Dyslexia resources
Dyslexia resources
This page has resources and tools to help tertiary education organisations (TEOs) meet the needs of learners with dyslexia or who are neurodivergent in other ways.
This page has resources and tools to help tertiary education organisations (TEOs) meet the needs of learners with dyslexia or who are neurodivergent in other ways.
On this page:
- Support for your learner success approach
- Meeting the needs of learners with dyslexia/neurodivergence
- Useful overviews
- New Zealand organisations
- Historical Ako Aotearoa resources
- The Dyslexia-Friendly Quality Mark
- Training support
- Screening and assessment
- Assistive technologies
- New Zealand case studies and research
- Books
- International resources
- New Zealand resources for work-based learning providers
Support for your learner success approach
Fundamental to the Tertiary Education Commission’s (TEC’s) Ōritetanga learner success approach is understanding all learners and their needs and aspirations.
Becoming neurodiversity-capable will support your learner success approach – best practice for neurodivergent learners is best practice for all learners.
This page has vital resources for developing your Disability Action Plan. Used alongside the Kia Ōrite Toolkit, they can help TEOs redesign their businesses with learners at the centre.
Meeting the needs of learners with dyslexia/neurodivergence
Dyslexia is a type of neurodivergence. The TEC is committed to actively supporting TEOs to deliver quality education and training to learners with dyslexia and other neurodivergent conditions.
On this page, we have pulled together resources from New Zealand, Australia and the rest of the world to help you provide inclusive education to those learners.
Please note: We have gathered these resources from a wide range of sources. Neurodiversity/dyslexia is an evolving field. We’ve made every effort to ensure all sources are reputable. However, their inclusion does not indicate endorsement by the TEC.
Useful overviews
International Practice in Support of Dyslexic Learners in Tertiary Education (PDF 373 KB) – A TEC-commissioned report on international practice supporting dyslexic learners in tertiary education
Dyslexia Decoded: What it is, what it isn't, and what you can do about it (PDF 6.9 MB) – A book prepared for the TEC by Sue Dymock and Tom Nicholson (2012)
New Zealand organisations
Dyslexia Foundation of New Zealand
Historical Ako Aotearoa resources
Written resources
What is dyslexia? (PDF 1.5 MB)
How do I know if my learner has dyslexia? (PDF 1.4 MB)
How to recognise dyslexia in adult learners (PDF 368 KB)
How can I meet the needs of learners with dyslexia? Part One (PDF 2.3 MB)
How can I meet the needs of learners with dyslexia? Part Two (PDF 2.1 MB)
Best practice guide – tutors and teachers (PDF 1.4 MB)
Best practice guide – the positive features of dyslexia in adults (PDF 797 KB)
Best practice guide – employers (PDF 1.4 MB)
Catering for adults with dyslexia in my course (PDF 1.6 MB)
Adult dyslexia – what we know and what we need to know (PDF 1.6 MB)
Dyslexia-friendly style guide (PDF 957 KB)
Dyslexia learner profile (PDF 357 KB)
Videos
Introduction to dyslexia resources – YouTube
A strategic approach and dyslexia – YouTube
Tailoring the instruction and dyslexia – YouTube
Coping with dyslexia – YouTube
Living with dyslexia – YouTube
Multiple perspectives and dyslexia – YouTube
The Dyslexia-Friendly Quality Mark
The Dyslexia-Friendly Quality Mark demonstrates that an organisation follows best practice in meeting the needs of dyslexic learners.
Dyslexia-Friendly Quality Mark | For New Zealand tertiary organisations – video introducing the Dyslexia-Friendly Quality Mark
An inclusive revolution: Scoping a neurodivergent-friendly quality mark for the workplace – a 2025 report to scope development of a Neurodivergent Friendly Quality Mark for the Workplace (NFQM)
Training support
Job and Training Support Funds – Work and Income
Screening and assessment
Diagnostic assessment – SPELD NZ
LADS Plus – GL Assessment – a digital assessment to screen for dyslexia
Quickscreen for Individuals – QS Dyslexia Tests – an online dyslexia test for adults
Dyslexia Adult Screening Test – a test to help screen for dyslexia and other learning difficulties
Assistive technologies
Assistive Technology – New Zealand-based provider of a range of assistive technology products
Assistive Technology – the Dyslexia Association, United Kingdom
Note: TEC may be able to assist with further links to support resources. Please email us, or phone 0800 601 301.
New Zealand case studies and research
Divergent Thinkers – Former Kāpiti College students reflect on their journeys since leaving their neurodiversity-focused class at school
Linda M. Rowan. It's not all black and white: the transition of students with dyslexia into the first year of university study (master’s thesis, Massey University, 2010)
Linda M. Rowan. Learning with dyslexia in secondary school in New Zealand: What can we learn from students’ past experiences?. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, 15(1), 2010
Linda M. Rowan. University transition experiences of four students with dyslexia in New Zealand. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, 19(2), 2014
Ruth Gibbons. "It’s all of these puzzle pieces”: The representation and the manifest discourse of dyslexic experience (doctoral thesis, Massey University, 2016)
Books
The New Zealand dyslexia handbook by Tom Nicholson and Sue Dymock (2015)
Positive dyslexia by Roderick Nicolson (2015)
International resources
Dyslexia Resource Guide – Australian Disability Clearing House for Education and Training (ADCET)
ADCET Webinar: Supporting students with dyslexia at university
Adult Checklist – British Dyslexia Association – a checklist to encourage better self-understanding of dyslexia, and a useful conversation starter
Made by Dyslexia – a UK website funded by people with dyslexia
Dyslexia at Oxford – a film and photography project in conversation with students, alumni, staff, tutors and researchers at the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, and members of the local community, about dyslexia, exploring the strengths and challenges of having different brain wiring. Shared with kind permission from the University of Oxford.
Declaration of Rights – The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity – a declaration of rights for people with dyslexia
New Zealand resources for work-based learning providers
Workplaces should help work-based learners with dyslexia feel safe and valued.