Dyslexia in Ireland
Purcell (2001) notes that nearly 50% of the adult population in Ireland are parents with more women working than ever before. As a result, children are provided more materially in todays Irish society compared to any other previous generation. However, what parents do for their children remains a major issue that is shaped by what society actually wants, encourages, and approves (Leach, 1989). While more women are working in modern Ireland, one of the major issues in modern Irish society is childcare. Caring for children, especially those with dyslexia remains a major problem. The number of children with dyslexia has continued to grow resulting in an ever-increasing need to provide special care services to those children. This paper examines the problem of dyslexia in Ireland with a view of providing recommendations on how it can be addressed.
Overview of the Additional Need
Dyslexia is essentially a learning difficulty that affects how quickly and accurately an individual can read and spell (Dyslexia Association of Ireland, 2020). By its nature, this condition presents itself as a series of various strengths and weaknesses in people with mild to severe challenges. It is estimated that one in every 10 people in Ireland including children are affected by dyslexia (Dyslexia Association of Ireland, 2020). While some people are born with a mild form of the condition, others have severe dyslexia. According to the National Council for Special Education (2020), learning difficulties like dyslexia generate poor emotional outcomes among children including a lack of confidence and low self-esteem. Children suffering from dyslexia are also likely to be victims of physical and emotional abuse, underestimate their own knowledge and skills, and are afraid to take risks. These emotional outcomes are attributable to difficulties in developing effective strategies and skills in some areas of the curriculum.
Over the past few years, teachers in Ireland have improved their knowledge regarding this learning difficulty and provide support to children (Holden, 2013). The improvements have come despite the lack of adequate information and training for teachers to support children with this condition. Children in Irish medium schools do not need to have a formal diagnosis of dyslexia in order to access extra teaching supports. While teachers can provide an array of additional supports to their children, existing research shows that current models do not suit all children with special educational needs including those suffering from dyslexia. There is a need for more information and knowledge for teachers to provide suitable additional support to learners with dyslexia. Holden (2013) notes that the small amount of training on this learning difficulty remains a major problem. Moreover, the special-education resource infrastructure in Ireland is eroded and can be quite challenging to access. Therefore, additional training and continuing professional development, as well as improved access to special education resources, are required to enhance the ability of teachers to provide appropriate support to dyslexic learners.
Difficulties that May Be Encountered
As noted by Curry (2001), children with special educational needs in Ireland have various educational options and resources available to them. The special-education resource infrastructure exists to ensure that children with special educational needs receive additional support in their learning. These resources are availed as part of the focus on childrens rights and equality, which has become critical in the modern childcare sector (Donohoe & Gaynor, 2003). For children with dyslexia, some of the existing educational resources include additional teaching support, financial help for the purchase of equipment, language exemptions, Disability Access Route to Education (DARE), Reasonable Accommodations in Certificate Examinations (RACE), and CAO courses (McCormack, 2018). However, these children still encounter some difficulties including challenges in readability of...
…poor communication, inadequate training, staff issues, and lack of adequate support. School administration boards and staff can play an important role in addressing the stressors in the workplace to enhance teachers effectiveness. One of the measures to address this includes establishing policies for support staff to deal with stress. Policies would help create a framework for addressing issues in the workplace and potential sources of stressors. The rotation of SNAs helps to address stressors by reducing the workload or work-related burden. Monitoring stress levels also help to deal with the stressors as it generates insights regarding the nature of the working environment and what could be contributing to stress. SNAs deal with stress through collaborating with other professionals in the workplace to lessen caseload or burden, adopting self-care practices, and monitoring their stress levels regularly (National Council for Special Education, 2015).Recommendations and Conclusion
Dyslexia still remains a major problem in Ireland despite the significant gains that have been made over the past 50 years in increasing educational options and supports for children with this learning difficulty. To effectively address the needs of these learners, collaboration between different educational stakeholders and parents is required. Collaboration helps to create effective partnerships through which the needs of these children are addressed and various interventions implemented. While significant gains have been made in recent years, there is a need for more actions to improve teachers ability to offer the necessary support. First, general education teacher training should include training on offering support to dyslexic learners and creating inclusive classrooms. Secondly, continuing professional development programs should target dyslexia and other learning difficulties facing children. Third, a mixture of educational interventions and behavioral management techniques should be adopted for dyslexic learners. Educational interventions and behavioral management techniques provide a holistic approach to meet the needs of learners with…
References
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Donohoe, J. & Gaynor, F 2003. Education and Care in the Early Years, 2nd ed. Gill and Macmillan: Dublin.
Dyslexia Association of Ireland 2020. Students with Dyslexia in an Irish-medium School. Gaeloideaachas. Viewed January 12, 2022,
McCormack, W 2018. Dyslexia at Second Level: Factsheets for Teachers. National Council for Special Education. Viewed January 12, 2022,
Snowling, M.J 2013. Early Identification and Interventions for Dyslexia: A Contemporary View. Journal of Research in Special Education needs, vol. 13, no. 1, pp.7-14.
Vicker, B 2021. Behavioral Issues and the Use of Social Stories. Indiana Institute on Disability and Community. Viewed January 12, 2022,
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