Abstract
Parents and carers supporting their children with dyslexia liken their experiences to battle, when trying to secure appropriate educational provision for their children. This chapter expands our understanding of parents’/carers’ experiences through exploration of both academic studies, reviews and gray literature since the Assent of the Children and Families Act 2014 in England. Using a Bourdieusian framework underpinned by Jenkins’ ‘levels of interaction’, this chapter studies parental/carers’ experiences of dyslexia and procurement of appropriate educational provision for their children with dyslexia. Parents’/carers’ internal sense-making of dyslexia is explored. Connections are made between this sense-making and the nature of parents’/carers’ interactions with their children and education professionals. These interactions, as underpinned by individuals’ understandings of dyslexia are then explored in the context of the social positions occupied by parents/carers relative to others within the field of education. Parents’/carers’ capacity to engage with professionals, and contribute meaningfully to decision-making processes through embodiment of necessary habitus is exposed through analysis of individual sense-making, interactional exchanges and institutional relationships. Practical and theoretical implications of parents’/carers/sense-making of dyslexia, their interactional experiences, and embodiment of habitus are then described in a ‘Who, What, When and How’ overview of parents/carers supporting a child with dyslexia.
Highlights
In this chapter, ‘levels of interaction’ [1] are combined with Bourdieusian concepts of habitus, field and practice to explore parents’ experiences of their children’s dyslexia within an English policy context
Dyslexia is a contested phenomenon [2–4] within literature, practice and media [5–7]. This is despite the British Dyslexia Association [8] providing a robust definition, which incorporates ‘testable’ characteristics to allow for diagnostic assessment of difficulties
Dyslexia between professionals and parents can be problematic [10–12], we explore at the ‘interactional level’ how parents’ sense-making and reframing of dyslexia underpins their interactions with their children and empower them to engage with schools [13]
Summary
In this chapter, ‘levels of interaction’ [1] are combined with Bourdieusian concepts of habitus, field and practice to explore parents’ experiences of their children’s dyslexia within an English policy context. Some institutions refute the existence of dyslexia as a discrete phenomenon [2], leading to rejection of or refusal to diagnose [9, 10] For parents this leads to challenges in supporting their children. Dyslexia between professionals and parents can be problematic [10–12], we explore at the ‘interactional level’ how parents’ sense-making and reframing of dyslexia underpins their interactions with their children and empower them to engage with schools [13]. Exploration of institutional roles and policy within this chapter is important to understand structures which impede parents’ active participation in their children’s education. Habitus and transformations within parents, professionals and wider structures are discussed, so that practical recommendations can be drawn from literature and exploration of each level of interaction
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