§ Mr. Craigasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what percentage of children of compulsory school age in Northern Ireland is estimated to suffer from dyslexia, specific reading, writing and spelling difficulties;
(2) if he is satisfied that adequate arrangements have been made in accordance with Article 6 of the Education Northern Ireland Order 1972, by education and library boards to provide suitable education for children in their respective areas suffering from dyslexia, including adequate arrangements to ascertain which children suffer from dyslexia;
(3) which education and library boards screen all primary school children for reading and related language difficulties; and which of the boards have clinics or centres for diagnosing and helping children with dyslexia.
§ Mr. Carter,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 16th March 1978; Vol. 946, c. 337], gave the following information:
669WThe term dyslexia is used to refer to a wide range of specific reading, writing and spelling difficulties. The problem varies greatly in depth, and may be found in association with other handicaps. There is, therefore, no single or uniform treatment; nor are there any overall statistics available.
Northern Ireland education and library boards do not screen primary school children for dyslexia, but school teachers who identify children having specific learning difficulties can call on a wide range of specialist assistance, including the services of educational psychologists.
It is generally considered that the assistance given to children suffering from specific learning difficulties should be school-based, although some children with severe difficulty may be determined as educationally subnormal and need to attend special schools; most, however, receive the help they need from their own teacher or from a school-based remedial teacher.
There are no clinics or centres maintained by education and library boards specifically for the treatment of dyslexia, but the Belfast Education and Library Board does participate in the work of a community health clinic run by the Eastern Health and Social Services Board which is particularly concerned with helping children suffering from dyslexia.