The Hidden Costs of Dyslexia: Why We Overlook High-Achieving Students
- Jessica Narowlansky
- Jan 12
- 5 min read
In recent months, I have seen a familiar pattern re-emerge: high-performing students who, despite being identified as dyslexic earlier in their education, lack the forward-thinking
support they need. These students, often praised for their hard work and success, seem to have everything under control, until high-stakes exams like GCSEs or the International Baccalaureate reveal the cracks beneath the surface.
Too often, schools and families do not pursue accommodations like touch-typing because a young person appears to be coping fine with handwriting. However, as exam pressures mount—sustained focus, prolonged writing, and back-to-back testing—their ability to cope unravels. Suddenly, in the final year before exams, there is a scramble to implement changes that should have been introduced years earlier.
What I find equally concerning is how often the outcome of this poor decision-making can then be shifted unfairly onto the student. At the 11th hour, or even after the fact when they have under performed, they are asked why they did not request tools like touch-typing or advocate for accommodations earlier. This attitude is truly unacceptable! How can we possibly expect young people who have never experienced the intensity of such exam periods, to anticipate or really understand the challenges they will face? Developmentally, they do not yet have the perspective or insight to make those decisions. It is up to the adults around them—schools, families, and educators—to guide them, ensuring the right tools are in place long before the need becomes urgent, along with fostering the understanding as to why these tools are so critically important.
This post is a call to action to move beyond surface-level dyslexia awareness. Schools must plan ahead, understanding not just the challenges dyslexic students face today but those they will encounter tomorrow.
Awareness Is not the Same as Understanding
Dyslexia is no longer a mystery. Awareness campaigns have brought it into the mainstream, and accommodations like extra time and laptops are more common than ever. However, beneath this progress lies a troubling reality: we still misunderstand what dyslexia truly means for students, particularly high-achievers.
Despite decades of research, dyslexia is often still seen as 'just' a literacy issue. This narrow view ignores the profound impact it has on cognitive processing, working memory, and executive functioning. High-achieving students often excel through sheer determination, masking their struggles and leaving educators to assume they are coping fine. In reality, these students are carrying immense cognitive loads that go unrecognised—and uncompensated.
Yes, there is growing awareness of other neurodivergent needs, like autism and ADHD, which is important progress. However, in focusing elsewhere, dyslexia has somehow faded into the background, viewed as “manageable” with basic accommodations. This perception could not be further from the truth. Dyslexia shapes how students think, plan, and manage daily academic demands, creating significant barriers even for those who seem to be succeeding.
Messy Handwriting for Dyslexics Is Not About 'Penmanship', It Is About Cognitive Load
One of the most misunderstood aspects of dyslexia is handwriting. How this is not about the burden of neatness - it is about the disproportionate cognitive load it creates. Research by Berninger and Wolf (2009) shows that handwriting demands significant working memory, linguistic processing, and motor coordination. For dyslexic students, this means writing by hand consumes so much mental energy that there may be little left for higher-order tasks like organising ideas or crafting nuanced responses. The dilemma often boils down to an impossible choice between speed and legibility, particularly under the intense pressure of timed tasks, where prioritising one inevitably compromises the other.
In high-stakes exams like GCSEs, these challenges are magnified exponentially. Extended periods of handwriting leave students fatigued, frustrated, and unable to fully demonstrate their abilities. Research by Connelly et al. (2005) found that dyslexic students produce significantly fewer words under timed conditions—not because they lack knowledge, but because handwriting slows them down and diminishes output.
Why Touch-Typing Is Essential
Touch-typing is not just a helpful tool—it is a critical accommodation. By automating the physical act of writing, typing reduces the cognitive load associated with letter formation and spelling, freeing students to focus on what matters most: thinking critically and structuring coherent responses.
Key benefits of touch-typing for dyslexic students:
Reduced Cognitive Strain: Typing shifts focus from the mechanics of writing to higher-order thinking.
Improved Speed and Legibility: Students can write faster and more legibly, producing more complete responses under timed conditions.
Support for Executive Functioning: Typing minimises working memory overload, helping students plan and pace their work more effectively.
Levelling the Playing Field: Typing allows students to demonstrate their knowledge without being penalised for handwriting struggles.
The Hidden Costs for High-Achieving Students
High-achieving dyslexic students face unique challenges. Their success often comes at a high cost: fatigue, anxiety, and diminished self-esteem. Without meaningful accommodations, these students may underperform in exams—not because they are not capable, but because handwriting becomes an insurmountable barrier.
One recent case illustrates countless cases vividly:
I made clear when assessing a student some time ago that touch typing would be critical for long term success. Unfortunately, 6 years later this high achieving student entered the GCSEs without having integrated touch typing into their working routine. By the end of the exam period, precisely at predicted all those years ago, cumulative fatigue from handwriting had taken its toll, with later papers showing such a decline in legibility to the point where they were deemed illegible. This was not a matter of preparation, as this student had been predicted perfect scores across the board in all subjects — it was the inevitable result of relying on handwriting under intense, sustained pressure. Sadly, it was a crushing experience. This story is one that repeats all too frequently.
Awareness Is Not Enough
We need to move beyond awareness and address the systemic gaps that disadvantage dyslexic students. Schools must take a proactive approach to embedding touch-typing into the educational journey, ensuring it becomes their “normal way of working” well before high-stakes exams.
What schools can do:
Educate Families and Students: Help them understand that touch-typing is not a weakness but a tool for equity and success.
Introduce Typing Early: Teach typing as soon as a dyslexia diagnosis is made, embedding it into everyday learning.
Normalise Accommodations: Create a culture where assistive tools like typing are standard, not exceptions.
The Cost of Inaction
Dyslexia is not a barrier to success in itself, but systemic misunderstandings can make it one. For all students, the hidden costs of inadequate accommodations—fatigue, frustration, and lost potential—are too great to ignore. Touch-typing is not a luxury; it’s a lifeline that enables dyslexic students to thrive.
True inclusion is not just about awareness. It’s about action, understanding, and creating pathways that empower every student to succeed—not despite their differences, but because we have finally learned how to meet their needs.
Resources & References
Connelly, V. et al. (2005). Handwriting and dyslexia: Examining the challenges… Journal of Learning Disabilities.
Medwell, J., & Wray, D. (2008). Cognitive demands of handwriting versus typing: Implications for dyslexic learners. British Journal of Educational Technology.
Mortimore, T., & Crozier, W. R. (2006). Dyslexia and accommodations: Addressing stigma and misunderstandings… Learning and Individual Differences.
Shaywitz, S., & Shaywitz, B. (2021). Insights into neurodevelopmental challenges and accommodations… Annual Review of Psychology.
JCQ Guidelines & Equality Act 2010 (UK) – Emphasising schools’ obligations to implement accommodations like typing as a normal way of working.
Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal or educational advice. Always consult relevant educational and legal guidelines to determine the best support for each child’s needs.
