ABSTRACT
In the UK the terms ‘dyslexia’ and ‘specific learning difficulties’ are often used synonymously although most authorities would see ‘specific learning difficulties’ (splds) as an umbrella term for a range of learning difficulties of which ‘dyslexia’ is one variant (Teachernet 2009). At a very general level educationalists and particularly educational psychologists tend to prefer the term ‘specific learning difficulties’ and clinicians, voluntary organisations and concerned lay people the term ‘dyslexia’. These differences of opinion can be seen as partly due to the different perspectives that educationalists and clinicians are likely to have. As the purpose of this book is to look at the views of people who have chosen to live with the term ‘dyslexia’, this is the term that has been used predominantly, although where quoted research or writing has used other terms such as ‘specific learning difficulties’ or ‘learning disabilities’ these terms have been included.
