A DISTRAUGHT mother says her 10-year-old son has been driven to suicide because of a condition which affects thousands of people.

Allison Scott, of Paddock Road, Kirkburton, says her youngest son, Steven, has tried to jump out of his bedroom window and leap from a moving car because of the frustration he faces because of dyslexia.

Dyslexia comes from the Greek meaning difficulty with words.

It affects the skills in the brain needed for reading, writing and spelling.

Mother-of-five Mrs Scott, 40, has chosen to speak out during Dyslexia Awareness Week this week to highlight the difficulties which parents of dyslexic children face.

She said: "I don't want my children to be brain surgeons. I just want them to be able to fill in their own application forms and get by when they leave school.

"The education system is failing these children. I'm not the only parent struggling in these circumstances. The children are just not getting the help and resources they need.

"If they don't get help early enough, the behavioural problems start."

Mrs Scott said that because dyslexia was a `hidden disability' children were not supported in the same way as they would be if they were, for example, in a wheelchair.

About 4% of the population are severely dyslexic and a further 6% suffer a moderate form.

Steven, who goes to Kirkburton Middle School, also has attention deficit disorder.

His brother, Denis, 13, a pupil at Shelley High School, is also dyslexic.

Both boys are currently excluded from their schools, but are expected to return this week.

Mrs Scott said Steven's behavioural problems had got worse last week, culminating in his `cries for help'.

She said: "I have always fought for them. The classes are so big and it's such a struggle for them to keep up. They get so frustrated."

Mrs Scott's eldest son, Robert, 20, also suffered from dyslexia and behavioural problems and struggled in mainstream school.

He now works as a plasterer.

Mrs Scott has a 21-year-old daughter, Tracey, who lives in Kirkburton, and another daughter, Anne, 15, who goes to Shelley High School and is "doing well".

Mrs Scott said: "The education system failed Robert and I am determined that it will not fail my two youngest sons.

"Children with dyslexia take a long time to be diagnosed and recognised. By then, they suffer low self esteem and frustration which can stay with them in later life."

A Kirklees Education Service spokeswoman said that Mrs Scott called the Special Educational Needs Department on October 31. It was now working to try to find the best help available at school for Steven.

She added that the service was reluctant to comment further on individual cases.

FACTFILE:

PRIMARY school age children with dyslexia may:

* Have difficulty with reading and spelling.

* Put letters and figures the wrong way round.

* Have difficulty remembering tables, alphabet, formulas.

* Leave letters out of words or put them in the wrong order.

* Still occasionally confuses B and D and words such as no/on.

* Still needs to use fingers or marks on paper to make simple calculations.

* Poor concentration.

* Have difficulty with tying shoelaces, ties and in dressing.

* Have difficulty telling left from right, the order of days of the week or months of the year.

* Surprises you because in other ways he or she is bright and alert.

* Have a poor sense of direction and still confuses left and right.

* Lacks confidence and have a poor self-image.

For information, contact the British Dyslexia Association at 98 London Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5AU or ring the helpline on 0118 966 8271