Louth County Council support dyslexia-friendly book initiative

Louth County Council Arts Office have announced that every DEIS school and special school in County Louth will receive a set of four dyslexia-friendly children’s books on Irish wildlife.

Dyslexia affects, on average, three children in every class of 24. However, despite a significant increase in the awareness and understanding of the challenges faced, there remains limited resources available for the children themselves.

Through the support of Louth County Council’s Arts Office, one collection of Irish published books, the ‘Nature’s Adventures’ collection, is working to buck this trend.

Speaking about the dyslexia-friendly elements of the book’s design and layout, author Shane Casey says: “They are only slight changes, but they make an enormous difference. We use a combination of special font, colour schemes, and layout to make it easier for children with dyslexia to read. Little things, like avoiding a double space after a full stop, prevents white lightning on the page. Or left aligning the text instead of justifying it, makes it easier to see where the sentence ends, and is less daunting for a young reader than a block of text.”

He added: “The stories themselves are also important. Many of the books used by children with dyslexia can be quite juvenile, and so having stories that are age appropriate is key to encouraging children to read more. For some 11 and 12-year-olds, these were the first books they had managed to read in full on their own, and it gave them the confidence to try other books.”

Shane is a Biodiversity Officer, and with three stories in each book, his series helps to engage children with the wildlife on their own doorstep, from hedgehogs and mayflies to song thrushes and salmon. 

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To strengthen their educational value, the books are accompanied by support materials for teachers (also available as a free download from www.shanecaseybooks.ie for parents).

The four books sponsored by Louth County Council are ‘Nature’s Secret Adventures,’ ‘Nature’s Hidden Adventures,’ ‘Nature’s Marvellous Adventures,’ and ‘Nature’s Incredible Adventures.’ 

Acting Arts Officer, Louth County Council, Moya Hodgers said: “Literature and reading is such a crucial element of arts for children and adults alike. To be able to support an initiative like this helps us to reach out to a specific group, to use these books to inspire their creativity, to show them that art is and should be as accessible to them as everyone else.”

The books will reach the selected schools in coming weeks.