One of the largest group of children with specific learning difficulties are children with dyslexia.Dyslexia is a difficulty in the acquisition of reading and writing that is neurological in origin.It affects individuals of all languages and cultures.According to the European Dyslexia Association,dyslexia affects 25 million of population in Europe.Research shows that the only appropriate solution is a continuous and long-lasting intervention which supports the development of various skills and abilities affected by dyslexia.The earlier the problem is identified,the sooner the intervention starts the most probable positive outcomes will be. Over the last 25 years,many researchers have made a concerted effort to find out why so many children struggle with learning to read. The importance of reading/writing literacy has been repeatedly acknowledged and strongly featured in European cooperation in the field of education ('Education and Training 2020' program).Reading/writing difficulties,if not recognised on time and/or not adequately supported from early school years inevitably lead to academic underachievement,behavioural problems and very often - to early school leaving. Although most children begin school with positive attitudes and expectations for success,by the end of the primary grades and increasingly thereafter,some children become disaffected.The majority of reading problems faced by today's adolescents and adults are the result of problems that might have been avoided or resolved in their early childhood years.It is imperative that steps be taken to ensure that children with dyslexia or at risk of dyslexia are identified early enough and get appropriate support to overcome these obstacles during the primary grades. The problem this project addresses is of great importance not only in the partner countries,but for many others outside the partnership,because it affects thousands of pupils,their teachers and families,the supporting staff – not only academically,but also in emotional,behavioural and social aspects. The objective of the project is to develop a Dyslexia Assessment Protocol (DAP) - a set of assessment tools for detecting children at risk of dyslexia at pre-school age,and pupils who have already encountered reading/writing/learning difficulties.It will be based on the research partners did during the preparation stage, the comparative analysis of the situation and Scientific Substantiation Report that will justify the structure and the content of the new developed assessment tool. A computerised version of the Protocol will be also developed.The tablet-sized app will be available for Windows and Android in all partner languages.The app will display all test results and will save all them individually for every child,giving also the opportunity to monitor child’s progress within his early school years. In addition to this partners will collect a considerable number of exercises in an Exercise book, which will provide teachers with a practical tool they can use with pupils with dyslexia and other related learning difficulties in order to develop the skills they have deficits in. In the Implementation phase of the project a group of pre-school and primary school teachers will be trained and then,in collaboration with the project team,they will conduct a screening of a big number of pre-school children and 1st-2nd grade pupils to check in practice the usefulness and feasibility of the Protocol. Thus, the project’s outputs will equip teachers with new tools and the skills to use these tools in their every-day work. As far as the materials developed within the Partnership will be not only in partner languages,but also in English and will stay available even after the end of the project,they could serve much wider audience beyond the partner countries,which will considerably increase the impact of the project results at European level,moreover the topic in question is crucial for almost everybody The consortium is made up of institutions from 5 European countries: Latvia, Bulgaria,Turkey,Romania and Germany.Although different in their nature and structure (Universities,NGO,Educational authorities,school and private company) they all have abilities,specific experience and competence in the field of special education.Different perspectives and different context partners work in will enable a synthesis of different approaches to the problem.This transnational cooperation facilitates the integration of novel insights into the work related to literacy acquisition,early identification of learning difficulties,SEN support,interactive teaching methods and inclusive education in the partner countries.The project partners are equipped with the skills,expertise and competence required in order the project aims to be achieved at the highest level.
Our main target group was preschool and primary school teachers, who, although the first ones to notice children's difficulties, usually do not have tools and standardised methodology to recognise if children's difficulties are or might be caused by dyslexia. Thus, the aim of this project was to provide preschool and primary school teachers with an easy tool they will be able to use in classroom settings. The project team wanted to create materials that would provide teachers and SEN staff with proper knowledge about the difficulties children may encounter in the literacy acquisition stage, and increase understanding about which of these difficulties may be caused by dyslexia. It was intended to develop outputs that would equip teachers with new tools and train them to use these tools in their everyday work. As a result, children at risk of dyslexia (who were our indirect target group) will be more likely to receive effective support early enough to overcome their difficulties and reveal their potential. It was planned not only to develop an app for Windows and Android to help teachers notice dyslexia risks by assessing key skills but also to create an Exercise Book to train the areas where problems have already been noticed.
The project was focused on a very specific problem – early identification of dyslexia among pupils who are in the process of initial literacy acquisition (1st-2nd grade) and identification of preschool children (last year before going to school) at risk of dyslexia. According to the European Dyslexia Association, dyslexia affects 25 million of population in Europe (numbers, given by International Dyslexia Association show that 10-12% of the world’s population have dyslexia at some degree). Scientific literature (a more detailed description on this can be found in the Scientific Substantiation Report of DAP), as well as practical experience of the experts involved in the project work, show that the earlier the problem is identified and the sooner the intervention starts, the more probable positive outcomes will be. Before this project, the project team had observed a noticeable lack of accessible assessment tools that preschool and primary school teachers could easily use in the classroom settings to identify symptoms of dyslexia, which was among the main reasons for low academic achievements of many students at later stages of their educational process, and for their unsatisfactory social integration and employment in long run.