ABSTRACT
In Chapter 6 children’s reactions to being labelled dyslexic were discussed, as this was felt to be a critical part of the labelling process. It was concluded that, whereas the majority of children found the label ‘dyslexia’ helpful at a personal level, half of them didn’t find the label helpful at a public level. This chapter looks in more detail at their views on dyslexia and the ramifications of these views for various aspects of their life. Children were asked a number of questions that explored their understanding and attitude towards both their difficulties and the term ‘dyslexia’. They were asked, for example, what dyslexia meant, who had explained it to them and whether it made sense to them. They were also asked if they met other children with similar difficulties, and whether this was helpful or not to them. In addition they were asked if they’d had adult dyslexics pointed out to them and again asked if they found this helpful or unhelpful. Another series of questions overlapped with their views on school but focused specifically on social issues such as whether they thought other children noticed their difficulties and if so how they tried to explain their difficulties and how other children reacted to them. Finally their long-term expectations were questioned by asking if they thought they would still be dyslexic when they were an adult.
