Parents of children diagnosed with dyslexia have called on the Welsh Assembly Government to radically shake up the way they are supported. Many say they have to campaign for years on their own, before schools and local education authorities help to identify cases of dyslexia.
Thirteen-year-old Erin Mulry from Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales, spent years struggling with undiagnosed dyslexia before her local education authority provided a test by an educational psychologist.
 Many children's dyslexia goes undiagnosed |
She said: "In the smaller school all the teachers were saying 'she'll be alright, she'll catch on soon, she's just a bit slow' and my parents were trying to say I'm dyslexic."
Erin's parents say they battled for years to get the proper provision for their daughter, having to convince teachers to accept that their daughter had learning difficulties.
Judith Mulry said: "Looking back now, when we were told by one of her first teachers that she definitely wasn't dyslexic, I just accepted it.
"Looking back, I shouldn't have done so, but I assumed they were the professionals and I was only a parent."
Getting the full range of support Erin needed was complicated by the fact that she had to cross local education authority boundaries to go to school.
While the family live in the Merthyr Tydfil area, Erin's schooling took place within Rhondda Cynon Taf.
 Erin Mulry's family is calling for improved dyslexia provision |
"It was a nine year battle", according to her father Bill Mulry, who is a teacher himself.
"Sadly although there are many joined up parts of local authority provision when children go across LEA boundaries, one of them hasn't been a support as far as dyslexia is concerned."
According to Professor David Reynolds, from the University of Exeter, the problems faced by the Mulry family are far from unique.
He supports their call for a radical shake-up in the way dyslexia is detected and families are supported.
Mr Reynolds said: "I think this problem is so serious the Assembly Government should introduce a national screening system to ensure that the 10-15% of children with this problem are detected."
About one in six people in the UK have problems with reading and spelling because of dyslexia.
If you want to find out more about how to get support as a parent, or take action on something you care about, there's advice on the new BBC iCan website.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
