Saturday 21 April 2018

How can we improve retention by Dyslexia Toby  © 2021

Retention rates are so important; throughout our lives from early to later years.
Those with Spld tend to have great long term memories and poor short term memories; why is this!
We can accrue part of this to a lack of stimulation and different styles of tuition/instruction.
We need a clear and unobstructed path in order to encode (receive) all types of instruction and perform a given task.
When we are receiving visual instruction our attention rates tend to be far higher than if we are receiving aural instruction…this in part is due to our slower processing speeds and can also be a cause of slow processing speed along with poor short term memory.
Retention speed has a serious effect on how we take information from the whiteboard or power point (syntax).
We also have problems when we are forced to break words down to aid spelling and replicating from the board to paper; we can often look up two, three or four times to transcribe a word correctly. This will leave us well short come revision time as we only retain parts of words and indeed part of sentences.
Many left hemisphere linear thinkers tend to remember sentences with ease, and some even remember paragraphs in exact detail.
This can also cause problems with handwriting and legibility, this generally happens when a child has to look up at the board to spell certain words. They tend to catch up the others in the class by writing faster.


Many of us forget or fail to process a name of a person during an introduction, why, we are too busy processing a visual image of the person. This is why we never forget a face even though we have forgotten the name.
We lose things very often, like our keys or phone, quite often misplacing them when we arrive home, why, we don’t tend to find the journey home as stimulating as the outward journey. With the exception of leaving somewhere like school.
The brain process is so complexed, and anything can cause us to misinterpret or completely miss instructions!
Noise is a major factor, but we can also include a poor presentation or garbled or overly technical delivery.
Stress can be another variant in blocking pathways to retention. And slow processing speed as mentioned in previous articles.
Stress can have a detrimental effect on the many memory functions and also brain function,
Stress manifests itself in a variety of ways and levels; higher levels can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. We can take maths, for instance, this can be Intrinsic and a complicated formula or any give maths task can be triggered, extrinsic can be triggered by a prior fear or thoughts creeping into the mind.
Poor sleep patterns are another reason for poor retention; as is dehydration.
We can improve poor retention and slow processing by using many of the aforementioned processes.
Others can play their part. Schools can keep an eye on room temperature and the circulation of fresh air.
Many schools still seem reluctant to allow water to be consumed in the classroom, although many take a modern proactive approach.
Getting your children to read out loud and even at a low volume so only they can hear will improve retention overnight (introducing more senses)!
Bringing as many senses as possible also improves retention.

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 offering helpful advice. Dyslexia Toby © 2021

Friday 9 March 2018

Why are we so different by Dyslexia Toby© 2021



I grew up with a huge variation (character) to many including my siblings.
We shared so many things and were afforded the same opportunities.
We went to similar schools for the most part, joined the same or similar clubs!
We all lived under the same roof.
We all ate the same things.
But I always felt different, I’m not alone.
Parents often wonder why their offspring are so different in many ways, and some question their-selves.
I have heard, so many say much of what has been mentioned.
There is absolutely no reason to do this; we are a make-up of genes going back generations.
If we were all born on the same day and all of the same sex would we still be different!
Of course, we would be!
Perhaps understanding why we are so different would be a good place to start.
There are good reasons why we’re so different from each other. And sometimes we need to look deeply at and be more aware of this variation this will help us to be kinder to many including those near and dear, with greater empathy when others actions are different to ours, this will help us when judging others and ourselves in an inappropriate manner.
Some say we are the partly made up from preference and others are honed through experience including episodic events, and to some degree that is the case. But we are a combination of many factors, some beyond change or control.
Some research even points to change through such things as disease (miasam) We are the equal to the sum of the parts of many things, making change a process that is slow to shape and needs lots of nurturing.
So how do we become more excepting of our differences/variants?
Our very DNA means that we are very unlikely to find another that would exactly mirror our views, and in itself presents obstacles and the only way we can truly overcome these such as our early development, education and indeed relationships.
We can succeed if we mastering the art of being  both constructive and compromising in our approach, even if we don’t wholly agree with another’s actions.
It may also be the case where we fail through lack of understanding due to these different trains of thought!
Being aware of our differences is so important as parents, educators and indeed the individual child or adult…this is especially so with those who have a learning difference such as ADD,ADHD,Aspergers, SPD,ODD,OCD,Dyspraxia or Dyslexia.
There are too often comparisons made to those that don’t have any of the above and understanding that we are all different and even researching the various learning needs would be a giant step forward for so many.
Don’t compare like for like as like, this is a pure myth, and in reality does not exist.
If one of your children takes longer to learn to dress or tie shoe laces so be it, be patient and afford them the extra time. The same for educators if the students is slow to finish, change the requirements of that student's workload. Better still change your style of delivery (kinaesthetic).
If your partner has entrenched characteristics offer to compromise, change is always within reach, and far better than the alternatives.
Above all, we need to take a long look at what’s in front of us, solutions are often easy to find, if we take the time to look!
Be protective of those around you and share experience of best practice and in education make sure your concerns of others are understood.
Overlearning is paramount in all cases. Those right-brained students struggling in maths need support, and equally do those that are linear left brained when they struggle in the creative areas of education.

This article had been written by our team, and we have used the work of others in our research. We always suggest that if you are concerned please seek the advice of others.


Thursday 1 March 2018

Exam preparation and recall skill by Dyslexia Toby 2021 ©



We are fast approaching exam time and many students with a learning need will be worrying about the whole revision process.
There are many ways in which we can store and recall information; we will look at these later.
There are so many things that can affect the flow of information to and from the brain.
I would like to talk about the different areas we use to store and then have to recall information.
Many that have a learning need have great long term memories and poor short term memories.
Normally academic study does not suit those right hemisphere thinkers (dyslexia,dyspraxia,dysgraphia and dyscalculia)
How many memory banks do we have and when do we use them?
What about the functionality of our brain and how can we retain or improve our memory?  Lots more for us to look into.
Our memory kicks in the very minute we are born (Tabula Rasa)… well almost.  Instinct causes us to breath and cry; that first touch, glance or taste are the early entries in our memory banks.  Even fear is a memory of the past (episodic) that comes back and stops us in our tracks…been here before not too sure about this!

All of these are stored (history) and help us build our future.  It is almost like DNA…unique to us. People seem to feel that they know what’s in your head…sorry, only you know that!  Many of us would feel our memory falls short of what we would like it to be, when in fact it’s much better than we believe it to be.

The brain is the most complex part of our body and, without a doubt, the nerve centre; without this we are nothing.  It monitors sensors from all over our body and feeds back the signals required to complete every task we do every day.

The brain also determines where the information is stored and how it’s stored…long term, short term, episodic or indeed if it’s worth storing at all.

Remembering can be from any source…touch, taste, hearing, smell, sight, feeling or indeed a combination of all those things.
It might be a place you have passed before, like a processing plant, your visual kicks in and then your smell completes the link.
Fear is also based on a visit to the past in our minds.

Our memory is an integral part of the brain and is strengthened very much like a muscle.  Different parts are responsible for different things and the key to development from our early years is stimulation.

The process of memory begins with encoding, and then proceeds to storage and, eventually, retrieval.

We see the world in an encrypted fashion, rather like a series of codes (similar to your personal data on a credit card).  The brain uses a form of decoding known as ‘encoding’…this the very first step in memory creation.  Neurons work the busy highways of the brain carrying data back and forth.

 Most people with a learning need such as dyspraxia or dyslexia have very good long term or episodic memories but quite poor short term memories.
This is a key reason for many of their fears such as the dentist, scared of animals or flying.

So let’s talk about recall!  In Simplistic terms, it is the way our brain draws on stored information for immediate use.
Like taking on a task that you haven’t done in a while, maybe an exam or cooking a dish. Many of these require replicated information as opposed to combining subsets of information.
There are a few ways in which information can be drawn from long-term memory.

One variant is for things such as form filling, we read what’s in front of us and rarely link this to past events.
We are pulling parts of information in order to complete the task.

Collating. This is one area where we can use past events to construct a story; such as an essay. This is a very positive area to work on.

We also do well when it comes to recognition, especially when it comes to factual answers.
We tend to be not so good with fictional things; unless of course we can turn them into fact.

One of my ideas is to create the overlearning and turn all our information into long term storage.

We can do this by quite simply recording all the things we need to learn; this creates a whole range of immediate change to the way our brain processes.

We can also use another of our strengths, and that is to add visual images to most of the subjects we are studying.

Maths is one that requires both long and short term, and this just doesn’t suit those visual factual learners.

We need to take every opportunity to create visual stimuli in this area, draw 3d shapes and colour them in; make a colour code for formulae, etc
Go out in the yard and do area, helping with the cooking can help with volumes and weights.

Reading a book; watch the film after and compare the two and take notes; again record everything.

Just make the learning come alive and best of luck with those exams.



All our articles are for information only and guidance… professional advice should always be sought.  Dyslexia Toby © 2021