Published: Sunday, 18th July, 2010 8:00am

All about me

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HELP for dyslexic students is at hand through a new appeal to raise awareness about the learning difficulty.

It's ME!, launched by the Egham-based Dyslexia Action centre, stands for It's My Education and is an online support community for people affected by dyslexia.

The website gives a voice to those with literacy difficulties and specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and helps to raise awareness of the struggles that they face in order to ensure that people have access to the support they need.

Charley Boorman, actor and adventurer, is president of Dyslexia Action and has shared his story on the It's ME! website.

He said: "I am dyslexic but I was lucky and I got help early, that is why I am a big supporter of Dyslexia Action and the new It's ME! appeal."

The website has been a particular help for students who have recently been taking school exams by providing a place to debate the issues they face as dyslexic students sitting exams.

Dyslexia affects around 10% of the population and mainly causes reading and writing difficulties, but people can struggle with dyslexia to varying degrees and other difficulties can arise in memory, mathematics, organisation and sequencing skills.

Dyslexia Action is a national charity that supports people with dyslexia and other learning difficulties, providing tuition to dyslexic people using a specialist multi-sensory technique, as well as being involved in training, campaigning and more.

The charity also provides advice for parents whose children are struggling with dyslexia, reminding parents that dyslexia does not affect intelligence nor need to be a barrier to success.

Parents with a dyslexic child may notice they have difficulties reading and writing such as trouble with spelling and handwriting, taking a long time to read and understand something and finding it difficult to remember sequences such as phone numbers.

To find out more about Dyslexia Action or talk to someone about whether your child could be dyslexic, visit www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk and visit www.itsme.org.uk for more about It's ME!