Best practice and co-educators by Dyslexia Toby  © 2016

 Is it so hard to understand those who need to learn in a different way!

Teaching in general is a very difficult but rewarding profession. The biggest problem facing existing staff is the lack of opportunities to upskill, and if we are to get on top of learning needs this is essential! In the UK they have introduced this very important addition to the skill set in teacher training and not before time. We still need to make this the case in many other countries around the globe. These new teacher/trainers have an uphill task as is! Early expectations from others and indeed themselves is to hit the ground running. The big fear is lack of support and acceptance of these new energetic vibrant thinkers and their ideas. Many see them as a hindrance or threat! They should be both embraced for all their good will and great ideas and nurtured to ensure they remain enthusiastic and buoyant. Teaching will heap enough pressure on them as is!

Walking into a new school with little knowledge of the pupil’s needs and possible hostile environment gives the new teacher little time to take stock, catch their breath or indeed reflect.

This is also evident in learning resource centres or specialist schools. Most up to now have been self-taught. Knowledge is power and it’s very important that new teachers are both eased in and encouraged, both in and outside of inclusive teaching environments!

The adage is a ratio of one in ten children have an individual learning need, however recent research in the UK has pointed to an increase… we were aware greater numbers but didn’t want to take heed of it. The big worry is that governments will try to change the parameters to address the numbers rather than offer actual support! The big problem is that some experienced teachers don’t see this as a problem and some are reluctant to retrain. The new recruits will get quickly absorbed into this way of thinking if we don’t take care and endorse both their thinking and methods of approach.

Understanding of this area is paramount if we wish to make learning truly inclusive.

Where has the increase come from? Many children that wouldn’t have been considered as having a learning need have been failed by society and successive governments. Socio-economic reasons also have their part to play.

Best practice

If we are to ensure best practice we don’t just need to look at successful teaching. We need to look at poor practice and see why this is failing. Many teachers are propped up by other teachers within a course. I have witnessed this first hand during my years as a teacher.

As we know, the curriculum is wide and students can excel in some subject areas giving them a variation in scores. This can also have a variant where more than one teacher is teaching a subject or a particular year of the program. Many parents have mentioned to me about the change in their children from year to year and it’s not the child or school that changes (that’s a constant), the teacher does (that’s a variable)!

Many believe that those working in this area have qualified as something special whereas for the most, as mentioned, it’s themselves that have up skilled. These staff are rare and we need more, however we now have a greater understanding and should be able to think on a much wider plane when it comes to teacher training. We need to put new teachers into schools that are non-confrontational for the first few years to help build their confidence and allow their new techniques to flourish and cascade to others.

Then they will be ready to be deployed in schools that are operating below par! They are so often used as cannon fodder in troubled schools where no one wants to teach. This is a dog chasing its tail as many get disillusioned and either emigrate or leave the profession altogether.

Assessment and awareness

The teacher is not the only issue here… good support, modern thinking and adequate resources are key ingredients. Changing exam structures to continual assessment does not address those students disaffected with school. It’s a myth! This puts unnecessary pressure on both resources and teachers. Reducing class sizes would also allow this to flourish and we would see far greater exam successes.

The Curriculum needs to be embraced by all. Results are driven by like minded people.

A broad look at all subjects for each child needs to be looked at and understood. Why is the Geography or Art teacher raving about a pupil that’s being condemned as a no hope by the English teacher?

The curriculum should be both available and achievable for all students within the learning environment.

Assessment should be fit for purpose. It’s so important to look at the needs of each student both now, previously and in the future. Many view this as a hot potato and try to dissuade difficult students from signing up to the school. Few take into account valuable information gleaned by their previous schools.

Information should be available to all, including supply teachers! These are often the forgotten few…just like newbies, they have to know all the background of the pupils and hit the ground running. The last school I taught at used to have group/course folders with all the individual students’ information and stages of teaching/curriculum within.

All of this helps to nourish and grow a better learning environment.

Specialist Areas

Encourage both the deployment and re-training of support staff! This is to be both admired and valued. Don’t let staff take up the role simply because they chose the short straw or they see it as an easy option. This is a vocation and needs to be taught with both heart and humanity. It’s seen by many as costly and of little worth, we have to change this mind set!

I would love to hear from teachers who have qualified having also been there themselves as a learner with a learning need. I indeed qualified to teach off the back of a real struggle with both educators and the system myself, so I could give an opportunity to those who had been let down by the system in the past. Resource needs to be beneficial and measured for success. We need also to consider resourcing at academic age and not chronological ages!

Teaching in an environment where all students feel included is so rewarding and stimulating for the educator. Be mindful of individual students and how vulnerable they can be. For example many with dyspraxia or dyslexia will die a thousand deaths if they are asked to read out loud. On the other hand they don’t want to be smothered. Many children feel resource carries a stigma and yet we support all students in one way or another, be it academics in Art and Crafts or non-academics in English and Maths. We need to embrace those that have varying learning styles and teach the benefits of their individuality and creativity to others. We all need each other to survive this life!

Different styles

It really isn’t horses for courses!

Students learn at a varying pace and style… many excel in some subjects, few excel in all areas of study.

It’s up to teachers to measure learning minute by minute and adjust if needs be. Students don’t just switch off or drift off! Lack of stimulation or being unable to understand is the key to most switching off. Even the workload should and can be varied!

Simple things like time tabling lessons. Why do schools have back to back Maths or English lessons and business or another language? How do children with processing cope with that? Simple… they don’t!

Every student needs to have time to reflect, process and go again, so why not English, Art then Maths? That way we get a chance to clear our mind in the creative subjects and the academics don’t become bored. Win win!

Parents are vulnerable

Don’t forget the parents. There are two issues here. One… they might have had a bad experience in school themselves and are maybe not academic or two… they are academic and cannot see why their child don’t understand all of the subjects they’re being taught.

Many don’t turn up for parent evenings for fear of embarrassment or simply it brings back bad memories! Learning needs can run through families. This should be monitored.

The above should also be taken into consideration when issuing homework. There’s not always someone at home that can understand the work at hand (new mathematical methods).

Nb 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  © 2016

Relating Learning To Known (prior achievement) & Given Situations by by  Dyslexia Toby  © 2016

We often try to learn in the style of others (not our learning style). Meaning we focus on the unknown rather than the known areas within in a subject.
I have written extensively on brain types as many regular visitors to my blog will testify.
Well, here we go again, most like me who are dyslexic, dyscalculic, dysgraphic or dyspraxia will know that we learn better when we relate the subject required to a real time event.
We have an excellent long-term memory and poor short term, most events/happenings are stored in our long-term memory.
Would it not therefore make sense to utilise this strength!
Most like me tend to do better as a returning learner than we do during our initial education, why.
We have had more events, more happenings, and yes we have increased our long-term memory bank, this allows us to relate our learning to our real life events.
We are far from suggesting that all students studying for the first time should skip education or press pause till they reach mid to late twenties.

But it does mean that teachers/educators and parents should look at this and try to devise methods that allow the student to work in a kinaesthetic way. Relating things such as mathematics, and language, the very way we would in technology classes. When I want to see an improvement in my language skill, I take a trip abroad. Eat with the locals, and try to live as they do.
When I am shopping, I use that language in my head to prompt purchases. I am living the lesson and guess what it works.

I so often heard my teachers mention that I was lazy and stupid, yet I could take anything apart and fix it without manuals.
Much to the amazement of others.
Can you teach a football player, chef, mechanic; to play football, cook, or repair cars from a classroom, the answer is a simple no.
Education and its direction for teaching are much more simplistic than the chicken or the egg.
If industry came before education, why wasn't education based on industry!
Experiential learning (learn by doing/experience) is just that, we glean much from what we do in practical, hands-on ways,  opposed to the academic study that is taught in a linear way.  Certainly core subjects;  described in simple terms as the process of acquiring information through the study of a given subject (maths, English) without the necessity for direct hands on experience. We know that both methods aim at instilling knowledge with the students as individuals; however one size doesn’t fit all.
Those that have a strong left hemisphere are more likely to gain from linear structured tuition and the right hemisphere from more creative, practical demonstrations.

David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model (ELM)

Jacobson and Ruddy, working on developing Kolb's four-stage Experiential Learning Model and Pfeiffer and Jones's with their five stage Experiential Learning Cycle. Taking these theoretical frameworks and created a simple, practical questioning model for educators to use in promoting real life and critical reflection within experiential learning and development.
•    Did you notice...?
•    Why did that happen?
•    Does that happen in life?
•    Why does that happen?
•    How can you use that?
These questions are put forward by the educator after a given experience, and gradually lead the group towards a critical evaluation. Using reflection on the given experience, and an understanding of how they can apply the learning to their life (lateral thinking expanded).
I recently watched far from a madding crowd the other day and being a visual factual learner I took more from the production.
Thomas Hardy worked the plot and created the various twists and turns…indeed, I am more likely to read a book if it’s an autobiography than I would fiction.
We, often quoted as being three-dimensional learners and we thrive on adding value to our life through learning and teaching us through a linear program doesn’t press the right buttons.

Turn your child's homework into a practical experience and yes that can be done in all subjects including Maths.
Cut up boxes to calculate area, or fill a measuring jug. Use foot tapping for tables, add and subtract.
Get them to help you cook and turn that into maths.
Cutting a slab of butter is division and subtraction.
Oven temperature plays a part and timings (lapsed time).
best of all it's non-confrontational

If you can do it and make it stick then so should teachers/educators.

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  © 2016

‘Random and Wrong Words Come Out’ by Dyslexia Toby © 2016

When penning this post, I couldn’t help thinking about the advert for the Random sweets… ’turn right at the trumpet and left at the jelly bean’… well it’s not quite as bad as all that!

Many actors did this deliberately and were gifted in this area including the late Ronnie Barker (Open All Hours) however, this apart, it’s quite an unnerving and completely non-deliberate act, that haunts many of us from time to time. 

I often say during my presentations on dyspraxia and dyslexia, that if I drag or slur my speech it’s not due to me suffering from the “afluence of incohol!” … it gets a laugh and settles me.

 The causes for random or wrong words (malapropisms) to come out are many.  Why do they come our wrong?... it can be deemed a short-term problem when under pressure, for example talking to or reading to an audience, or it can be more medium or long-term and can be as a result of slow or slurred speech and, in many cases, stutter or repeating words and sentences with lots of mm mm’s in particular when we are asked to read out loud or we are generally unsure of the subject.  This can often be found in dyspraxics (due to poor facial muscle tone) and in some cases dyslexics.  It can also result from confidence and self-esteem issues, delayed speech or indeed slow processing, to such an extent that we miss the point and put in the wrong word.  Even in conversation, we can go to make a point and, whilst waiting for our opportunity to add to the conversation, completely forget what we were about to say and then find ourselves apologising.

I know find it easier to apologise before I set into a conversation and will openly tell people I am dyspraxic and its part of the deal.  This often leads to me being more aware of others speaking and also relaxes me, which reduces the number of mistakes I make.

 We will also take a look at ‘mondegreens’… these in a way are a sort of aural malapropism. Instead of saying the wrong word, you hear the wrong word. The word mondegreen is generally applied to the mishearing of verbal questions, instruction poetry and song lyrics, although technically it can apply to any speech.  This can be caused by a lack of knowledge, comprehension, processing issues, lack of interest/stimulation or pure lack of concentration.

Slurring your words can lead to unexpected situations; this can also be linked to balance too. Again, it can be caused whilst under pressure, maybe giving a speech, a part in a play or being asked to read out in class or give an opinion to friends.

I remember in my early days as a college lecturer people were giving a suspicious eye to anything that wasn’t the norm.  We had a few heavy drinkers and a few alcoholics across the college and I remember being asked to the Human Resources Department on one occasion as the HR Manager had been told that they thought I was drunk during the day as I have been known to lose my balance on occasions. I found this amusing and many close friends would vouch that I rarely touch alcohol. I explained about my DCD and all fell into place.

 One of the key things with verbal dyspraxia and the above is due to poor facial muscle tone and correct use of the diaphragm. Many dyspraxics not only breathe through their mouth but they breathe very quickly (short breaths, they also tend to groan whilst eating). They can, therefore, run out of breath which leads to the breaking of sentences.  We also have difficulty programming our speech cords, which can lead to shortening words and getting letter sounds wrong… this can also be down to incorrect or minimal lip movement.

This can also be similar in the case of:

Auditory – where the individual has difficulty hearing the correct sound… often confusing similar sounding letters or words ending in  i, e, y (eg. spy sounds like spi) and phonetics.

Visual – where the individual has difficulty seeing the difference between similar looking letters or words.

Audio-visual – a combination of auditory and visual difficulties.

As we also know this can be down to dyslexia, with the words have been incorrectly programmed into the long-term memory in the first instance.  This needs to be identified and worked on with the child/adult to produce the correct letter/word sound and repeated until the incorrect word has been overwritten/erased in the long term memory.

Looking at this further, the child or adult knows what they want to say.  Once this has been processed by the brain, however, they cannot say it correctly on a given occasion (stress) even though they know what they want to say and realise that they have said the word incorrectly. This can also put the word or sentence out of context in a conversation (longer to process what others are saying).

Quite often this is way beyond the control of the child/adult and if this happens on a regular basis (coming out of the comfort zone), it could lead to a stammer.  Planning and promoting confidence is key to avoiding this… it may also be exaggerated when the child/adult is angry or frustrated.

The way forward is through support and, if it’s a constant problem, speech and language therapy should be sought.

This article is for initial guidance only and we strongly recommend that you seek professional advice.

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Is It OCD (Dyspraxia, Dyslexia) by Toby Lee Dyslexia  © 2015

Many Dyslexics have a compulsion with time, efficiency and structure, are they all suffering OCD.
Probably not, short term memory deficiency often found in dyslexia and dyspraxia cause huge problems with short term memory.
Our processing needs to be repetitively poked with instruction if we are to get things right, such as shopping or information given off the cuff.
How do we give off the same traits as someone with OCD!
What is OCD!
Obsessive compulsive disorder is a neurological disorder and is often plagued by self-doubt and intrusive thought process.
This can lead to anxiety and in worse case depression.
The repetition can be brought about by self-doubt and lack of awareness.
The list of noticeable compulsions is lengthy:
Excessive hand washing and general hygiene (fear of contamination)
Obsessive hoarding
Constantly preoccupied
The need for symmetry (even numbers)
Nervous behaviour
Obsessively enquiring about going to and coming from places
Many with dyspraxia and dyslexia can be incorrectly labelled OCD
We each give off certain OCD traits due to the need to correct a short term memory deficiency (coping strategy).
If we don’t have structure and routine we forget so many things such as:
School Books, clothing, car keys, phones, people's names, etc
We tend by nature to be easily distracted, and this can affect us in regards to skipping our routine.
We need to make lists for various things.
Children often correct work that is okay, they always wear out their rubber long before a pen!
Dyslexics and dyspraxics are not time aware and will constantly ask the time (sand timers can help).
If someone gives an idea and its logical, it sticks.
We also very much are monkey see monkey do, we can pick up repetitive habits this way too.
People with processing issues such as those with dyslexia and dyspraxia can be brought out of any of the above, time and practice is required.
It’s also important for parents to avoid the chance of many of the above happening and this once aware be picked up before they become habit forming.

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All our posts are for guidance only and professional advice should always be sought. 

Toby Lee,  © 2015

How Does Dyspraxia And Dyslexia Affect Us In Relationships? by Dyslexia Toby © 2015

A strong, healthy relationship can be one of the best and most important supports you will ever experience in your life.  A good, strong relationship improves all aspects of your life, it helps strengthen and maintain a healthy existence, it settles and improves your mind and it can also help you maintain and develop connections with others.  However, if the relationship isn't working, it can also be a tremendous drain and strain.  Relationships are for the long haul and you should reap what you sow.

As has been mentioned in previous articles, we are made up of left, right and those with left and right brains… this is important to understand as communication between like-minded people is, for the most part simple, straightforward and often without problem.  However, communications between a left brain dominant and a right brained dominant can have its fair share of moments… equal left/ right brained should find communicating with others less problematic.

Dyspraxia and dyslexia can affect us in many of our relationship’s, families… friends, school peers and also loving relationships.  One of the key elements that can cause mood swings and distancing is so often the fear of being let down or letting others down, through poor judgement or negative criticism (often rings bells from the past), doing or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time (this is mainly down to lack of confidence).  We can also miss the point due to our slow processing speed, which leads to incorrectly picking up the wrong signals and we can also appear shy.  I had a huge problem with dancing due to co-ordination… this was a real inhibitor, as those that could dance always got the girls.  We also tend to be very trusting; we don’t always see the worst in others until it’s too far down the road and, coupled to this, we tend to fall in love very quickly.

I think this is down to the draw of being loved, attention and the initial lack of criticism; the wheels can very quickly fall of when the relationship settles down and our partners tire of our ways and then start to pull us up with regularity due the many things we struggle to do correctly.  This is hard and often brings us back to all the criticism we have had to face from so many throughout our lives.

It’s so important to get through conflict.  Some couples talk things out quietly, while others may raise their voices and passionately disagree.  The key in a strong relationship, though, is not to be fearful of conflict.  You need to be safe to express things that bother you without fear of retaliation, and be able to resolve conflict without humiliation, degradation or insisting on being right and this can be difficult with those of us who have dyspraxia.  We by nature have excellent memories, we don’t tend to let things bother us in the early stages and we store things, often quoting letter and verse at the person we are upset or arguing with.

Honest, direct communication is the mainstay of any relationship.  When both people feel comfortable expressing their needs, fears and desires, trust and close bonds are maintained and indeed strengthened.  Non-verbal cues, ie. body language like eye contact, leaning forward or away, or touching someone’s arm, are critical to communication and again this is an area that doesn't come as natural to a dyspraxic as it does to those who don’t suffer from the syndrome.

Touch has long been accepted as a fundamental part of human existence; however this can be a problem for those of us that have tactile processing issues.  Studies on infants have shown the importance of regular, loving touch and holding has a long lasting benefit to early brain development. These benefits do not end in childhood. Life without physical contact with others is a lonely life indeed.

This article seems to have an adult flavour to it, however I would like to point out that some of these points would be relevant to our children too.

Our articles offer guidance and we always recommend that those reading them should always seek professional advice on any thing that might concern them.

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All our posts are for guidance only and professional advice should always be sought.

Toby Lee,  © 2015

Dyslexia. "Hidden secrets to improved spelling"!by Dyslexia Toby © 2016

Are dyslexics so different, not at all? If anything those with dyslexia tend to be far more advanced in lateral and creative thinking.
Reading, writing and the text in mathematics are our bogies.
It’s a kinda blend thing, "those silent letters and vowels that say one thing and mean another".
It's no wonder when we look at how complexed language is. English is a mix, the  coming together of two languages,an then tweaked to build waht we know as the English language.
Maybe we should look at the German, French, and English language.
So many words are derivative from those languages mentioned earlier!
Take voyage, the same in both French and English, there are so many more; Café, coffee, passage, etc.
German derivatives such as haus = house Hammer = hammer,minute = minute, motor = motor, auto = auto (automobile).
It is so important to be able to use graphemes and phonemes when constructing new words.
We also need to encourage learning through visual imagery, along with any word patterns.
We can see through the research that there are many facets in early word recognition and learning. We also see idiosyncrasies from the gentle introduction of the phonetic alphabet. Three and four-year-olds are introduced to addition, deletion and substitution of phonemes, this helps them to build new whole words with a similar structure and elements of shared sound. We fail to pick this up in the main until first class (age 6-7).
This later phase is the point where most with literacy deficit/dyslexia would fall away. This is the point when the intervention (support) needs to be deployed; this will help students keep up with their literate peers.

I so often hear of support programs concentrating on reading and comprehension, and not working on spellings, We need to run spelling alongside sighting of new words. It is well known that those with literacy deficit have a very quick mind and they can figure where a story is going. They replace the words they can't pronounce with another word. This is often missed by those listening to the story.
I believe that spelling is an integral part of word formation. There are so many silent vowels and consonants (thumb, Gnome, etc.) that leaving out letters due to local or national dialect makes it so much harder for the native or non-native speakers to learn.
If you speak to parents and teachers of other languages, you will find more problems where English is a second language. This can be said certainly with those who use Latin-based languages as their first language. The complexity of English is not mirrored to the same extent as other languages, most have fewer blended letters. Most languages share the same problem with vowels influencing other vowels.
Many schools teach through sighting words. We need to look at spelling with an holistic approach.

We encourage all of our students to sound out the words, this allows us to pick up incorrect letter sounds. They can also increase retention if they sound out words, we hear all of what we say!
We should also forget teaching rules that only partially apply like two letters go out walking, and one does the talking( works with clean, not with friend, etc.) or, i.e., before e except after c (receipt-c, leisure-no c). Children and adults with dyslexia only get confused with this as they apply it in the main! We can do far more research, and we will all find that the rules work for around 50-60%. Most dyslexics and indeed those with dyspraxia (slow processing speed) take things literally. If the rule can be applied 100% then by all means, use it.

Homophones tend to be very confusing for dyslexics; these should be gently introduced as confidence grows.
Teaching children to read correctly is so important; try shared reading, sit alongside. These techniques will allow you to pick up early problems. Reading aloud helps with the correct use of grammar and punctuation. When you work with your children get them to pause for short and long breaths, this stops them rushing sentences and again helps retention.
Encourage them to record their voices, this again will improve retention and test scores.

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All our posts are for guidance only and professional advice should always be sought. 

Toby Lee,  © 2016

Dyslexia. One Way Forward.by Dyslexia Toby © 2015

Children with dyslexia (dysgraphia,dyscalculia, dyspraxia)so often struggle with academia, full stop.
They however are very inquisitive; they also have very good long term memories. On the flip side, their short-term memories are very weak!
So what do we do! We focus on their long-term memory as a principle learning tool.
Many children incorrectly overcome the reading in some cases.
Why incorrectly? They skip or replace words depending on how the storyline is going.
Is this a problem! Yes. If we allow children to replace or skip words while reading, they will tend to skip words when they are reading important documents like exam papers or written instructions. Reading maps requires a degree of orientation, this is an area dyslexics are okay with, they have almost an instinctive knack of knowing where North is.
We need to look at the cause and produce an effect.
Many parents accidently overlook the need for work with reading as their children pick up books and read. It’s only when you stand behind or sit beside your child will you see how many words they skip.
Shared reading can also highlight problems!
Most of us have seen the talent in our children and dare I say it in ourselves; we are very practical people.
If people use a myriad of ways, we can learn most things and to a very high standard.
I wonder why few have picked this up during their time tutoring us.
The Germans have a very good second level model, they recognise the students strengths be it academia or creative.
The children are guided into specific centres that specialise in these areas of the curriculum; they are still given tuition in the secondary area.
They as far as I am aware have not linked this to a pattern of brain/learning types.
As mentioned earlier we need to accommodate the child in the style that best suits them.
We specialise in breaking problems down into manageable chunks and then repeat that same problem from several angles.
This style of learning promotes both learning and retention. We can all remember watching a program or reading a book, only to forget the whole thing. On the other hand we can remember the opposite, yes we glean every minute detail, why! We were not stimulated in the first instance and stimulated in the later.
You have probably seen your child stuck on homework and yet able to construct the most amazing things at home; why…stimulation!
Try and bring to his teacher/tutors attention the areas they have excelled in; pennies might drop.

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Toby Lee, © 2015

Mainstream Schooling Versus Home Schooling by Dyslexia Toby © 2015

I would like to say that those with a learning need are  more likely to be home schooled with some exception.
In America, home schooling is more evident in numbers than it is in many other countries around the world.
There are well over 4 million being home schooled in the States….with high growth rates!
What are the pluses of having a mainstream education?
The main advantages are!
Qualified teachers with a good depth of subject knowledge at primary level and very often one well-qualified teacher in their subject area in senior.
I will happily stand corrected, but I believe there is very few home schooled at third level education.
The latter maybe explains why pupils and parents choose to home school in the first place, less of a disconnect in the students chosen the subject area, i.e. art, drama, etc.
There is evidence to show that those going to school are going to gain greater life skills than those who don’t.
They are more likely to become natural gatherers and team players due to their immersion with larger groups of students.
We could point to a compromise and maybe parents could consider grouping together like-minded home schoolers, this could overcome this problem.
They get to integrate with children over a range of ages.
If streamed correctly they would be at a level where they should attain a reasonable grade.
Exceptions to this would be the smaller schools that only have one or two classes per academic year.
In Ireland, there is now a move to continual assessment, and this should to be taken into account with those learning outside of the school environment and any other country doing the same.
Parents wouldn’t be allowed to mark/grade their children/students.
Children who attend mainstream schools get access to the latest changes in curricula.
Children in mainstream schools have to conform to a set start and finish time.
Mainstream students have set disciplines to follow, and missed lessons will be documented.
Exams are less daunting/intimidating as they are amongst their fellow peers during exams.
In many countries, there are regular inspections and grading of schools to make sure standards are high.

They can also engage in after school (extra-curricular) study.
There is no child parental conflict entering the learning environment.
However, we do know that conflict/politics is evident in mainstream schools.
Parents are relatively free to pursue their career and, therefore, fund greater opportunities.


Home schooling

Home schoolers get close one to one tuition.
Parents can plan a varied and exciting curricular.
Subject to finances they can provide greater resources.
Parents don’t move on until their child has fully grasped the subject matter.
They can instantly tell when they child has reached saturation and allow downtime.
Parents can balance the workload to allow for those with poor processing skill/speed (dyspraxics, dyslexics, dyscalculics and dysgraphics).

They are less likely to become bullied in their early years.
They are less likely to get involved various types of social disorder. However, they could find this forbidden fruit.
There is a lack of integration that has a knock on effect in regard to social skills in later life.
The above can also have an effect on employ-ability!

Research
There was a study some years back, conducted by Eric Rudner in 1999 of over 20,000 students (not a cross section)

Parents had the choice to sign up or not as the case may be.
The test was slightly different in setting.
The schooled children took the test under the supervision of the school, and all home schoolers were supervised by their parents during testing.
The results showed quite a big gap between schooled and home schooled, in favour of the home schooled.
Scores were recorded with an average of the 75th percentile. Above average scholars.
Many have mentioned that the choice is a big factor in the scores and what is meant by that?
It is thought that only parents that thought their child would score well were put forward for testing.
If the test were random without parental choice, the figures would be more likely to stand the test of scrutiny.
However, a more accurate test albeit with a smaller number of students was conducted by Martin-Chang and her team. This was a smaller pick of students compared to Rudner.
The findings of the test showed that good home schooling with well-structured and planned lesson put the home schoolers between half and one academic year ahead

I would like to end by saying that some research can be vague and that the disconnect and lack of social skills must be taken into account for your child to benefit from their third level education.
However, lack of bullying and the greater sense of self-esteem is a plus in those that are home schooled.

Employability is another key factor to consider.
I think the underlying issue is the 15% (American figures used) of home schoolers go to prove that one size does not fit all. Schools could benefit from a more varied approach to pedagogy, and this would also be yet another indicator of the need for smaller class sizes.

There is also an opportunity, with good time table management to allow parents to home school in certain subjects like maths and English.

All this could be achieved by letting those children who struggle to leave school at midday or just opt out of school for one day a week.

All our articles are for information only and guidance… professional advice should always be sought.  Dyslexia Toby © 2015

Exam preparation and recall skill by Dyslexia Toby2015 ©

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  © 2015Toby

Do we always think before we carry out an action? By Dyslexia Toby © 2015

We work with children and adults each and every day, and they are at their best when focussed and using the thinking area of the brain.
We must ensure as educators and parents that this is the case most of the time
We have several areas and invariably have to switch areas on and off for a variety of reasons such as waking and sleeping.
Our mind is the most powerful tool we have, its use is paramount to our survival.
What is the conscious mind?
We can think of many occasions when we need to be focused and use conscious thought, take maths, you are given a sum, and you process the information. It is possible that we have switched off half way through and arrive at the wrong answer, why.
How many times have you gone from A to B on foot, or maybe a car journey. You just can’t remember certain places you passed through (subconscious), and yet you remained safe and far from a danger to others.
Has your child ever said the don't like the taste of something and you know for sure they have never tried it.
Filtering and visualisation (sub-conscious) can play a huge part in so much of what we choose do or not to do.
Forgetting where you left your phone or purse, etc. for the very same reason, visualisation can help in finding the lost item!
Numbers are just that numbers and make very little sense, when we bring digits together to reduce or grow a number it requires focus for a short but very important period.
We would have a better chance as a visual factual learner to image things to attach to the numbers, such as family members or purchases.
Many with dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia that would have slow processing speed can lose the where with all during a very wordy sum, we need to be extremely alert when employing our logic and reasoning skill sets.
This would cause us to flick from conscious to subconscious, if we introduce stimuli into maths we will have less chance of our students zoning out (subconscious).
We can at very important moments drift into a subconscious state even though we are wide awake, dreaming whilst awake (day dreaming); this drift can cause us to make simple mistakes; such as tripping or spilling a drink or failing to take instruction correctly.
However, if we are fully switched on to all around us we are concentrating and for this reason using our conscious mind!
If a child in a class is distracted, maybe looking around our perhaps yawning this is a good indicator that they are moving or have moved into the sub-conscious (drifting)

.
What actions are controlled by our subconscious mind?
As mentioned dreaming, breathing and other vital body functions, we know from birth our brain starts to mature; however we have survival techniques; employed from our first breath and that continues regardless of our brain capacity.
I tend to have a regular breathing pattern while occupied or indeed sleeping if I decide to go swimming, something I still fear even though I can swim…my conscious takes over, and my breathing becomes very short and irregular.
This is one area where I would perform better if I left this to my sub-conscious.
I also find the same with things I am good at like playing golf; if I try to think about the way I need to play I make mistakes.
When we have certain thoughts (good and bad) we are often not in control (sub-conscious) of those actions, we can see this with instant regret after the event. Much the same can be said for those that have meltdowns, in many cases, born out of fear.
This can also follow as mentioned with bad memories; more so than pleasant experiences…I was thrown into a pool when I was a young child and that will live with me forever. We can on occasions remove some of the negatives in our episodic memory and move beyond the fear.

We can look at ways of making both of these areas strengths and not weaknesses (SWAT)
SWAT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
This is used very effectively within the employment sector and indeed by life coaches.
There is no reason we can’t utilise this technique in our everyday lives, be it children or adult.
Our strengths are often controlled by our sub-conscious and those techniques that we least favour can flick in and out of conscious and sub-conscious.
We can by over learning move things very successfully into our sub-conscious.
The brain has a unique balancing system; we can train in corrections that will improve most things we undertake.
Maybe we have made countless errors in say literacy/language, we can by repetition erase the error that the brain is happy to make by introducing the correction if completed numerous times.
We often use a similar technique to correct actions in others…meltdowns, etc.; shouting and conflict have the opposite effect (fight or flight).
Many of athletes use visualisation through the sub-conscious state to improve performance, and there are many ways we can learn this technique.

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 © 2014