Dyslexia can be a blessing, training drive will tell teachers

Schools should promote the benefits of being dyslexic rather than simply treating the condition like a disability, a charity has suggested.

Made By Dyslexia has launched a plan to train every teacher in the world over five years to address the issue of children’s “dyslexic strengths” being missed by schools. Its campaign is backed by the actress Keira Knightley, the entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson and Maggie Aderin-Pocock, a space scientist, all of whom are dyslexic. The charity says that dyslexic children are “hardwired” with skills needed by businesses, such as creativity, curiosity and lateral thinking.

It has already provided a quarter of a million teachers with training to spot dyslexia and has developed an online teacher training programme in partnership with the independent Millfield School