The book has combined a focus on both cognitive coping strategies and socio-emotional techniques for overcoming negative emotion. As such, the book has built on work completed for Dyslexia in Higher Education: Anxiety and Coping, but rather than aiming to raise awareness of the prevalence of anxiety and negative emotion, the book instead has focused on expanding the research undertaken on effective cognitive and emotional techniques used by dyslexic learners. This has enabled provision of a pragmatic, study skills development book for the purpose of supporting students with dyslexia to deal more effectively with their study tasks and learning experiences whilst at university. Consequently, the book’s main themes have focused on the presentation of strategies for overcoming barriers prevalent for the dyslexic learner both cognitively and emotionally. These have included ways in which technology can be utilised, making learning multisensory, applying practicality to study tasks and exemplifying the dyslexic learners featured in the book favourite ways of studying to make learning enjoyable. These have been presented with the aim of improving metacognition and metacognitive awareness, helping to reduce scotopic sensitivity, and ultimately have been intended to help the reader to cope with academic life cognitively and emotionally.

This chapter provides the conclusion to the book, summarizing the findings and main points of each chapter. It also outlines the contribution the book makes to an understanding of the characteristics of dyslexic university student anxiety and an identification of ways of coping that students with dyslexia employ to deal with the cognitive and emotional difficulties manifested by their dyslexia. Implications of this for dyslexia practitioners, for universities and for academics responsible for teaching and delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes are specified. In relation to the dyslexia practitioner, the chapter provides pragmatic advice on ways of using appropriate support styles that combine targeted emotional support with delivery and development of suitable cognitive techniques. Guidance is also provided on ways that emotional support could be utilised during individual sessions with students to encourage open discussions on academic areas where the student may feel vulnerable and sensitive emotionally. For universities, practical suggestions are made on ways of ensuring that the academic environment fosters an inclusive culture to establish a suitable, supportive and inspiring place of learning for students with dyslexia where they feel secure and encouraged to discuss any emotional difficulties they may be susceptible to.