One in ten people in the UK have dyslexia to some degree.

The condition, which can cause problems with reading, writing and spelling, does not affect intelligence but it can mean sufferers face daily challenges.

However, help is at hand not least through the support group Dyslexia Assist.

An awareness event is being held next week to tie in with Dyslexia Awareness Week which runs next week.

Reading and writing are two things we do every day and never think too much about.

Filling out a form or picking up a magazine in a waiting room is just second nature.

But for people with dyslexia, something most of us find so simple can be a daily challenge.

As part of Dyslexia Awareness Week, which begins on Monday, Dyslexia Assist is running a free support event in collaboration with Colchester 360 and the British Dyslexia Association.

It will offer advice and free tools to help parents and carers of those with dyslexia.

Set up in 2013, Dyslexia Assist has gone from strength to strength becoming a national resource for parents and children.

Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty which affects one in ten people in the UK to some degree and can cause problems with reading, writing and spelling.

Intelligence is not affected but for those with dyslexia, it is a lifelong problem which can present daily challenges.

People diagnosed with the condition tend to read and write slowly, confuse the order of letters in words and struggle with planning and organisation.

Valerie Bennett, one of the parent founders of Dyslexia Assist, said: “Dyslexia is a spectrum of difficulties which generally means it is harder for people of all ages to process the sounds of letters to make them into words.

“You could think of it similarly to how some people are naturally good at drawing what they see and others are not.

“Just because you are good at art does not mean you are more or less intelligent.

“Dyslexic children are not lazy, they have to work extra hard and require specific help to make progress.

“This help is often difficult to access due to cuts in school funding.

“Dyslexia is not something you outgrow as it is neurological in origin so impacts student and adult life every day.” For schoolchildren, dyslexia can be an additional challenge.

Louise Edwards and her son Adam, 14, have both been diagnosed. Louise, from Coggeshall, said: “We were told Adam also has audio dyslexia.

“He is partially deaf which is all linked, he suffers short term memory issues too.

“When he was in Year 5 his teacher flagged it, I had being saying all along there was more than just the deafness.”

Adam, who is now in Year 10, has to take photos of his work so he does not write anything down incorrectly.

Louise said: “At Honywood School they use iPads so luckily he takes photos of homework and emails them to the family so he doesn’t forget or write things down wrong.

“His teachers are aware and go over things regularly, the school has an excellent special educational needs team who keep us up to date.

“Reading and writing which takes 20 minutes for others would take him an hour, so I’ll be on to the team about extra time for his GCSEs.

“We both suffer in the sense of reading a sentence and not getting it’s true meaning. Form filling is painful and we both have to read carefully as your eyes skip up and down so we can write the write answers in the wrong boxes.”

Stewart Mayne, a personal trainer in Colchester, was diagnosed at a young age.

He could not take certain subjects at school because they were too complicated.

The 29-year-old said: “It affected my reading and writing to the point where I couldn’t read my own writing sometimes.

“Now my reading has improved a lot but I still struggle with my writing.

“When people make fun of my writing I get annoyed because it’s something I can’t help.

“Sometimes people say sorry afterwards but some just laugh at me.

“Nowadays days I just ignore the negative comments because it happens so often.”

Rebecca Norris, from Halstead, has just been told she is 90 per cent at risk of having dyslexia.

The 17-year-old has aways had trouble spelling but her teachers wanted her to have a formal test.

She said: “I struggle heavily with maths and I can’t work out how words are pronounced.

“Once you have that diagnosis the help is phenomenal - I now have a computer for class work and exams.”

The free awareness event is being held at the Colchester Hub, Unit 81, Culver Street East on Monday from 11am until 3pm.