PARENTS are crucial to normalising and destigmatising dyslexia, according to University of Tasmania Associate Professor Judith Hudson.
Dr Hudson, from Wales, is visiting the university to host workshops with parents, teachers and community groups about the syndrome.
Dr Hudson said parents had a crucial role to play in schools and teachers being equipped to diagnose and effectively work with students with dyslexia.
"The parents are the people who are really going to effect change, working together and with schools and teachers," she said.
"If we can break down the misconception that parents who are involved in schools are always complaining, rather than simply wanting the best for the school and the students, real change can occur."
Dr Hudson said all teachers should be trained to diagnose and work with students living with dyslexia.
"It should be a compulsory element in teacher training, every teacher needs to be aware how to recognise and diagnose dyslexia," she said.
Dr Hudson said dyslexic students were often misdiagnosed.
"People often think that the child is slow, or lazy, rather than being dyslexic," she said.
"In Tasmania there's lots of reservation still around using the word dyslexia, people tend to be more comfortable using terms like learning difficulties instead.
"We're trying to empower parents, teachers and psychiatrists to use the term."
Between 7 and 10 per cent of the population lives with dyslexia.
Dr Hudson said people with dyslexia had difficulty reading and processing words.
"There can be various early signs that a child has dyslexia, they might have trouble rhyming sounds, or be slower at reading and understanding sounds in words when reading, and their writing and spelling is more likely to be messy and disorganised," she said.
Dr Hudson said Square Pegs, a statewide dyslexia support group, planned to establish itself on the North-West early next year.