Abstract
Targeting research towards areas that matter to dyslexic people and their families is essential for improving dyslexic people's lives. However, we do not know what the dyslexia community's research priorities are and whether they align with current research funding. We categorised previous funding for dyslexia research in the United Kingdom and considered how this aligns with community research priorities, using multiple methods and a participatory approach. We identified that the vast majority (78%) of funding has been spent on research into biology, brain and cognition. Through seven focus groups (n = 37), dyslexic adults and/or family members/carers of dyslexic children expressed that this balance needs redressing, and we identified four important areas for future research, informed by lived experiences. Finally, 436 members of the dyslexia community ranked the importance of research topics in a survey. The top five priorities related to training teachers and professionals, educational supports and interventions, mental health and self‐esteem, making services and spaces more inclusive and cognition. Research into genes and risk factors was less prioritised. These results provide a point of reference for researchers and funders to align future research funding with the dyslexia community's priorities so that it can be of translational benefit.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e70004 |
| Journal | Dyslexia |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 18 Mar 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 18 Mar 2025 |
Acknowledgements
We thank our participants for their time and the charities and organisations who helped recruit participants. We also thank Liz Pellicano for advice on study design, Stephen Macdonald and Phoebe Brook-Rowland for advice on the focus group schedule, Ella Callus for help collating information on previously funded projects and assisting focus groups, Aamina Khan for help collating information on previously funded projects, Gail Hickman for help with transcription and focus groups, and Rain Jefferis for help with survey recruitment. We are grateful to Cecilia Muldoon, Callum Welch, Adrian Sparks, Milo Spiller and others who provided feedback and advice on survey design. We also thank researchers and funders who helped supply information about previous grants.Funding
This work was supported by the Research England Participatory Research Fund and the University of Reading. This research was funded by a UKRI Research England Participatory Research Fund grant awarded to H.J. and C.M., and a Deans Fund pump-priming award to C.M. at the University of Reading. We partnered with the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity for this study.
