Research by ADSHE members

This page is intended to present a selection of research being carried out by ADSHE members – we invite any member to submit information for these pages, and would encourage members to correspond directly with anyone listed for further information.

Difficulties that students with SpLD have with mathematics. Colleen Pearson

Colleen Pearson, Specialist Dyslexia Tutor/Assessor, North Staffordshire (providing specialist tuition for students at Staffordshire University and Keele University, E-Learning Tutor for Dyslexia Action, plus freelance work)

I have been interested for some time in the difficulties that students with SpLD have with mathematics, and particularly in how to assess for mathematics learning difficulties in adults, in particular, differentiating between dyscalculia and the difficulties associated with dyslexia and dyspraxia. I am currently undertaking a dissertation on this topic as the final year of an MA in SEN and Inclusive Learning at MMU, and will be evaluating the assessment tools available through 3 case study assessments. Research is at the early stage, and I am currently carrying out a literature review.

I am interested in input from qualified SpLD assessors about which assessment tools and checklists they use when assessing for maths difficulties, and what they would consider to be sufficient evidence to state in a full diagnostic report that an individual has a profile consistent with dyscalculia.

Please contact: colleen@angelgloria.freeserve.co.uk

The experience of essay writing for dyslexic students. PhD study underway by Christine Carter:

I am doing a PhD in the School of Education at Nottingham focusing on the experience of essay writing for a sample of students identified as dyslexic. There are 11 participants, 7 identified as dyslexic and 4 non-dyslexic, from the Schools of Archaeology, History and Philosophy. I interviewed them 3 times while they were writing one course work essay and also collected their plans, drafts and final essay.

Identifying SpLD students entering HE. John Conway

I am keen to discover exactly when school pupils are recognised and diagnosed with dyslexia in relation to their transition into HE. The ideal is clearly for this to happen before applying through UCAS so that the dyslexia can be declared and flagged to Disability Services, and the applicant can also apply for a DSA on the Student Loan forms.

Anecdotal evidence seemed to suggest that this rarely happens and it falls to HE staff to recognise, or to arrange diagnostic assessments, thus many students are deprived of a ‘flying start’.

Work with AimHigher in the South West confirms a difficulty in communicating with schools, so I am collecting evidence on the proportion of dyslexic students entering HE with an appropriate diagnosis compared to those recognised once they are in HE.

I would greatly appreciate any data that any ADSHE member can supply – either numbers or percentages, preferably from within the last 3 years.

“Navigating DSA-land into HE” BDA International conference June 2011

“Navigating DSA-land into HE” was a talk aimed at raising awareness amongst non-HEI people at the BDA International conference about the existence of the DSA and more specifically the urgent need for dyslexic school pupils to be formally diagnosed in accordance with the SpLD Working group guidelines well before entering university. My concern was fuelled by experiences with my own students and with the local AimHigher group which has a specific disability strand but which has found it very difficult to establish any meaningful relationship with SENCOs in schools in our area. That was reinforced by receiving only one reply to a message sent to all schools in one local authority to find out how much they knew about the DSA process and would they like a visit to explain it, and that reply was ‘we don’t know much about DSA but we don’t really want to’. Surveying HEIs drew on average a 50% discovery rate – i.e. 50% of the registered dyslexic students at the end of the first year were discovered and assessed after entering university. Therefore a worrying large number of dyslexic students spend the first year without proper ‘support’ and are not being enabled to perform to their potential.

The DSA requires formal diagnosis after the student’s 16^th birthday by Educational Psychologist or approved dyslexia specialist, e.g. by PATOSS or BDA assessors certificate as evidence, and the application process should begin by registering as disabled on the UCAS application procedure which alerts university disability officers, and on the PN1 Student Loan application which triggers SFE to begin the DSA procedure. Applying at this stage, given that SFE now proudly claim to have reduced the process to 14 weeks gives the student a sporting chance of having a DSA in place by the start of their university course.

John Conway, Disability Officer, Royal Agricultural College.

please contact john.conway@rac.ac.uk

The experience of essay writing for a sample of students identified as dyslexic. Christine Carter

Christine Carter: I worked as Academic Support Tutor since early nineties at the University of Leicester and since 2000 at the University of Nottingham.

I take a socio-cultural approach to dyslexia and writing and my approach is to embed these writers within a theory of academic writing and examine their experience as writers rather than just being dyslexic. My starting point is that student writers attempt to construct credible identities according to the values and beliefs of their discipline and a ‘repertoire of voices’ from their own values, beliefs and varied cultural experiences. I am asking how/whether this might change how we view the impact of dyslexia on their essay writing and the implications for policy and practice.

I am currently analysing the data and am due to finish in Dec.2012.

Modelling and developing a dyslexia support system. Tim Deignan

I have a dyslexia study in the pipeline as follows:

Chapter Title: Modelling and Developing a Dyslexia Support System

Chapter Author: Tim Deignan (Independent Consultant, West Yorkshire, England)

Book Title: Disabled Students in Education: Technology, Transition and Inclusivity

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