Dyslexia awareness week has been marked with a series of events in schools.

About one in 10 children are affected to some degree by dyslexia, which shows itself in poor reading, writing and spelling skills.

Leicestershire County Council and some of its schools are working towards dyslexia-friendly status which involves meeting standards set by the British Dyslexia Association.

At one school, St Cuthbert's CE Primary, in Great Glen, pupils have been working on a "dyslexic heroes" project.

Head teacher Anne Burbidge, said: "The children have chosen a person with dyslexia who has achieved a lot or are famous and we have looked at their lives.

"They have looked at people such as Keira Knightley and Robbie Williams and people from the past such as Picasso.

"It's been a wonderful project."

Many parents have found themselves in a battle to get their children's dyslexia recognised and have complained that often their children are simply thought of as having low intelligence, or naughty.

However, Mrs Burbidge, said: "I think the tide is turning.

"In Leicestershire, the county council is giving training to schools.

"Children have different learning styles and people in education are much more aware of that now.

"We've done a lot of work on dyslexia awareness over the past 18 months, two years or so and parents have valued that.

"Children with dyslexia sometimes have trouble with self-esteem so we do what we can to make them understand that it's not their fault and help them be happy in their lives."

A spokeswoman for the county council said the local authority supported dyslexic pupils through raising awareness, offering training for teachers and running family information sessions.

Dyslexia – from the Greek meaning "difficulty with words" – is caused by the way the brain processes words and numbers.

This has nothing to do with how clever people are, dyslexic people show a normal range of intelligence, experts say.

Often dyslexia runs in families and it is estimated that about 4% of people have it in a severe form while another 6% experience moderate difficulties.

The Leicestershire Dyslexia Association runs a helpline for anybody who wants more information. It can be contacted on 01455 272924.