Councillors have been told that official diagnoses of dyslexia should not be a barrier to academic support or achievement in North Tyneside.
Coun Andy Newman asked council education officers what is being done to address the "postcode lottery" with the diagnosis of conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia across North Tyneside.
"I remember with my daughter, I picked up she was dyslexic very early on, and it took nearly seven years of fighting for a diagnosis to take place", Coun Newman explained.
Read More: All the North East special schools rated inadequate or requiring improvement by Ofsted
"I have seen support fluctuate massively throughout the years and it has not been consistent. Once a diagnosis is in place, what level of support can people expect to get year on year?
"How can we ensure it is consistent?"
Lisa Cook, the council's assistant director for education and inclusion, said that while officers are working towards improving the council's special educational needs plans, the focus should be on making official diagnoses irrelevant.
Ms Cook said: "We are working on our special educational needs improvement plan right now, but as a profession what we want is quality first inclusive teaching, so regardless of how a young person or child presents they can access what they need.
"Diagnosis is not the be-all and end-all, it's got to be about what's happening in school, the environment, and understanding our children as individuals.
"How you teach a child with dyslexia effectively is quality first teaching."
Judith Firth, said: "It is the ambition that you don't need a diagnosis, that we have enough awareness that through screening we can meet needs very early on so that diagnosis is not the be-all and end-all".
The British Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as: "a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling.
"Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed."
The NHS states: "It's estimated up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has some degree of dyslexia. Dyslexia is a lifelong problem that can present challenges on a daily basis, but support is available to improve reading and writing skills and help those with the problem be successful at school and work."
Read More:
- Newcastle man opens up on his experience of growing up with dyslexia
- North East Ambulance service asked for more local data on response times despite top performance figures
- Northumbria Police faces drastic cuts of more than £11m despite plan to up council tax bills
- Emergency services rush to Tynemouth Longsands following concern for woman
- Firefighters share photos of 'devastating' damage to Newcastle home as they issue urgent safety warning to residents
