Dyslexia, Anxiety and Social/Emotional Barriers in Higher Education

Amanda T. Abbott-Jones

doi:10.1017/9781009032162.003

Chapter 2 - Dyslexia, Anxiety and Social/Emotional Barriers in Higher Education

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2021

Amanda T. Abbott-Jones

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Amanda T. Abbott-Jones: Affiliation:
Independent Dyslexia Consultants, London

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Summary

This chapter shows that, historically and internationally, key developments and literature on dyslexia and higher education have had little emphasis on or investigation into emotional consequences of dyslexia for university students and their ways of coping. Although legislation introduced in the United Kingdom during the 1990s led to improved provision for students with dyslexia, which is discussed, existing research on dyslexia in higher education has historically been characterised by two main themes: quantitative studies investigating the nature of underlying cognitive deficits in dyslexic university students (Bruck, 1990; Lefly & Pennington, 1991; Ramus, Pidgeon & Frith, 2003) and research evaluating adequacy of provision, which has not included looking at emotional support provision (Mortimore & Crozier, 2006; Griffin & Pollak, 2009). The few previous studies indicating that dyslexia and anxiety are a problem for dyslexic students (Riddick et al., 1999; Carroll & Iles, 2006), which are discussed here as underpinning the work in the book, are small-scale, principally quantative and not based on lived experiences of students with dyslexia. The chapter therefore concludes that emotional barriers to learning for dyslexic students, and ways students are coping with cognitive and emotional demands, need to be recognised, further explored and recorded from the dyslexic students’ perspectives.

Keywords

dyslexia and higher education emotional consequences of dyslexia coping disability legislation cognitive deficits adequacy of provision anxiety emotional barriers to learning cognitive and emotional demands

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Type: Chapter
Information: Dyslexia in Higher Education
Anxiety and Coping Skills
, pp. 29 - 66

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009032162.003 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2021

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