This study aimed to examine the association between specific word reading difficulties (SWRD) identified at age 7 years using a discrepancy approach and subsequent dimensional measures of behavioural difficulties reported by teachers and parents at age 11 years. Behavioural problems were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Secondary analysis of a UK representative population‐based sample of children (n = 12 631) was conducted using linear regression models.There were 284 children (2.2%) identified with SWRD at age 7 years. Children with SWRD had significantly higher scores on all measures of behavioural difficulties in unadjusted analysis. SWRD was associated with elevated behavioural difficulties at age 11 years according to parent report, and with greater emotional problems, hyperactivity and conduct issues according to teachers, even after having controlled for baseline difficulties. These results were replicated for children with low reading attainment, but no cognitive ability discrepancy. Categories of special educational need into which children with SWRD were classed at school were varied.Given high rates of co‐occurring behavioural difficulties, assessment that identifies each individual child's specific functional, rather than categorical, difficulties is likely to be the most effective way of providing classroom support. © 2015 The Authors. Dyslexia published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Dyslexia is a controversial concept. In UK universities, the number of students possessing a dyslexia diagnosis continues to increase. Legislation requires that teaching staff adapt their pedagogic practices to effectively include students so diagnosed. These actions depend on lecturers having up‐to‐date knowledge of what the dyslexia label currently means. This study explored the nature and extent of UK lecturers’ awareness of, and attitudes towards, dyslexia and dyslexic students. One hundred and sixty‐four lecturers working within a range of disciplines in 12 UK universities were surveyed via an online questionnaire. The findings revealed a high degree of positivity towards dyslexic students and academic accommodations like reasonable adjustments. The positivity, though, was typically underpinned by inadequate awareness of current dyslexia research knowledge. Notable consequences included confusion and feelings of inadequacy around how best to meet the needs of dyslexic students, a resultant reliance on generic reasonable adjustments, and disinclination to fully engage with related equity issues. The study’s quantitative estimate of the extent of these findings, together with its analysis of cross and inter‐institutional differences, adds a new dimension to existing knowledge in the field. It has serious implications for the overall quality and equality of teaching and learning in higher education.

Research findings and positions concerning the nature of the dyslexia construct are currently diverse and increasingly complex. The ability of assessor practitioners to operationalize such knowledge and categorically diagnose dyslexia in any reliable and consistent way is being questioned. This study aimed to explore the way in which diverse and complex research findings are operationalized in the dyslexia diagnostic assessment of UK higher education students. The perspectives of 118 professional assessors of dyslexia working within the sector were collected using a questionnaire and some interviews. Data were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively, as appropriate, and then integrated. The results confirmed critics' concerns about the consistency and reliability of the construct as currently diagnosed within the higher education context. Key controversial aspects of practice that emerged included the contextualized interpretation of literacy difficulties, a general commitment to discrepancy concepts, scepticism about the face validity of prescribed psychometric tests, and a related reliance on professional observation and experience above test results. The findings pointed to the need for a more informed nuanced understanding of the dyslexia label and a more cautious and responsible attitude towards its use.

Previous U.K. population-based studies have found associations amongst early speech and language difficulties, socioeconomic disadvantage and children's word-reading ability later on. We examine the strength of these associations in a recent U.K. population-based birth cohort. Analyses were based on 13,680 participants. Linear regression models were fitted to identify factors that were associated with word-reading score at the age of 7 years. Path analysis models were fitted to examine phonological skills as a mediator of the relationships. We found that male gender, preterm birth, naming vocabulary at age five, concerns about speech and language, maternal education, type of housing tenure, lone parenting, parent attachment and frequency of reading to the child were all independently associated with word reading. For each of these predictors, there was evidence suggesting that a substantial proportion of the effect may be mediated by phonological skills (ranging from 52 to 89%). Despite policy intervention, many of the same risk factors identified in previous studies still predict children's word-reading ability in the United Kingdom. Results support the phonological model, with phonological skills on the pathway to word reading.

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