Parents and guardians should take advantage of technology to help children with dyslexia, the head of a charity assisting with reading disabilities said.

Tina Harris, executive director of The Reading Clinic, said technological tools such as artificial intelligence should be “ethically” put to work.

Ms Harris told Hamilton Rotary Club yesterday that “there are a lot of tools out there” when it came to various learning disabilities, but cautioned: “Children have to be taught how to use those tools effectively.”

Many children are using voice-to-text features on devices as well as online programmes such as Grammarly.

Ms Harris said: “Grammarly is really helpful for children with dyslexia — and having the computer read back what you have just written to see if you have missed punctuation also helps.”

However she said: “Unless a teacher due for training or who is in training has actually taken courses that specifically deal with learning differences, general classroom teaching will not have that experience.”

Ms Harris said that despite AI’s uses, “it is not going to pick up on certain things”, making the human element “absolutely critical”.

The clinic launched a series of workshops this year for teachers working with different learners.

Takawira Mubako, president of Hamilton Rotary Club, welcomed the notion of technology in the classroom, while Amy Da Costa, programme co-ordinator at the charity, explained the rigorous criteria for diagnosis.

She said: “They do a very comprehensive job — they have to rule other things out in order to give a clear diagnosis of dyslexia.”

Ms Da Costa said research suggested that one in five children had dyslexia.

While it is “diagnosed equally” by gender, it is more commonly experienced by boys.

Ms Harris said there were 109 children enrolled in the charity’s four reading programmes, including a core unit dealing specifically with dyslexia, while its maths programme covers dyscalculia, which affects the ability to understand numbers and mathematical concepts.

A preschool programme assists children with sound identification and rhyming.

Ms Harris added: “We are really focused on developing a whole child — not just teaching them to read or how to do their maths.”