This week LESLEY RICHARDS finishes the series on dyslexia and looks at the benefits of being labelled dyslexic - and the hope it can give for the future.

ONCE a child has been classified as having dyslexia and has been given a positive explanation of what it means, they at least know that they're NOT lazy or stupid but just as clever as the next child and that something CAN be done to help.

So often, later in a child's life this moment has been traced back to being a turning point, when lack of confidence and despair have been replaced by a growing determination to succeed.

In some schools there is still hostility towards the concept of dyslexia.

The attitude is often that dyslexia is used by middle-class parents as a cover for a child who is not very bright or who is lazy.

But it does seems crucial to good teaching to recognise that not everyone learns in the same way.

In other areas other than literacy this is usually accepted without query. Nobody argues that the inability to sing in tune is due to stupidity. But literacy problems produce different reactions. Throughout the centuries the ability to read and write has wrongly been linked with intelligence.

It was the priests who were literate; they read the scriptures and copied and translated theological texts.

Children of the artistocracy and at the manor house had a governess who ensured they had proficiency in words and numbers.

These people tended to be put on a pedestal and respected for their positions in society and for their evident intelligence and ability.

In this way competence in reading and writing became linked with intelligence and social position.

On the other hand the inability to read and write was linked with lack of education and stupidity.

It is this attitude that has been handed down over the centuries and which today is difficult to eradicate.

It is the ability to comprehend and use knowledge which indicates intelligence.

The following positive points SHOULD be told to a dyslexic child:

we all have things that we are good at and others that we have difficulty with

they are no different from anyone else in this way

it is important to be able to read and spell because it is a necessary part of life - and consequently of the school curriculum

they need help and not because they are stupid or lazy

there is nothing wrong with them

with the right sort of help - in the way that they can learn - they can begin to get on top of the problem

they will have to work hard.

This explanation gives a child hope and a light can be seen at the end of a dark tunnel.

With help and hope affected children are usually very willing to work hard.

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