Parental experiences of support for pupils with dyslexia: ignoring the effect on parents

Abstract

This article reports on research that was carried out with parents in order to understand the education system in England from their viewpoint through in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews with seven parents, who were largely sourced through a local dyslexia specialist tutor. The data were analysed by using cross‐sectional analysis in order to consider the participants' choice of words and their comparative responses to questions. The interviews probed parents for information on their experience from the initial point of concern about the child's difficulties with words, through to assessment and concerns for the future. The findings suggest that, while we live in an age of purported inclusion and equality, there are still children who experience exclusion and prejudice in education. Their experience does not match the ideal and, as a result, their parents are suffering too. The findings help to support recent research and could encourage continued improvements in the education system.

“It’s a Battle!”: Parenting and Supporting a Child with Dyslexia

“…The guilt, for blaming children for their dyslexic-difficulties, experienced by many parents [10,15] acted as impetus for them to find out more. As noted in [41], "Acquiring knowledge is the basis of increased confidence".…”

“…However, some institutions refute the existence of dyslexia as a discrete phenomenon [2], leading to rejection of or refusal to diagnose [9][10]. For parents this leads to challenges in supporting their children.…”

“…This chapter explores how parents at the 'individual level' make sense of their children's dyslexia and reframe it as an 'inclusive' and positive phenomenon. As interaction between professionals and parents can be problematic [10][11][12], we explore at the 'interactional level' how parents' sense-making and reframing of dyslexia underpins their interactions with their children and empower them to engage with schools [13]. Where communication is problematic, barriers to positive interaction are delineated and contextualized within wider structures.…”

“…Political constructs within education in England place the onus for inclusion on professionals, settings and Local Authorities [14]. However, studies have found that parental participation is not always productive or meaningful, despite policy expectations [10,[15][16]. As such, exploration of institutional roles and policy within this chapter is important to understand structures which impede parents' active participation in their children's education.…”

Young adult learners with dyslexia: their socio-emotional support needs during adolescence

“…This approach yields highly credible data on human experiences (Earey, 2013) and for descriptive characterisation (Coolican, 2006;Wertz, 2005).…”