research | Helen Arkell

How Aware Are You Of The Positive Attributes Associated With Dyslexia?

How Aware Are You Of The Positive Attributes Associated With Dyslexia?

Natalie, a final year Economics student at the University of Leeds, is currently completing research for their final year dissertation and needs your help to tackle the misconceptions associated with dyslexia in the workplace. If you’re interested, please take a few minutes to complete the survey today!

Why is this important?

The survey aims to assess the level of understanding that both dyslexic and non-dyslexic employees have regarding the skills strongly associated with dyslexic thinking. The results will highlight the workforce’s current perceptions of dyslexic cognition, which will aid us in suggesting effective interventions and guiding further research. By truly understanding the accurate skills associated with different cognitive variations, we can help employees thrive in the workplace and enhance the efficiency of our labour force.

Make a difference – your voice matters:

There is no judgment! Please answer honestly so we can gauge an accurate level of understanding. Every response counts and helps us move closer to a more inclusive and supportive work environment for everyone.

The survey only takes 3 minutes, and your insights could lead to meaningful change.

Fill in the survey here.

Your participation is greatly appreciated!

By Marcy Rice|2025-02-24T13:11:21+00:00February 24th, 2025|Research news|0 Comments

The Social-Emotional Experiences of Adolescents With Reading Difficulties

The University of Surrey is trying to understand better the links between an adolescent’s reading skills and social-emotional experiences so that we can better support them in the future. As a thank you for your participation, you will be given a £10 or £20 voucher.

They are recruiting:

Adolescents who:

Have reading difficulties.
Are ages 11 to 16.
Are attending secondary school.
Are native English speakers or are fluent in English if it is an additional language.

Professionals working with secondary school adolescents (aged 11 10 17) with reading difficulties. This includes mainstream secondary school teachers, educational psychologists, specialist teachers, SENCos ,and dyslexia tutors.

and parents who:

Have a secondary school adolescent child aged 11-17 who has reading difficulties.
Are native English speakers or are fluent in English if it is an additional language.

Participants will be asked to join a one-to-one 1 hour online interview to share:

Your social-emotional experiences of having a reading difficulty.
Factors that influence your social-emotional well-being in relation to your reading difficulty.
Adolescents social-emotional experiences of having reading difficulties.
Factors that influence.social-emotional well-being for adolescents with reading difficulties.

Participants should scan the QR code for more information and to sign-up. Contact Jovana Durica unrap@surrey.ac.uk for more information.

By Marcy Rice|2025-02-24T13:17:35+00:00January 30th, 2025|Research news|0 Comments

Exploring the Impact of Dyslexia on Sleep: UCL’s Groundbreaking Study and How You Can Help

University College London (UCL) is embarking on a crucial study to understand the impact of dyslexia on sleep. This follows a groundbreaking discovery in their recent research, which found that 66% of children with dyslexia experience clinical sleep issues. Given that sleep is essential for brain development, mental health, and overall well-being, UCL’s latest research aims to uncover how dyslexia might be affecting sleep across all age groups.

Why This Research Matters

Sleep plays a central role in cognitive function, emotional regulation, and physical health. For those with dyslexia, difficulties in learning and processing information are common, yet little is understood about the additional challenges they may face related to sleep. UCL’s recent findings have raised significant questions about how widespread these sleep issues are, and how they might influence cognitive performance, mental health, and day-to-day life.

In children with dyslexia, sleep disturbances can further complicate learning challenges, making academic and personal growth even more difficult. If similar sleep issues persist into adulthood, understanding and addressing these disruptions could be transformative for individuals with dyslexia at all stages of life.

How You Can Help

UCL is now seeking participants both with and without dyslexia to take part in a short online questionnaire about their sleep behaviours. The input from a wide range of participants will help researchers pinpoint patterns, enabling them to take a closer look at how dyslexia and sleep intersect.

By participating, you’ll be contributing to a vital research project that could lead to better support, improved sleep interventions, and a deeper understanding of dyslexia’s impact on mental and physical health.

Interested in helping out?
Follow this link to participate and be part of this meaningful study.

Thank you for your support in advancing our knowledge of the Impact of Dyslexia on Sleep!

By Marcy Rice|2024-12-09T16:17:46+00:00October 29th, 2024|Research news|0 Comments

Exploring Reading Experiences in Neurodivergent Adults

An Invitation to Participate in Research

The Neuroscience of Communication Development Lab (N-CoDe Lab) at Royal Holloway, University of London, is excited to announce a new research project focusing on the reading experiences of neurodivergent adults. This research focuses on understanding how the experience of reading grows and changes throughout life, particularly in individuals with a diagnosis of autism, Developmental Language Disorder, and/or dyslexia.

Who are they looking for?

Adults aged 21-30
With a formal diagnosis of autism, DLD, and/or dyslexia
A history of challenges with reading during childhood
Raised speaking English in the UK

Please note they are not including individuals without a diagnosis or reading difficulties.

This criteria has been carefully selected to ensure they can accurately explore the nuanced ways in which specific neurodivergent profiles impact the relationship with reading, motivation, and support systems over time.

What Should I Expect?

If you wish you participate, you will begin by completing a short questionnaire, which should take approximately 30 minutes. This can be done online, via email, or over the phone. Should you meet the eligibility criteria, you will then be invited to participate in a one-hour online interview. The interview will delve deeper into your reading experiences, focusing on your personal journey and any changes in motivation and support over the years.

How Can I Participate?

If you are interested you can access an information pack, which includes a video information sheet and an easy-to-read version, and complete the initial questionnaire by visiting this link. This is an opportunity to share your unique experiences and contribute to a better understanding of how neurodivergence influences reading and motivation.

For more information or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Hannah Jones at hannah.jones.2020@rhul.ac.uk or the N-CoDe Lab at ncodelab@rhul.ac.uk.

By Marcy Rice|2024-10-29T10:18:26+00:00August 8th, 2024|Research news|0 Comments

Dyslexia Research Participants Needed!

If you are over 18 and have a Dyslexia diagnosis, you could help!

The University of Surrey has reached out to us with 2 exciting research opportunities that you may be able to participate in. If you are interested and wish to participate please get in touch with the research organisers using the contact details in the images below.

Thank you for your help!

By Marcy Rice|2024-10-29T10:18:34+00:00July 29th, 2024|Research news|0 Comments

Dyslexic readers needed for an eye tracking study!

Can bolding text benefit reading in dyslexic and non-dyslexic readers?

A team of researchers at the University College London are looking for participants to help in a study aimed at understanding the reading patterns of individuals with dyslexia.

This research will help better understand the cognitive processes that underlie reading. They will use an eye-tracker to do this. By monitoring readers’ eye movements, you can learn a great deal about the moment-to-moment decisions made by readers. Reading is a vital skill in modern society and finding out more about how we achieve this amazing skill can help us better understand how to teach reading or to help those who struggle. Participants will be asked to attend a single session lasting between 1-1.5 hours at 26 Bedford Way, University College London, WC1H 0AP

During the session you will be asked to:

Complete several tasks measuring general language skills.
Read short extracts of text off a computer screen while your eye movements are recorded.

To be eligible you must:

Have a dyslexia diagnosis and be aged between 18-40 years old.
Have native-level English proficiency (or spoken English for 15+ years).
Have Normal or corrected-to-normal vision (with glasses or preferably contact
lenses).
Have no history of significant hearing loss or neurological disease.

Participants will be compensated for their time by receiving either £9/hour or 1 Credit/hour and will be helping grow our understanding in how best to help those with dyslexia, learn in the best way possible.

Please contact Haibei Wang if you are interested in taking part in this study:

Haibei.wang.23@ucl.ac.uk

+44 (0)7503986873

By Marcy Rice|2024-07-01T11:54:26+01:00July 1st, 2024|Latest news, Research news|0 Comments

University of Surrey needs dyslexia research advisory group volunteers

Dyslexia research volunteers needed

A group of researchers in the School of Psychology at the University of Surrey are interested in adolescents’ social and emotional experiences related to reading difficulties, so that they can better support them in the future.

They would like to involve you as a group of experts by experience to ensure their dyslexia research is relevant to adolescents with reading difficulties.

Volunteers for their dyslexia research advisory groups will give feedback on the design of the research project and recruitment materials to be used in the subsequent study itself: “Understanding the mechanisms underpinning poor mental health outcomes in children with reading disorders”.

The University of Surrey team are looking for volunteers to join 3 advisory groups:

The panels will meet online about 3 times during the year for approximately an hour.

You will be asked to read some materials before these meetings.

In the meetings, you will be asked to provide your thoughts on parts of the research.

Please contact Jovana Durica at UnRAP@surrey.ac.uk if you are interested in joining the group or if you would like more information.

By Helen Arkell|2024-07-23T16:32:49+01:00April 7th, 2024|Research news|0 Comments

Research into Augmented Reality for teaching reading

Martyn is a lecturer and Ph.D. student at the University of Greenwich, working within the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences with a focus on Video Games Development. He is currently researching reading and phonics and have developed an augmented reality application designed for phonics instruction. He is reaching out to schools in the hope of gaining expert opinions from teachers and additional learner support professionals regarding the application and its potential applications in teaching phonics.

Are you an education professional who can help with this study? Do you have experience using classroom-based tools and techniques for phonics instruction?

What does the research involve?

If you decide to participate in this research, you will be provided with a link to install an app. You will also be provided an associated booklet. You will use the app and consider how the app might function as phonics teaching tool. You can use the app as much, or as little as you like. There is no charge for the app or booklet, and you can keep booklet and app after the study. The app does not store or collect any personal data.
As a participant, you will be invited to join a series of interviews and/or focus groups. Attendance at all sessions is not mandatory; you can participate in the discussions either online or in person. The in-person focus groups will be held at the University of Greenwich, and each session will last no longer than one hour.
At this stage, no children are involved.

You can access the Participant Information Sheet here

You can find out more about the app and the study here

You can contact Martyn and join the study by emailing him at m.p.broadhead@greenwich.ac.uk

By Marcy Rice|2024-07-23T16:36:55+01:00February 2nd, 2024|Research news|0 Comments

Can you help with dyslexia research?

Bayan is a third-year psychology student at Brunel University. She’s conducting a study on how people with dyslexia and different reading abilities process emotional faces. It involves completing a series of standard psychology questionnaires on your phonological processing and your general emotional state, this will be followed by two short tasks where you will classify a series of emotional faces.

Can you help with this research? It is anonymous and open to over 18s who do and do not have dyslexia.

Complete the questionnaire here.

By Marcy Rice|2024-07-23T16:37:46+01:00January 26th, 2024|Research news|0 Comments

Calling university students with or without dyslexia

We are delighted to be able to share trainee clinical psychologist Holly’s further request for help with her research into dyslexia and emotions that she is conducting for her PhD from Royal Holloway University London. Many of you were kind enough to help Holly design her research process. Whether or not you helped with this, we would like you to take part in the research.

If you are an undergraduate university student with or without dyslexia, Holly would love you to answer a few questions. You will receive a £5 Amazon voucher as a thank you for taking part.

You can find out more below and you can take part here:

https://research.sc/participant/login/dynamic/0915B1FF-BD40-426A-9DC8-51AF1A163CA7