Dyslexia Awareness Week: Literacy struggles plague adults and kids

Data released this Dyslexia Awareness Week shows more than half (56 per cent) of people struggled with literacy while at school.

More than a quarter of Australians feel they aren't good enough, due to challenges with reading and writing, making them feel embarrassed (30 per cent), inadequate (27 per cent) and less productive (26 per cent).

While 23 per cent of people find it challenging to read aloud to their primary aged children, and 30 per cent have little-to-no confidence helping their kids with homework.

Three in five people (64 per cent) have trouble spelling. The most commonly misspelt words are 'definitely', 'receive' and 'necessary'.

The research, conducted on behalf of assistive technology education company Texthelp, was no surprise to former The Block contestant and dyslexia ambassador El'ise Bothe.

"We have three generations of dyslexia in my family; my mother, myself and my children. Despite my mother being incredibly successful and internationally recognised in her career, she still often feels ashamed of her dyslexia," she said.

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Ms Bothe said there is more awareness of the condition these days, but at times she still feels inadequate.

"This was particularly heightened recently as a parent during the pandemic, when I found myself homeschooling my own dyslexic children," she said.

"To break the vicious cycle of negative doubts, it is crucial that we teach ourselves, and especially our kids to seek resources and tools to assist them if they are struggling."

It's clear that learning and literacy difficulties during school can have lifelong consequences, Texthelp head of education Greg O'Connor said.

"More needs to be done to embrace new educational technologies to ensure words don't hold Australians back at school and beyond," he said.

"Our literacy and numeracy software aims to provide inclusive and innovative tools to support teachers, parents and students during the fundamental stages of learning, and into the latter stages of life."

Resistance and withdrawal from reading and writing activities can be one of the first, and perhaps most obvious signs that a child is struggling, Learnatic founder and director Heidi Stead said.

"Young children and teens who are struggling may appear very unmotivated when it comes to anything that requires reading or writing," she said.

Ms Stead, an English language and linguistics specialist, said in young children resistance can be displayed as tantrums or not wanting to play word games such as 'I Spy' or 'Word Bingo'.

Teens may avoid anything to do with writing or reading, even a lack of interest in social media posts.

"The impacts can be far-reaching and quite debilitating for a child, both academically and psychologically if literacy struggles go unnoticed over time," Ms Stead said.

Home is the perfect environment to nurture positive literacy behaviours.

"If children see others in the home reading for enjoyment, using writing to achieve goals, even if it's just list writing or reminder notes, and generally using literacy skills in a positive and non-threatening way, they will be more likely to want to emulate these behaviours," Ms Stead said.

Play word games, read aloud together, and ensure that reading and writing are part of an everyday "no pressure" routine.

Ms Stead said signs aren't always an indication of a bigger problem, and she urged parents to observe their child's progress closely.