A significant amount of Australian children are struggling readers, despite strong evidence showing reading difficulties can be prevented and overcome if identified early and provided with evidence-based instruction.

These struggling children are visible, in NAPLAN and other assessments, but the system is failing to intervene early and effectively. Consequently, the number of students with low literacy is growing rather than shrinking as students progress from primary school to high school.

There are a total of 800,000 students currently in schools in Australia who are not reading at the minimum standard. These children have the potential to achieve and thrive at school. The education system is stuck in a reactive and obsolete "wait to fail' model, despite the availability of low-cost, highly effective screening and intervention tools.

Dyslexia is the most common form of learning disability, which can be identified by specific diagnostic criteria (although diagnosis requires educationally and financially affluent parents to obtain). There is a significant under-identification of children with dyslexia in Australia.

Children with learning difficulties struggle to achieve academically for a wide range of reasons, including sensory impairment, psychological/emotional issues, English as a second language, absenteeism, and commonly, ineffective and/or inadequate instruction.

Regardless of diagnosis or contributing factors, effective intervention should be the same.

These children present to General Practice with school avoidance, anxiety, depression, and psychogenic symptoms.

Educated GPs can help identify and direct families to reliable resources to prevent reading failure as often schools lack this knowledge.

Children who can't read grow into functionality-illiterate adults with limited opportunities and poor health outcomes.

1. Increase awareness and identification of Dyslexia
2. Understand features and incidence of Dyslexia
3. Increase knowledge of evidence-based help and resources