When you think about supporting a student with dyslexia, reading and spelling may come to mind first. But how does that student feel about learning? Do they recognise their strengths and feel confident asking for help?
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, a good opportunity to consider both the learning and emotional needs of students with dyslexia.
Students with dyslexia can face challenges with reading, spelling and writing. These difficulties are not a reflection of intelligence or effort, and each student’s experience is different. Understanding that difference is the starting point for meaningful support.
What can make a difference?
High-impact, evidence-based strategies can make a transformative difference to students’ progress, learning achievement and confidence. Explicit, structured teaching breaks learning into manageable steps, with opportunities to practise and build on what students already know.
Having an official diagnosis of dyslexia can be significant and at times transformative for students and parents. However, teachers do not need a formal diagnosis to design and implement supports for students with dyslexia. Support can begin with noticing where a student struggles, listening to their experience and adapting teaching to their needs.
Helping students understand themselves as learners
Supporting a student also means paying attention to how they feel in the classroom. When learning feels difficult, students may begin to doubt their abilities or feel anxious or stressed about taking part. Stress shuts down and paralyses thinking, making processing the written word even more challenging, so addressing the emotional dimension of learning is mission critical.
A safe, supportive classroom gives them space to ask questions, make mistakes, and recognise their progress. Involving students in conversations about what helps them learn can help them understand their needs and recognise their strengths. A simple question: “What helps you when this feels difficult?”, can open that conversation.
Helping students identify, celebrate, and actively use their strengths is essential for shifting their self-image from “struggling readers” to confident, effective learners who recognise their own unique potential.
Understanding dyslexia and cognitive overload
Navigating a world built around written language takes an immense, unseen effort for individuals with dyslexia. The result is genuine cognitive fatigue, both mental and physical, and it’s a core part of dyslexia that needs far more recognition. When cognitive overload is misunderstood, children and adults with dyslexia are often written off as lazy, unmotivated or careless. In reality, they’re putting in constant compensatory effort just to keep up.
Understanding dyslexia is the first step to dismantling the barriers to learning and ensuring these learners can reach their full potential.
Every student deserves to experience the feeling: “I can learn, and I have strengths to build on.”
If you’d like to explore these ideas further, ICEP Europe’s Dyslexia CPD course, running from 12 October to 6 December 2026, offers practical, evidence-based approaches to supporting students with dyslexia. It’s an opportunity to discover how you can help students recognise their strengths, build confidence and experience success in their learning.
For those interested in exploring this area in greater depth, our MA / PGDip in
Inclusive and Special Education in collaboration with Hibernia College, and MA Special and Additional Learning Needs in collaboration with the University of East London, offer specialist modules focusing on dyslexia and literacy.