About ADC 2027

About Africa Dyslexia Conference 2027

The Africa Dyslexia Conference 2027 is a 2.5-day professional learning and systems-change gathering bringing together approximately 250 participants from Ghana, across Africa and internationally. Under the theme From Awareness to Action, the conference focuses not only on understanding why learners struggle but on what educators, families, institutions and education systems can do about it.

Stronger everyday instruction, combined with early identification and targeted support for learners who need more, can create classrooms and education systems that respond more effectively to learner variability. Effective approaches should strengthen teaching for all learners while improving targeted support for those who require additional intervention.

The conference will advance culturally and linguistically responsive practice, whole-school and systems approaches, and the connection between research, professional knowledge, lived experience and education policy.

C2. Intended conference outcomes

  • Strengthen understanding of dyslexia, dyscalculia and related learning differences and their effects on literacy, numeracy and broader learning.
  • Recognise persistent learning difficulties earlier and understand screening, assessment, referral and support pathways.
  • Take away evidence-informed strategies, tools and approaches for everyday teaching and targeted support.
  • Understand how language, multilingualism and learning differences intersect in African education contexts.
  • Strengthen whole-school inclusion, learner-support systems, family engagement and educator capacity.
  • Build connections between research, professional practice, lived experience and policy.
  • Contribute to an ADC 2027 Outcomes and Recommendations Brief with practical priorities for improving education for all learners.

01. Foundational Literacy, Numeracy and Learning Differences

Understanding how learners develop foundational skills, why some experience persistent difficulties, and how dyslexia, dyscalculia and related learning differences affect learning and educational progress.

02. Classroom Practice: Teaching, Intervention and Learner Support

Practical, evidence-informed approaches for teachers and practitioners, including literacy and numeracy instruction, differentiation, classroom routines, accommodations, targeted intervention, accessible resources, assessment approaches and assistive tools.

03. School Leadership: Building Inclusive Schools and Support Systems

Practical approaches for school leaders and administrators to build sustainable systems for inclusion, including identification and referral, learner-support structures, staff capacity-building, resourcing, parent engagement and whole-school culture.

04. Language, Multilingualism and Learning

Exploring how home language, language of instruction and dialect interact with literacy, numeracy and learning differences, including distinguishing language-related challenges from persistent learning difficulties.

05. Early Identification, Screening and Assessment

Strengthening culturally and linguistically responsive observation, screening, assessment, progress monitoring, referral and appropriate support in African contexts.

06. Families, Well-being and Lived Experience

Equipping parents, grandparents and caregivers while addressing confidence, stigma, belonging, emotional well-being, self-advocacy and lived experience across ages.

07. Research, Technology and Innovation

Connecting African research and evidence with practice while exploring assistive technology, accessible resources, digital tools and responsible applications of AI.

08. Policy, Systems and Learning Across the Lifespan

Exploring education policy and implementation, transitions into higher education, TVET, employment, entrepreneurship and adult life, and sustainable systems of support.

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WHO ARE YOU TO THE CHILD ?

The Adult Reading History Questionnaire (ARHQ) is a screening tool designed to measure risk of reading disability (i.e. dyslexia) in adults (Lefly & Pennington, 2000), but it can also help measure risk in children, especially before school age. Reading disability is highly heritable: about 30-60% percent of children born to a dyslexic parent will develop dyslexia. Thus, one way to estimate risk of reading disability in preschool children is to evaluate parents’ own reading history. The following questionnaire was developed using parents’ reports of their own reading history as well as actual testing of their children’s reading skills. If a parent scores high on the ARHQ, their child has a higher risk of developing a reading disability. It is important to note that the ARHQ is only a screener and does not constitute a formal evaluation or diagnosis of either the parent or the child. If you have concerns about your child’s reading progress, we recommend that you contact your child’s school, a licensed child psychologist, or your child’s primary care physician about pursuing a more thorough evaluation to investigate the nature of these concerns.

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Mother

The Colorado Learning Disabilities Questionnaire – Reading Subscale (CLDQ-R) is a screening tool designed to measure risk of reading disability (i.e. dyslexia) in school-age children (Willcutt, Boada, Riddle, Chhabildas, DeFries & Pennington, 2011). Normative scores for this questionnaire were developed based on parent-reports of their 6-18 year-old children, as well as actual reading testing of these children. Willcutt, et al. (2011) found that the CLDQ-R is reliable and valid. It is important to note that the CLDQ-R is only a screener and does not constitute a formal evaluation or diagnosis. If you have concerns about your child’s reading progress, we recommend that you contact your child’s school, a licensed child psychologist, or your child’s primary care physician about pursuing a more thorough evaluation to investigate the nature of these concerns. For more information about the symptoms, causes and treatment of reading disability (dyslexia), please visit the International Dyslexia Association

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WHAT'S YOUR GENDER?

The Adult Reading History Questionnaire (ARHQ) is a self-report screening tool designed to measure risk of reading disability (i.e. dyslexia) in adults (Lefly & Pennington, 2000). The ARHQ asks adults about their own reading history and current reading habits in order to estimate the risk that they may have a reading disability. Normative scores are based on actual testing, and Lefly & Pennington (2000) found that the ARHQ is reliable and valid. It is important to note that the ARHQ is only a screener and does not constitute a formal evaluation or diagnosis. If you have concerns about your reading skills, we recommend that you contact a licensed psychologist or your primary care physician about pursuing a more thorough evaluation to investigate the nature of these concerns.

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Female