Abstract
In the South African context, a national policy document called the White Paper 6 of 2001 opened avenues for the recognition of Special Education Needs countrywide. The policy led to the establishment of the Special educational needs schools (SEN) in South Africa. These SEN are essential in developing inclusive, supportive settings that cater to the individual learning styles including learners with dyslexia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the risk and resilience factors affected learners with dyslexia in a special educational school setting. Qualitative data was gathered from learners through semi-structured interviews and focus groups discussions. The sample in this study included twelve (12) males and four (4) females. The study was informed by Ungar’s socio ecological theory. This study revealed that academic difficulties and psychosocial challenges were risk factors faced by the learners. The findings also highlighted hat there were three resilience factors that helped learners cope with adversities; individual traits, relational factors and contextual factors. Based on the findings, the study recommends that teachers need to use scaffolding and repeat concepts and instruction till they are understood by the learners. Teachers, peers and family members are encouraged to continue supporting these learners as they support enhanced learners’ resilience. To alleviate pressure and anxiety, accommodations need to be provided for learners with dyslexia to ensure that their focus is on answering the questions instead of being exacerbated by reading. To help with remembering, learners identified that would benefit from recorded lessons. Information technological tools such as the C-Pen, laptops and tablets for writing should also be incorporated to bolsters resilience as it alleviates some academic pressure.
Keywords: Challenges faced by learners with dyslexia, dyslexia, prevalence of dyslexia, Special Educational Needs School (SEN), resilience factors, risk factors of dyslexia