often be challenging, but we must ensure that dyslexia is a difference and not a disability. Looking through a different lens is unique and can be incredibly rewarding. Thank you.