Millions of children and adults alike spent the weekend with their heads buried deep in the new Harry Potter book.

But for many, the apprentice wizard's latest adventure is more than just a pleasant read.

It is the next step in their fight against dyslexia.

One person in every 10 suffers from the condition, which makes reading a difficult, often impossible task.

Lack of diagnosis

Twenty-five years ago, dyslexia was not recognised.

Children who suffered from it were just considered stupid and slow.

Although awareness of the condition is much greater nowadays, youngsters can still be branded as unintelligent.

And even when diagnosed, people with dyslexia face a continual struggle all their lives.

Holly Dennison: Dreaded school and reading

Three years ago, 11-year-old Holly Dennison was unable to read.

She had no interest in books and dreaded going to school.

Her family and teachers knew there was something radically wrong and she was diagnosed as having severe dyslexia.

Today she is one of 37 dyslexic children who go to the Unicorn School in Oxford.

The pupils are taught how to make the connection between the sound a word makes and how it looks on the page.

Now Holly reads as well as most children of her age.

A vital ingredient in Holly's success has been access to books which make her want to read.

And this is where Harry Potter and other stories, which have a clear, simple plot, come in.

New publications aid reading

The publishers Barrington Stoke specialise in producing books for reluctant readers.

Patience Thomson, one of the company's founders, says there are several ways of producing books which can help dyslexics.

"Many prefer to read from yellow paper and the spacing of the text is very important," she said.

The new Harry Potter book is in great demand

"On the language side, complicated words such as 'suspiciously' are difficult. And phrases like 'eyeball to eyeball contact with the teacher' can fox them."

Barrington Stoke has a team of young dyslexics who read new books before they are published.

They go through the text word by word, marking up anything they find difficult.

The changes are then incorporated into the final version.

Such books help to overcome the basic stumbling block all dyslexics face: the reluctance to try to read.

Setting out the pages in a way that is comfortable and providing a story that is easily comprehensible are vital.

But above all, it is a gripping story that can encourage dyslexic children to become enthusiastic readers and that is the first step to conquering the problem.