Dyslexia Webinar
This week I attended the live webinar ‘Dyslexia: What’s New?’ hosted by the University of Birmingham. One of the speakers was Professor Margaret Snowling, a world leading expert in language difficulties including dyslexia. Professor Snowling’s talks are always interesting and this week she was able to share some theories and information regarding overlapping difficulties that often challenge the dyslexic individual. SPLDs that often co-occur with dyslexia include dyspraxia, ADHD, DLD and dyscalculia.
Another speaker was Neil Mackay and although it was the first time I have seen him, I have read a lot of his work. Neil, an independent consultant, trainer and former teacher is one of the world’s foremost thinkers on dyslexia, describing his role ‘to identify and meet the classroom-based needs of vulnerable learners and present them to my audiences in ways that enable them to reflect on and develop their practice’. He created the concept of ‘Dyslexia Friendly Schools’ and in his talk he emphasised the need for all individuals to experience success to keep motivated, advising that work in the classroom should be differentiated by outcome, rather than the need to have the learning reduced. He stated that ‘Time is variable, but the learning is constant’ and he continued to elaborate that some children may require preteaching, peer support or inclusive accommodations to access the learning, but they do need to be exposed to the whole curriculum. To be inclusive, lots of modelling of what is expected from the dyslexic learner will be required, these children should be given examples to refer to throughout a lesson with other visual and multisensory resources and they need to be able to use various ways to display their knowledge (including in tests) i.e. using diagrams and labelling, mindmaps, flowcharts etc. These methods should be available for all students to use at some times during lessons, rather than just given as separate work for the dyslexic learner. In subjects that are not assessing for spelling, grammar and handwriting, the dyslexic learner should always be encouraged to use alternative forms to demonstrate their knowledge. They need to have the opportunity to verbally express what they have understood with a peer or supporting adult being the scribe or have speech to text software available. Paired and group work can be beneficial to all students by using the strengths of each learner, but especially for the dyslexic learner who can explain what they know, without the pressure of having to write it down themselves if the pairing/group is allocated a scribe. Without any of these accommodations, the dyslexic learner is likely to write very few words, and/or use simple language and not be able to participate fully even if their capabilities in that subject are a strength.
Reaching their Full Potential
Neil Mackay’s talk and advice reminds me of an inspiring biography I read a few years ago ‘A Little Edge of Darkness’ (a boy’s triumph over dyslexia) written by Alex Faludy and his mother Tanya. Alex is severely dyslexic, but was the youngest person to pass English Literature GCSE at the age of nine and A Level at the age of eleven. This true story of Alex’s life demonstrates how the right accommodations can ensure that a child’s full potential is reached.
Another mother who ensured her dyslexic son reached his full potential was Pat Jones, mother of Mike Jones, the founder of Nessy Education. Mike’s life was detailed in the film ‘Mical’ and I wrote about how he overcame his barriers to learning in my blog on 28.8.21 Talking about Nessy etc. These life stories show how important it is that dyslexic individuals have someone who can advocate for them.
Executive Function
Research has shown strong correlations between dyslexia and deficits in executive functioning. Executive function is a set of cognitive skills and processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions and multi-task successfully. For easier understanding, the executive function is often referred to as the ‘CEO’ of the brain, because it deals with monitoring performance and prioritizing tasks. Difficulties with executive function can make it hard to focus, follow directions, remember instructions and prioritise work. This video from Nessy.com explains executive function further and gives some helpful strategies for those who encounter difficulties with these skills.
Doubts that Creep
As we head towards winter again and the same worries are in the world from last year, I am reminded of this poem from 2020 by Tomas Roberts………
Keep strong, keep healthy and keep smiling….. 🙂 PJ
Help your child learn to read, write and spell 