The purpose of the study is to contribute to knowledge and understanding of how young people with dyslexia think, feel and act. Another aim is to spread knowledge about how young peoples’ schooling, self-concept, academic self-concept and self-esteem are effected by obtaining a dyslexia diagnosis.How was school experienced prior to being diagnosed with dyslexia? How was the period during which the youths received their dyslexia diagnosis experienced? How did students experience school after being diagnosed with dyslexia?The study is theoretically grounded in Anthony Giddens socialization-process, Erving Goffman's dramaturgy and stigmatization as well as Maarit Johnson's dynamic model of self-esteem.The study has a narrative approach where young people's life stories have been in focus. Three in-depth interviews were conducted with adolescents aged 22 who all received a dyslexia diagnosis during their time in secondary school.The stories show that young people periodically was unable to live up to the expectations that the school had on them, which meant that the young people's self-image and self-esteem were affected negatively. Throughout the youths’ time in school they have been met with a social support structure in the form of one or more persons, significant others, who paid attention to their needs which meant that their motivation and academic self-concept significantly increased. The treatment from the people in their surroundings has been decisive for if they would experience themselves as stigmatized or not. The stigmatization caused them to experience lower self-esteem and in two of their stories they express that they experienced emotional strain, which expressed itself in an aggressive or deviant behaviour. They also point out social pressure as a factor, where the youths compared themselves with their classmates and the norms, values and expectations that existed within the school culture; which meant that they perceived themselves as deviants. It appears that the young people during theirschooling, before, during and after being diagnosed with dyslexia, never fully understood the meaning of it. It was not until they got older that they accepted and understood the meaning of dyslexia.

The intention of this case study is to contribute to the general body of special education needs (SEN) knowledge with the results from SEN provision practice for children diagnosed with dyslexia in one particular school. The aim of the study is to get a deeper understanding for how educators (headmaster, teachers and SEN teachers) and parents of children diagnosed with dyslexia experience their collaboration in meeting the needs of these children in the inclusive mainstream classroom. Questions addressed are: how communication of expectations for the remedial measures takes place, how the process of remedial measures is communicated, how educators and parents experience their cooperation and, what impact does the school policy have on the collaboration between teachers and parents. The theoretical framework is based on a communication, relations-based perspective (KoRP). The hybrid nature of this perspective covers the different aspects of the schools organisation and practice with the focus on relation between individuals and their environment. Participation of pupils with dyslexia in the learning process is observed in the classrooms as well as through the eyes of their educators and parents. Relations of all sides involved in the SEN: teachers and parents, teachers and pupils with dyslexia, parents and their children are studied. Formal and informal communication and collaboration, seen as participation in SEN activities, are analysed. The methods used are: observations of two lessons, school document analysis and seven interviews. Four educators and three parents are interviewed. The empirical findings confirm the vital role of good relations for learning of children with dyslexia. Good relations can be established and maintained by securing the clear routines in school with the special accent paid on the sensitivity of the initial contact between school and parents. Swift action in recognizing the difficulties, introducing a SEN toolkit and contacting parents is appreciated by all sides involved. The parents’ relief from the guilty feeling of inadequacy follows. Good relations require meetings in person. Collaboration is established by good relations and it enhances the participation in learning activities of children with dyslexia. School policy documents have a positive effect in giving clear guidance in securing routines of SEN. They provide enough maneuvering space before the action plans of provision (APP) are introduced. Educators see action plans of provision (APP) as necessary documentation while parents show indifference to them. Much about SEN routines in the years 1-3 remains to be done. In conclusion, the effects of clear routines as defined by Skolverket (2014) leave space for building good relations on all levels: organisational, group and individual and have a positive outcome in this case study. The implications of this study are directed mainly to broadening the mandatory rights of the SEN educators in organising a closer collaboration with the parents of children diagnosed with dyslexia and spreading SEN knowledge to the early stage of the school. Although the results of this case study cannot be generalized they cast the light on questions that need yet to be answered by all schools: how SEN educators can best be involved in the early intervention (years 1-3) and what more they can do to improve the collaboration between school and parents from the position of KoRP.

The aim of this paper was to investigate what principles and approaches can be utilized when helping dyslexic students to improve their reading skills in the English classroom. The structure of this study is narrative research synthesis which means that the paper is based on articles written by others. The results indicate that there are several approaches to make use of, such as the Orton-Gillingham approach, Phonics and Whole language. Many experts support the principle of multisensory structured learning regarding the teaching of dyslexic students. This means that students use all their senses at the same time: visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. In order to further help students improve reading skills, the teacher can create a safe and calm classroom environment to reduce stress.

Dyslexia is one of the more common disabilities in Sweden; between 5-10 per cent of thepopulation can be considered having dyslexia. The difficulties they face in their educationstems from a disability to decode written language. English poses a problem, as the buildingblocks in terms of orthography and phonology are seldom compatible. This paper have, usingqualitative interviews with four (4) special education teachers, identified ways in which theseinformants support learners with dyslexia in English. The findings indicate that the advice andmethods the informants use are not specific to the subject of English. Instead the informantsadvocate organizational measures such as close cooperation with colleagues and alsocompensatory learning aids (such as audio versions of books, movies and pictures). Thefindings have been analysed viewed through the theoretical perspectives: SocioculturalPerspective, Systems Theory and Orthographical Depth. As most of the advice given by theinformants where of a general nature – the findings might indicate that there is a gapsomewhere in the education of teachers in Sweden regarding how to specifically supportlearners with dyslexia in the English subject.

I Sverige finns det ett lagstadgat krav som kräver att offentliga aktörers webbplatser måste uppfylla särskilda krav som rör digital tillgänglighet. Att digitala dagstidningar inte omfattas av lagen, och inte är tvingade till att leva upp till kraven, kan vara en orsak till att flera undersökningar visar på att dyslektiker inte läser dagstidningar på internet i samma utsträckning som befolkningen utan något funktionshinder.     Målet med studien är att undersöka hur en individs läs- och skrivsvårigheter påverkar hur de går till väga för att söka och konsumera digitala nyheter.     Då dyslexi ser olika ut hos olika individer var förväntningen att erfarenheterna av att använda digitala dagstidningar också skulle skilja sig åt. Av den anledningen har totalt sju kvalitativa intervjuer utförts för att få en tydlig bild av deltagarnas olika svårigheter och lösningar. Deltagarnas erfarenheter har därefter sammanställts och analyserats i relation till tidigare forskning.    Resultatet från intervjuerna visar att en majoritet av deltagarna tyckte att det kan vara svårt att läsa nyheter online, och ansåg att hemsidans design var en bidragande faktor till deras svårigheter.  En stor variation av olika textstorlekar, färger och bilder på hemsidan påverkade deras läsförmåga negativt, då de fick svårare att fokusera på texten. Det var ett störande moment när en artikel skulle läsas, men upplevdes som ett mycket större problem när en nyhet söktes på hemsidan. Strategin för att lösa detta problem var densamma för alla dessa individer, samtliga använde en sökmotor som Google för att söka efter en nyhet framför att söka efter den direkt på dagstidningens hemsida. Utöver detta framgår det att ingen av deltagarna använde några hjälpmedel för att underlätta användandet av digitala dagstidningar. / In Sweden, there is a statutory requirement that public actors’ websites must meet special requirements regarding digital accessibility. The fact that digital newspapers are not covered by the law and are not required to meet the requirements may be a reason why several studies show that dyslexics do not read newspapers on the Internet to the same extent as the population without any disabilities.    The aim of the study is to investigate how an individual’s reading and writing difficulties affect how they go about searching for and consuming digital news.     As dyslexia looks different in different individuals, it was expected that experiences of using digital newspapers would also differ. For this reason, a total of seven qualitative interviews were conducted to get a clear picture of the participants’ different difficulties and solutions. The participants’ experiences were then compiled and analyzed in relation to previous research.     The results of the interviews show that a majority of the participants found it difficult to read news online and considered that the website’s design was a contributing factor to their difficulties. A wide variety of different text sizes, colors and images on the website negatively affected their reading ability as they found it more difficult to focus on the text. This was a distraction when an article was to be read but was experienced as a much bigger problem when news was searched for on the website. The strategy for solving this problem was the same for all these individuals; all used a search engine like Google to search for news rather than searching for it directly on the newspaper’s website. In addition, none of the participants used any assistive technology to facilitate the use of digital newspapers.

An estimated 20% of Swedish schoolchildren suffer from some form of reading difficulty such as dyslexia. Late diagnosis of dyslexia leads to consequences for both the individual and society. To identify such reading difficulties, over 50 different forms of reading assessments are being used in schools around Sweden. By using eye-tracking technology, one could minimize the time for these assessments and make them less prone to external biases. In this study such a solution is evaluated with regards to usability. Using widely available technology, mobile devices with built-in front-facing cameras, a reading assessment with integrated eye-tracking was developed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usability of the solution and find areas to be improved. This was done through allowing 14 participants to use the application and answer a usability survey based on the System Usability Scale (SUS). The results showed an average SUS-score of 87.0, equivalent to a grade of A+, which reflected the positive responses in the open questions of the survey. The main area of improvement found was the speed of the calibration process, as this solution was found too slow. To further improve this solution, head and hand movement must be taken into consideration by the eye-tracker to allow free hand-held usage with less supervision. Further improvements such as larger screens and added machine learning are also suggested. Conclusively the results of this study show promise if such improvements are accomplished. / Uppskattningsvis lider 20% av svenska skolbarn av någon form av lässvårighet, däribland dyslexi. En sen diagnos av dyslexi leder till konsekvenser för både individen och samhället. För att identifiera sådana läsproblem används över 50 olika läsförståelsetest i skolor runt om i Sverige. Genom att använda ögonspårning (eye-tracking) kan man minimera tiden för dessa bedömningar och göra dem mindre benägna att påverkas av yttre faktorer. I denna studie utvärderas en sådan lösning med avseende på användbarhet. Med hjälp av allmänt tillgänglig teknik, mobila enheter med inbyggda framåtvända kameror, utvecklades en läsanalys med integrerad ögonspårning. Syftet med denna studie var att utvärdera användbarheten av denna lösning och hitta områden som skulle kunna förbättras. Detta gjordes genom att låta 14 deltagare använda applikationen och svara på en användbarhetsenkät baserad på System Usability Scale (SUS). Resultaten visade en genomsnittlig SUS-poäng på 87,0, vilket motsvarar betyget A +, samt återspeglade de positiva svaren i enkäten i undersökningen. Det främsta förbättringsområdet som hittades var kalibreringsprocessens hastighet, eftersom denna ansågs vara för långsam. För att ytterligare förbättra denna lösning måste huvud- och handrörelser tas i beaktande av eye-trackern för att möjliggöra fri handhållen användning med mindre översyn. Ytterligare förbättringar såsom större skärmar och tillagd maskininlärning föreslås också. Sammanfattningsvis visar resultaten av denna studie lovande framtidsutsikter för den utvecklade lösningen om sådana förbättringar tillämpas.

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I Lgr 22 under kunskapskravet i svenska för åk 3 uttrycks det att eleverna ska kunna skriva med en läslig handstil men det framkommer inte vad en läslig handstil innebär samt på vilket sätt en sådan undervisning ska bedrivas. Studiens syfte är därför att studera hur speciallärare arbetar för att stödja elever med finmotoriska skrivsvårigheter när det gäller handstil och om de upplever något samband mellan finmotoriska svårigheter och dyslexi. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och utgår från det sociokulturella perspektivet. Åtta speciallärare deltog i semistrukturerade intervjuer som sedan analyserades tematiskt. Studiens resultat visar att enligt de intervjuade speciallärarna ökar en varierad undervisning med olika material elevernas motivation till att skriva. Vidare lyfter speciallärarna fram hur rätt ergonomi påverkar eleven positivt, både gällande handstil och uthållighet i skrivandet. I resultatet framför speciallärarna att de saknar tid till särskilt stöd i att stödja elevernas handstilsutveckling. Det saknas därför även dokumentation i åtgärdsprogram av elevers finmotoriska handstilssvårigheter.

Dyslexia can benefit an actor, especially if the individual is aware of how the challenges and advantages of dyslexia impact their personal acting process. Dyslexia is widely understood to be a learning disability that affects an individual's reading and writing abilities. Many forms of theater rely on the written word, and an actor's success lies in their ability to interpret the text, leading one to question whether a dyslexic individual can find success as an actor. Yet several famous actors, including Octavia Spencer and Henry Winkler, are known to be dyslexic. As a dyslexic individual, I have also successfully participated in numerous productions despite the challenges I have faced within the art form. Thus, the difference between struggle and success for the dyslexic actor may lie in their understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. Identifying dyslexia-specific weaknesses can lead to new coping strategies, recyclable methodologies, improved self-advocacy, and a higher level of confidence. Realizing that one's excellent spatial reasoning, story analysis skills, vivid mental images, and imaginative thinking are characteristics of the dyslexic brain's strengths can be equally empowering. The foundation of these discoveries gives way to a new understanding of dyslexia. The first chapter of this thesis focuses on the definition of dyslexia, the differences in structure and function of dyslexic brains compared to non-dyslexic brains, and how these differences can present challenges. This chapter also introduces advantages, known as MIND strengths, as identified, and defined by Brock Eide, MD, MA, and Fernette Eide, MD, in their 2023 book, The Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain. These advantages were only recently defined and provide fresh insight into the workings of the dyslexic mind. The following two chapters discuss the identification of dyslexic-related challenges, strategies, and MIND strengths that contributed to the successes and disappointments I experienced while performing in two different theatrical productions. Chapter Two chronicles how the challenges, strategies, and MIND strengths affected my reading of the script, character creation, rehearsal process, and performance in Noises Off, written by Michael Frayn, while Chapter Three chronicles the same process for Henry VI- Part One by William Shakespeare. Though sharing this process intends to act as a guide to breaking down the acting process, encouraging the use of coping strategies, and discovering one's MIND strengths, this thesis serves only as a springboard for other dyslexic actors. The effect of dyslexia is specific to the individual, and each artistic experience and expression is unique.