Why are we so different by Dyslexia Toby© 2020

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,Asperger's, 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 (kin-aesthetic).

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.

Over learning 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.

You can follow us on twitter @ dyslexiadublin 

 The Why’s and How’s of the IEP (Individual Education Plan)and the benefits to individuals in the learning environment (revised)  by  Dyslexia Toby  © 2020

Just received your child's IEP or would like to know more ( have an assessment, then you should be informed about your entitlements).

Specific Needs Education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. This process involves the individually planned scheme of work with an agreed level of help…sometimes intense help… to achieve a learning objective, such as learning the alphabet for example. This will also give an outline of the resources required to achieve an outcome equal or close to their peers (see the article on Accommodation for further details).
This will include the provision of in-class support (SNA) and one to one (resource teacher), requiring extra resource hours.
There is a range of learning needs and not all children in a class would have been through a diagnosis. The school, however, should be able to identify such students and should offer as much support as they possibly can. Parents must also be informed of this, which is key to helping move their individual child forward.
In most countries, inclusive education is in place; schools and teachers are changing the way in which they teach, to accommodate all students and allowing far more children with specific learning needs to be taught in the mainstream school.
Integration is less likely to cause stigma amongst the students as they are submerged in this modern learning environment. Inclusive education, with adequate resources and qualified knowledgeable staff, can offer almost everything to everyone in regard to education.
Specific learning needs students can be identified early in the learning process…observation of work and participation in group and solo activities can be monitored, along with performance in both testing and homework. These would all help to identify individuals that are struggling to understand the information being presented.
IEP (Individual Education Plan)
A learning programme should be agreed between teachers and this should also involve parents and the support staff within the school. This will vary from country to country and will be unique to the student that has been identified with a learning need. The IEP will set out the support and resources required to help the individual and will also document the resource hours and in-class provision (scribe…reader, etc.) required to help the student cope with the mainstream class.
As schools become more familiar with the range of individual needs, they will resource accordingly. This will require changes in the way they accommodate all within the group and this could be down to gaining physical access to classrooms (old schools) with the use of lifts to upper levels, to the introduction of computers for children who cannot write because of a physical disability. They must also take account of the child’s needs outside of the classroom during break times, to include access to the playground, toilets and eating facilities.
In the case of a child on the Autism Spectrum, it might be necessary to school them in a smaller group or classroom. This can also be the same with children who have SPD if they are tactile or not tactile, they might struggle to concentrate and would need to be positioned accordingly. This would also be the same for children with auditory processing problems and also those who may have visual stress.
Modifying the Lesson to include the IEP.
Students workload can be reduced and be more specific…for instance, handwriting can be in print rather than cursive to help students keep up with lessons that are dictated.
Project work can be assisted by giving the student a textbook and also an audio or DVD to watch, such as Michael Morpurgo’s ‘War Horse’, for example.
Reduced homework is given on a more consistent basis, with maybe one subject per night instead of several subjects…this also means there is less to forget and fewer books for the student to carry home.
Students should be given access to certain resources during testing, like the use of a calculator or have a bank of words to aid comprehension. Extra time for tests can also be agreed during the construction of the IEP.
ECM (every child matters) is an integral part of every school and classroom or should be. The Teacher is responsible for ensuring the safety of all children in their care and take appropriate advice/action to maintain the safety of all.

If your child is starting a new school make sure the provision is there before you register them.


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 in related areas.   Dyslexia Toby  © 2020

How can a dyslexic, become both a  teacher and a writer.

I spent many years struggling through academia never figuring why I was so different.

Most of my friends grasped the nettle, I didn’t. I always had a passion to teach and I always tried so hard to match my peers in school so how did I find out I was both dyslexic and dyspraxic?

I trained to be a mechanic on the advice of my father, even my family thought I was slow or stupid.

Can you imagine how life was and is for others like me? We spent our days in school being verbally abused and, in my case, canned most days.

I arrived at college on my fist day to start studying mechanics and Sat down, the teacher walked in wearing his white gown and a thought came to mind, I should be him.

From that very day I began my plan to become a teacher, I went to an evening class to get my Teaching Cert and took a part time job at a local college. The motor vehicle department did not want to be saddled with me, the newbie, far too much hassle for them.

They pointed me in the direction of a teacher called Mike, he was forming a bridge program to get students with learning needs on to main stream courses, he asked me and I said yes, he asked me again to be certain I said yes. At that point I had no idea I was Dyslexic Dyspraxic.

I wrote a program and took charge of a group of mixed students male and female with a range of learning needs, and suddenly the curtains opened and I started to seem me as part of the group, It was like looking in a mirror, an epiphany.

I was now in a position to write the wrongs and give something back, I struggled and worked hard to get my teaching cert, many on that course where pure academic and one guy continually took pieces out of me, so what are you going to bore us with next, he was an accountant and didn’t like my practical demonstrations, I guess being academic he didn’t understand a creative mind.

Spelling still haunted me in the early days of teaching, I had students correcting my work. I had without realising it created a non-judgemental bridge between me and the students, they rusted me.

I maintained a feeling of openness where no student felt isolated and they engaged and no one was made to look a fool, but I will admit I learnt so much about me whilst working with them. I learn ways of getting the information across that stuck with them, lessons become both structured and fun. I loved that phase of my life as I had become a facilitator, I felt such pride with my groups. They were now being taken seriously and achieving beyond many people’s dreams. I also became a much nicer person.

I was told during my school years that I would never string two words together and now I am realising how wrong the were, I still teach in my retirement and now I am a writer.

It is never too late to learn anything and make improvements as I have done, my journey is far from over. We must harness and live our dreams, for dreams can be made into reality.

Here is a link to my new children's books, spelling through adventures. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B088B5NF43

Dyslexia Toby © 2020 all rights reserved.

How can we improve retention by Dyslexia Toby  © 2020

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 © 2020