The Rose definition
In 2008, the Labour government tasked Sir Jim Rose with investigating how to improve provision for dyslexic children. The Rose Report that followed provides a widely-accepted definition:
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed. Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities. It is best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and there are no clear cut-off points. Co-occurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor co-ordination, mental calculation, concentration and personal organisation, but these are not, by themselves, markers of dyslexia.
(Rose Report, p. 10)
Dyslexia organisations
The ADO provides a range of support services for dyslexia persons. It is run by and for dyslexic persons in the UK
The Miles Dyslexia Centre, formerly the Bangor Dyslexia Unit, was founded by Tim and Elaine Miles in 1977
The BDA was founded in 1972 and is was one of the largest and most well-known organisations dedicated to advocating for dyslexic persons
Dyslexia Action was formed in 2005 by the merger of the Dyslexia Institute and the Hornsby International Dyslexia Centre
The EDA is an umbrella organisation for national and regional dyslexia assocations, working with children, parents, professionals and academic researchers
The Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre was founded by Arkell, Joy Pollock and Elisabeth Waller in 1971
The IDA was formerly known as the Orton Society, founded by the pioneering work of Samuel Orton in the first half of the twentieth century. It was formalised in 1949
More information about dyslexia
Barrington Stoke is a children's book publisher founded by Patience Thomson and Lucy Juckes especially for children with dyslexia
This is the NHS webpage on dyslexia, which describes its symptoms and highlights ways to get help
The Dyslexic Library - 'Information curated by and for dyslexics, and the people who love them'
Founded by dyslexic novelist, Sally Gardner, 'NUword aims to open up a universal debate about dyslexia. Championing positive reinforcement from the point of diagnosis'