Singer Mollie King launches Dyslexia Awareness Week

Dyslexia Awareness Week, which runs from 5 – 11 October, is an annual event aimed at raising awareness amongst pupils about what dyslexia means, what it is and what can be done to support people who have it.

The 2020 theme, Dyslexia Creates, celebrates that artists, entrepreneurs and game changers can be dyslexic but it also recognises the challenges they face: inequality and prejudice.

Mollie King, the TV and radio presenter and singer in The Saturdays, was diagnosed at the age of eight, and was ‘lucky enough’ to be given the support she needed from a young age.

She said, ‘Dyslexia creates many challenges, but it has also had a hugely positive impact on my life. That’s why I’m supporting the British Dyslexia Association in their campaign to increase assessment, diagnosis and support in schools. Without this, so many children are left to face these challenges alone, and 80 percent of pupils leave school without a diagnosis. We can and must do better.’

The charity is focusing on increasing testing and support in schools and is asking the British public to sign a petition.

Between 10 and 15 per cent of people are dyslexic. This means there are between 800,000 and 1.3 million young people in education with dyslexia and 6.6 to 9.9 million people across the UK.

But dyslexia is often misunderstood and can go undiagnosed for many years. Eighty percent of pupils with dyslexia will leave school without a diagnosis and schools are extremely unlikely to fund dyslexia assessments, so for many families, the only option is to pay £500-£700 for a private diagnosis.