/ Dyslexia Awareness. / By Nat Hawley, MSc (Applied Neuroscience) and Divergent Thinking
For Neurodiversity Celebration Week, Africa Dyslexia Organisation has kindly handed today’s blog over to Divergent Thinking. I’m really grateful for that. It also feels like a natural continuation of the work we’ve already done together through the ADO community webinar and the Advocates Fellowship network.
One thing I respect about ADO is that you don’t do “awareness for awareness’ sake”. You talk about what families and teachers are actually dealing with and you keep pushing for practical change, even when systems move slowly.
So this post is simple. If we want inclusion to mean anything, it has to show up in everyday routines: instructions, teaching, assessment, feedback, and the way we talk about children.
The problem isn’t effort. It’s friction.
A lot of dyslexic learners are trying hard. The issue is that many environments reward a narrow set of skills: speed, spelling, handwriting, copying accurately, and remembering long instructions.
So the child who is bright, curious, and full of ideas becomes the child who is labelled:
“lazy”
“careless”
“not serious”
“always distracted”
That story is incredibly common. And it does damage.
Because after enough times being told you’re “not trying”, you start to believe it.
Support shouldn’t be something a child has to “earn”
In many places, formal assessment is hard to access. It can be expensive, slow, or simply not available. That means a lot of families are stuck waiting for proof, while their child’s confidence takes the hit.
A more helpful starting point is needs-led support.
Not: “Prove it first.”
But: “What’s getting in the way, and what could we change to make this easier?”
That shift alone changes the whole tone of a classroom.
Four things that help quickly (without a big budget)
1) Make instructions clearer than feels necessary
A surprising amount of struggle is just task confusion.
Try:
- say the task in one sentence
- break it into steps
- show an example of what “good” looks like
- check understanding quietly (not by putting a child on the spot)
Clarity reduces shame. It also reduces behaviour issues that are actually just overwhelm.
2) Reduce the amount of copying and “board work”
Copying from the board is a perfect storm for dyslexic learners: reading, tracking, spelling, handwriting, and memory at the same time.
Small alternatives:
- give a printed version when possible
- let a learner photograph the board
- pair learners so one can focus on listening while the other copies
- reduce “copy this paragraph” tasks unless the goal is specifically handwriting practice
3) Stop treating writing as the only proof of learning
If a child can explain an idea out loud but struggles to write it neatly, that isn’t a lack of understanding. It’s a format barrier.
Options that still keep standards high:
- oral answers
- short bullet points
- mind maps
- sentence starters
- structured templates (“First… Then… Because…”)
The goal is to assess the thinking, not the spelling.
4) Protect confidence like it’s part of learning
Confidence isn’t a “nice extra”. It’s part of capacity.
A few things that matter more than people realise:
- avoid public reading aloud without choice
- don’t correct spelling on everything (pick the priority)
- praise effort + strategy, not just neatness
- help learners see strengths (problem-solving, creativity, big-picture thinking)
When a learner stops feeling constantly “wrong”, they try more.
Why this links to sustainability (and why ADO’s direction matters)
Here’s the honest part: many people agree with inclusion in principle. Fewer are willing to fund it properly.
That’s why sustainable models matter. When organisations can generate revenue through high-quality training and consultancy, they’re less dependent on unpredictable grants and can subsidise support where it’s most needed.
This is exactly what we’ve spoken about with ADO: scaling teacher capacity, strengthening school support, and developing services that keep impact work going long-term.
Closing thought
Awareness is a starting point. Access is the goal.
If Neurodiversity Celebration Week is going to mean something beyond a calendar moment, it should leave behind practical changes that reduce barriers for dyslexic learners, protect confidence, and help families and teachers feel less alone in this.
Author
Nat Hawley is a UK-based neuroinclusion consultant with an MSc in Applied Neuroscience and the founder of Divergent Thinking. He supports organisations to implement practical neuroinclusion through training, audits and workplace needs support, and collaborates with mission-driven partners to widen access to education and employment for neurodivergent people.
