Adjusting by condition
How to make adjustments for dyslexia
Reading, spelling and writing adjustments that help students with dyslexia access the curriculum, and how to record them as strong NCCD evidence.
Updated 25 September 202610 min read
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Dyslexia does not change what a student can learn. It changes how easily they can access print, spell accurately, organise written work, and show what they know. In NCCD terms, the question is not whether a student has a label. The question is what functional impact the student is experiencing, what adjustments the school is making, and how that support is being monitored over time.
New to the NCCD? Start with What is the NCCD?
What this guide covers
This guide explains how dyslexia usually shows up in classroom work, practical adjustments for reading, spelling, writing, and assessment, examples of strong NCCD evidence wording for dyslexia support, and common mistakes that weaken adjustment records.
Start with the learning barrier, not the label
Students with dyslexia commonly need support with decoding, reading fluency, spelling, written expression, and processing written instructions. Some also have difficulty with handwriting, working memory, or maths facts. That matters because a student may read well below year level while still understanding ideas strongly when information is spoken, modelled, or presented visually.
For NCCD, write the barrier in plain English. For example: the student needs extra support to decode age-level text, record ideas in writing, and complete literacy-heavy tasks within regular time. This keeps the adjustment tied to classroom function, which is what schools must evidence.
Match the adjustment to the task the student is trying to do
The strongest dyslexia adjustments are specific. They do not stop at "differentiate literacy". They show what changed in the reading task, writing task, spelling task, or assessment task.
| Classroom area | What the student may find hard | Adjustment focus |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | Decoding longer words, reading aloud, reading large amounts of text independently | Text-to-speech, audio versions, shorter chunks of text, pre-taught vocabulary, paired reading |
| Spelling | Remembering sound-letter patterns, applying spelling rules in independent work | Personal spelling bank, morphology and phonics review, reduced copying load, spell-check in drafting |
| Writing | Getting ideas onto the page, sentence structure, written stamina, editing | Speech-to-text, writing frames, graphic organisers, sentence starters, reduced copying |
| Assessment | Showing understanding when the task is heavily literacy-based | Extra time, oral response options, scribe or device access where appropriate, simplified instructions |
Where the barrier is the instructions rather than the text, plain language instructions cut the reading load without lowering the task.
Decoding difficulty and comprehension difficulty are not the same barrier
Dyslexia is often treated as one reading problem, but two separate barriers sit inside it, and each one needs a different adjustment. Decoding difficulty is about turning print into sound and words accurately and fluently. Comprehension difficulty is about holding meaning, connecting ideas, and building a picture of the text once the words are recognised. A student can find one of these genuinely hard while the other is a relative strength, and evidence that blends the two together tends to read as vague rather than tied to the actual barrier.
| Question | Targets decoding | Targets comprehension |
|---|---|---|
| What the student finds hard | Sounding out unfamiliar words, reading with accuracy and fluency, recognising words automatically | Holding meaning in mind, linking ideas across a text, building a mental picture of what is happening |
| Adjustments that fit | Text-to-speech, audio texts, phonics and morphology review, decodable or levelled texts, paired reading | Graphic organisers, pre-teaching key vocabulary, chunked comprehension questions, discussion before writing |
| What a thin note looks like | "Used audio support", with no mention of the decoding barrier it was addressing | "Used a graphic organiser", with no mention of the comprehension barrier it was addressing |
| What a stronger note shows | The decoding barrier, the specific support used, and whether accuracy or fluency shifted | The comprehension barrier, the specific support used, and whether understanding or written response shifted |
Naming which barrier an adjustment is targeting keeps the record tied to function, and stops a comprehension support being logged as if it fixed decoding, or the other way around.
Use adjustments that protect access without lowering the learning goal
A dyslexia adjustment should reduce the literacy barrier, not remove the learning altogether. If the class is learning science content, the student may listen to the text instead of reading every paragraph independently. If the class is planning a persuasive piece, the student may dictate ideas first, then edit selected sentences in writing.
Useful dyslexia adjustments often include audio support, scaffolded texts, writing frames, graphic organisers, sentence starters, reduced copying from the board, assistive technology, and alternate ways to show understanding. These supports help the student stay connected to age-equivalent curriculum content rather than being left behind by the reading load.
When you choose an adjustment, ask one practical question: does this change help the student access the same learning intention more independently, more accurately, or with less fatigue? If yes, it is more likely to be worth documenting.
Keep evidence tied to the four areas of NCCD evidence
The NCCD Guidelines describe four general areas of evidence: the student's assessed needs, the adjustments provided (for at least 10 weeks of school education in the 12 months before Census Day), consultation with the student or their parents, guardians, carers or associates, and ongoing monitoring and review. You do not need to create brand-new paperwork for every support. Existing lesson plans, annotated work samples, communication records, intervention notes, and review notes can all contribute.
For dyslexia, strong evidence usually shows a pattern: the student has difficulty accessing print or producing writing at the expected level, specific adjustments are being used across classwork or assessment, the family has been consulted, and the school is checking whether those supports are helping.
Schools can confirm the formal NCCD evidence requirements on the Department of Education's site.
Dyslexia adjustment examples you can document
The following examples show how to write strong NCCD evidence entries that link the adjustment to classroom function. Whether the same support sits at QDTP or goes beyond it depends on frequency and intensity: see which level the support sits at.
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| Student has dyslexia. Support provided. | Student accessed class text through text-to-speech and teacher-led vocabulary preview due to difficulty decoding age-level print independently. Student was then able to participate in the same comprehension discussion as peers. |
| Used graphic organiser. | Graphic organiser used before persuasive writing task to support idea sequencing and sentence planning. This reduced task avoidance and increased the amount of independent writing completed. |
| Student types work. | Student completed history response on device with spell-check during drafting stage because handwriting load and spelling errors were preventing the student from showing topic knowledge. |
| Spoke with parent. | Consultation with parent completed regarding reading fatigue, homework time, and use of audio support at school and home. Agreed to continue audio access and weekly review of reading confidence and task completion. |
Text-to-speech in a history lesson is the kind of adjustment that happens every week and is rarely written down. Teachers can log it between tasks, typed or spoken, or set it once as a recurring support.
Show that the adjustment is being monitored
A strong dyslexia record does not stop at "support provided". It shows what happened next. For example: reading accuracy improved when text was chunked, written output increased when sentence starters were provided, or the student still needed more support and the adjustment was changed.
Simple monitoring is enough when it is consistent. Keep brief notes against work samples, record intervention frequency, note assessment outcomes, or log a short review after a parent meeting. Monitoring matters because NCCD requires schools to show that adjustments are not only planned, but reviewed over time.
Strong dyslexia adjustments by classroom context
Reading lessons often need access adjustments. That may include audio support, paired reading, pre-taught vocabulary, or shorter text sections. Writing lessons often need output adjustments. That may include oral rehearsal, sentence scaffolds, typing, dictation, or reduced copying demands.
In content-heavy subjects, the adjustment may be about access to information rather than literacy intervention itself. A student can listen to source material, respond verbally, use scaffolded note templates, or complete a shorter written response that still checks the same concept. In spelling or intervention settings, the adjustment can be more explicit and skill-based, such as morphology practice, repeated phonics review, or targeted fluency work.
Why this matters
Dyslexia support tends to blend into ordinary classroom teaching, so it can slip out of the written record unless a teacher names it on purpose. A note that only says "differentiated work" or "extra help" leaves out exactly what the student needed and exactly what changed in response.
A clear dyslexia record protects the student and the school in the same move. It shows the access barrier was identified, the support was purposeful rather than incidental, the family was consulted, and the school kept checking whether the support was actually helping.
Common mistake
A common mistake is logging the diagnosis and leaving the classroom barrier out. "Has dyslexia" carries little on its own. A stronger note names the functional impact and the response together: difficulty decoding age-level print, support given through text-to-speech and scaffolded text, and written output checked over the term.
What to do next
Use this page to sharpen the wording in your dyslexia records, then check whether consultation and monitoring are as visible as the adjustment itself. Next, read NCCD evidence examples, weak and strong, adjustments for specific learning disorder and documenting NCCD consultation.