What if 50% of children with dyslexia have a hidden language disorder that schools aren't even screening for?

In this episode, we sit down with Maggie Snowling, one of the world's leading dyslexia researchers and developer of the Nelly intervention program now used in schools across the UK. Maggie has spent decades studying what actually works for children who struggle with reading, and what she's discovered challenges everything we think we know about dyslexia support in schools.

Her brother was severely dyslexic. Her mother fought tooth and nail to get him help and failed. That shaped Maggie's entire career and the question that drives her work: why are we intervening so late, and why do we keep missing what's actually going on?

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why dyslexia isn't just a reading problem—it's often a language problem

• The 50% connection: half of all children with dyslexia also have oral language difficulties, and schools aren't looking for it

• How "treatment resistors" led her to develop Nelly and transform outcomes for struggling learners

• Fluency vs. accuracy: why timing matters as much as getting the words right

• Why screening at school entry (age 4–5) is critical, not waiting for formal diagnosis

• The phonics debate: how phonics must sit inside language-rich teaching, not exist in isolation

• Why teacher training is the single biggest lever for change in schools

• Early identification in preschool: what parents should actually be doing

• The "dyslexia superpower" myth and why it can harm kids without proper support

• How AI and assistive technology are changing the game

• The multidimensional spectrum of dyslexia: why some kids also have motor and attention difficulties

• The future of dyslexia: will it still exist in 2030?

Maggie's message is clear: we have the research. We know what works. We know when to intervene. The problem isn't science—it's a system that waits too long, screens too late, and doesn't train teachers on what they actually need to know about language and reading.

If you're a parent frustrated by late diagnosis, a teacher wondering why some kids don't respond to standard intervention, or an educator working in SEND, this episode is essential listening.