LD Blog

“Xtraordinary People.” That’s the name of a group in Great Britain that is challenging schools to do a better job of addressing the needs of students with dyslexia, the Learning Disability that affects reading and often other areas of literacy. Kate Griggs, the parent of a boy with dyslexia, founded the organziation, connected it with the British Dyslexia Association, and promoted the effort in many ways, including get national news coverage. On the BBC Web site, in a follow-up to a television broadcast on BBC One Wednesday 13 December 2006, Ms. Griggs explained why she was angry about schools’ failure to provide needed services and what she did about it.

When my eldest son Ted, now 13, was in primary school he started having problems learning. The school said he was being difficult and could not concentrate, and were suggesting he go to a special school.

I was shocked because I believed he had dyslexia and needed support. So I trained as a teaching assistant to help him but, realised he needed more help than that.

So we moved him to a school where there was good support and he started to do really well. But we were lucky because we could afford to pay for it.

Not all parents can do that and have to watch their children struggling at school with no proper help.

Link to the BBC news magazine article. Link to the British Dyslexia Association Web site. Also see the press release on the show, as available Craegmoor Health.