Wednesday 24 May 2017

Time Management and associated problems for dyslexics and dyspraxics by Dyslexia Toby © 2017




We suffer poor time management more so than any others…Why?

1) We have very poor short term memory.

2) Secondly, we have organisational issues.

3) Thirdly, some having planning and processing issues.

We can’t ever blame ourselves for any of the above as we are born with a very active right side of the brain (creative), whereas Time management is very much a function of the left linear brain.

However, many get frustrated by our time-keeping and therefore it has to be worked at and improved for the sake of everyone.

You need to sit down and take stock and plan ahead.  My time keeping was terrible as a child, however now it has swung the other way.

I leave myself twice as much time as most to get going and I always arrive at functions/meetings early.  T this day I still set all my clocks five to ten minutes fast.


Ideas:
-      One helpful tool is a colour coded diary for school and social time.
-      Buy a sand timer for home, use it for studying and fun time, we notice
          movement much easier than we would a watch or clock.
-      If you have a smart phone, use the alarm and calendar so you get both a
          visual and audio reminder. 
-      Post-it Notes on your door (to write messages and reminders).  I still hang things on the door that I need to take with me.
-      Use your smart phone to take images of books required for school, etc.
-      A notice-board on the wall can also be useful.

As we have already mentioned, time management is linked to our ability to organise and we don’t have that.

Your preparation should start on a Sunday before the new school week begins.

Do it whilst you are fresh and alert, don’t leave it till Monday morning when you are still half asleep.
You could even find that you sleep better, as you have already organised and sorted all the things that are on your mind to do the next day.

If you are like me and forget so many other things that keep our lives functioning (shopping, sports, social outings, etc.), put all those other troubling things onto post it notes, etc.

Even do a road map, a very good way of learning how to organise… put on your day or week A to Z.

You must also schedule free time and breaks. Is worthwhile during routines like homework…maybe 10 mins every hour, but be disciplined and don’t stretch the free time!

Don’t play video games before you go to bed.  Take an hour or so to do something less complex to help you sleep.

Schedule study time so you can get ahead.  Try to work at some point over the holidays and at weekends to give you space in the week.

A To-Do list is also a very good way of getting and thinking ahead.
Being untidy is also a sign of poor organisational skills… it's far harder to find things and quickly in an untidy and cluttered space, so include that on your list.

Always put your keys and/or phones in the same place every time and do it the second you get in.

You will very quickly do all this subconsciously, trust me you will… I did.

It means you only have to visit the one place then, and yes…they are there.

Men tend to be worse than women when it comes to time management, as they tend to have greater lists and tend not to write things down.

Poor time management actually robs you of more time through living in chaos, always chasing your tail.

Most importantly, poor organisation causes increased stress and anxiety.

T
All our articles are written to give guidance only and we would suggest that all of our readers seek the required professional guidance 



Friday 19 May 2017

How Can We Help Our Children To Read?   Dyslexia Toby © 2017





There is a huge imbalance in those that read, those that struggle, those that don’t and those that wished they could, why.

If you want to retain information then it is essential to read and write. The retention rates of just audio or using a laptop to type are 25%. Reading out allowed and writing down information raise that to 85%!

See it, say it, hear it, write it, retain it.

Is it possible to stimulate reading in those who don’t or can’t read?
In my early years, I was often left to read alone. Like many I  then had to face the daunting challenge of being asked to read out aloud in the classroom and yes I can hear you all say been there, done that, wearing the tee-shirt.
You can liken this frightening experience to a visit to the dentist, school nurse or getting your haircut.
Leading to a negative effect on my wish to read and the belief in my ability to read.
We can have raised anxiety leading to panic attacks. This can be caused by a sudden onset of stimulation and over stimulation.
We can equate this to many functions within our lives.
So how do we go about changing this, we want everyone to have the chance to feel good about reading and the many benefits it brings in enriching our lives.
We know from modern research conducted into literacy problems at the Yale Research Centre By Bennit and Sally Shawitz
Recent research carried out by Dr John hutton and his team from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre.
They conducted tests on the benefits of early reading and improvement in cognitive development
This was found to be positive results by the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS)   in many areas including
reading skill development, verbal development, and image development, giving children a far greater cognitive advantage earlier in life.
The research by John Hutton breaks new ground and shows that reading from around three+ gives the child a greater chance of developing and improving vital skill sets that will benefit them at all points in future life. Improvements in the area of the brain that governs semantic (language and logic) reasoning.
Shared reading can be shown to build the imagination and get beyond the words in the book and stimulating that desire to read more.
By reading alongside our children, we can remove the fear of reading to others that may come in later life.
We can see when our children have a problem with reading or comprehending the words they are reading.
If we read age appropriate books, it can also help those parents that struggle with reading and scared by the very same process. This can also help with those children that have speech problems.
Dyslexics tend to replace around 15 to 20% of the words they read, shared reading picks this up and allows the problem to be addressed!
Shared reading keeps the child engaged and reading out aloud also improves retention skills as you are introducing both speech and hearing into the process.
Breathing patterns can also be honed while reading, and this improves the correct use of punctuation in story writing.
I know many parents have busy schedules and little time, but this is so important when developing early reading skills.
There are also huge benefits to the bonding process between parent and child.
This could so often apply to those who are learning another language besides their native tongue.
The survey of Dr John Hutton had positive outcomes and if we follow research such as this reading will become a trend and all of us will be the long term beneficiaries.
We all want nothing more than to encourage our children to read, this will strengthen their both their life skills and academic ability, and that can only end up benefiting us all..

NB. This information is from personal experience and research and also partly sourced through the work of others.  It is purely for improving the understanding of dyslexia and to offer helpful advice.   Dyslexia Toby  © 2017