This year, Dyslexia Awareness Week runs from Monday 2nd October to Sunday 8th October 2017, with World Dyslexia Awareness Day taking place on Thursday 5th October 2017. This year’s theme is Positive about Dyslexia. Because of this, I would like to draw your attention to all the resources to support learners and staff with dyslexia on LGfL, but also to share my own personal experience of dyslexia as a teacher and as a learner:
“I remember feeling relieved to be diagnosed with dyslexia when I was 19 years old and at art university. It had taken a long time to come to grips with it and finally be tested.
My school years were the worst time for me. School report after school report said the same thing over and over; I was “A slow starter” and apparently showed a “Lack of effort.” Primary school was a battle every day for me as I attempted to remember things and to catch up with people around me. Simple things like remembering the order of the alphabet and months of the year escaped me. Having to write the long date on a piece of work could take a whole lesson. With little support or understanding, my school life was a blur of disappointment. Thankfully for me, I was lucky enough to have an amazing Art teacher who could see that I had a talent for art. This teacher was able to see that I could organise objects on the page and show a focus that many staff didn’t think I was capable of.
Fast forward to my twenties and I decided to become a teacher, not for the love of my past school years, but instead because of how much I disliked it! My decision was based on my own personal experience that information needed to be presented using a range of media and techniques, and staff needed to offer support for all types of learners.
Over the last 15 years, I have used technology to support myself, and the many pupils around me, to succeed in learning, no matter what needs they had.
If I wasn’t dyslexic, I wouldn’t have been able to be such a creative person nor would I have become a teacher”
I am just one of the staff members at LGfL who has both a personal and professional in dyslexia. As a team we are fully committed to supporting all pupils, not just with literacy difficulties.
All relevant content development and procurement in the SEND and inclusion area is guided by this mission statement.
We offer many resources which support accessibility for all, but one resource which is ideal for students with dyslexia is WordQ SpeakQ. This is an easy to use and powerful literacy tool that helps young people who can type but may have trouble with writing, grammar and spelling. It includes Word Prediction, Speech Recognition and Spoken Feedback and it can be installed on staff, pupil or school computers and can be used online or offline. Staff, learners and parents at Tubbenden school in Bromley have been using this tool for almost a year and report a noticeable different in the confidence and achievement of some of their learners with dyslexia. Go to www.wordqspeakq.lgfl.net to find out more or www.training.lgfl.net to book on FREE training on using LGfL tools to support reluctant writers on 14th November.
To find out other ways LGfL can support, go to our dedicated SEND page or contact our wonderful SEND specialist Jo Dilworth who can be contact here: send@lgfl.net
In addition:
- the online resources and all updates for this year’s DAW are available to download here.
- you can download a Dyslexia Awareness Week school pack here it's fill of inspiration stories, poster, videos and useful guides on how to talk about dyslexia
- there are competitions that students with dyslexia can enter, by creating art, prose or videos that shows their journey with dyslexia.
- Why not organise a Sponsored Spell? This is a fun way to engage primary school children in spelling and raising awareness of dyslexia. Make it a fun event for your students to encourage them to explore a range of spelling strategies, whilst also raising awareness and funds for the British Dyslexia Association.
- BDA alongside Nessy are offering a free eBook “Dyslexia explained” The book covers: Understanding Dyslexia, Types of Dyslexia, What People with Dyslexia are good at, Dyslexia difficulties, Helpful Strategies and What works best for dyslexia all without the need for too many words. LGfL users can also get 15% off NESSY products. Go to Recommended Links in the SEND section for details.
Tell us what you are doing for Dyslexia Awareness Week on either our Twitter or Facebook pages, and if you like this post please do share it.