Why Does Telling The Time Fly Past Me? by Dyslexia Toby © 2014

Why do some of us find it difficult to tell the time? The big problem with the analogue clock is we work in two directions… away from the vertical and back to the vertical. This is very much the same as reading a compass; in fact many will stand facing north to make sense of the compass. This is also very similar to map reading… many will turn the map facing in the direction which they are headed.
Why is this such a problem for many? Mirroring is so often the problem… in fact laying a clock in front of the learner is sometimes easier than getting them to look at it vertically as it hangs on the wall.
Dyscalculia very much comes into play and with its difficulty in grasping numeric and general comprehension of mathematics, including understanding numbers… this is a problem that gets in the way of telling the time. In order to have any success in learning to tell the time, a child needs to be able to count up to 30. There are also the reversing processes (minutes past and to) which are used in telling the time. It also requires the processing of movement and often the differing words (after or past, before or to) can hinder the student as they may also have dyslexia.

You might find that starting with a toy clock, or forgetting the past and to the hour at the start and work on minutes from the hour, like thirty five minutes past twelve rather than twenty five to one, is a good introduction.
Dyscalculia can occur in around 5% of the population and this is far reaching and would affect many with a high IQ range. For some, this can cause problems with time, measurement and mirroring. Some say that around 1-2% of those with dyscalculia can have ADHD… this could cause problems with the need to focus whilst learning. Therefore, it is important that teaching the time is done in smaller, bite-sized chunks rather than trying to teach the whole concept in one go. As always, remember to allow at least 4 times longer for children with specific learning needs to grasp the concept… ie. overlearning. In a family where only one child has a learning need, it is particularly important not to benchmark them against their siblings when learning something new, ie. riding a bike, tying shoelaces, telling the time, etc. It’s worth noting that many of us have one or more learning difficulties (co-morbid), and this along with processing speed can slow progress in learning complex tasks.
We are pleased to announce that we are the distributors of the very latest clocks that can make learning the time much easier. In 3 simple steps your child will easily learn to tell the time on an analogue clock
Digital time is much easier to grasp, however there won’t always be a digital clock around.
Time telling and being aware of time is an important part of organisational skills, which we all need to master.
We have great resources for thse with dyscalculia, why not check out our online store…we ship to any country.

Our posts are for guidance purposes only and professional advice should also be sought.

T

Top  Anger Management (part three) - Inside the mind of the angered and angry child
Dyslexia Toby© 2014

What happens when a meltdown occurs (understanding helps reduce severity in the long term)is very important and the key is to reduce its longevity…it can be over in seconds or could take hours, depending on how it’s handled. One method is to try and be neutral in your emotional approach. Unstable reactions to an individual’s behaviour cause the situation to become more volatile. Emotion may give you feelings of being in free fall (lacking control). This will undoubtedly affect and may even frighten your child, this again could lead to a flight or fight situation leading to a point of no return
This may also lead to a permanent belief that your child has the upper hand and may encourage regular conflict as direct connection, albeit strained communication, is made between child and parent/carer.
Save the emotion for times when you want to reinforce positive behaviour, and then pour it on. When dealing with negative behaviour, try to stay unemotional and matter-of-fact. Quite often energy is found and it’s not unlike fuelling a fire. You are far better stifling the conflict by not reacting and you may well find the temper tantrum will simmer far quicker than you being verbally reactive…save that for promoting good behaviour.
Try to be more proactive, and less reactive. The best way to handle bad behaviour (and now I might be guilty of stating the obvious) is not to let the opportunity to arise in the first instance and moreso with children with specific educational needs, as their understanding of good and bad behaviour is far different than that of a fully able child. Looking at bad behaviour and then reflecting on the problems that led up to the event is a very worthwhile opportunity to prevent a repeat occurrence.
I often use a reflective diary during tuition with students/parents who come to me…get them to reflect on their day…good and bad (don’t worry about the information being legible). It’s very important to allow your child to communicate and at the same time allowing him/her to download information and switch off and relax/sleep easier at night.
One other thing you could do is use a colour coded week planner to identify the things your child likes to do and things they don’t like to do…encourage positivity by using their favourite colour for the things they least like to do and their least favourite colour for the things they like to do (reverse psychology)…image with specific educational needs children is everything.
Try keeping a reflective diary yourself and log down all of the immediate activities that led up to the meltdown. This will allow you to plan for the future and at least remove some of the events that lead to your child getting confused, then frustrated and then angry…things can then start to become a lot more fun and reduce stress levels in all quarters and there will a be a far more positive feel/bond between you and your child which will improve their social skills too.
Remember listen to every statement your child makes, as you might be agreeing to something that you will come to regret and promise nothing unless you intend to deliver on your promises. Time is another big thing…allow more time and try not to be late as again this can cause meltdowns.
Try to limit change…painting bedrooms , changing room layouts, etc…even changing the car should be gradual as children with specific educational needs enjoy stability and, believe me, they notice far more than you give them credit for…even seating arrangements whilst eating at home or even dining out are so very important to stop your child from feeling isolated or indeed the opposite... suffocated.
Please remember this information was based on parental experience…teaching and researching the work of others and should only be used as a guide.
I hope you have enjoyed reading these 3 posts on Anger Management and we look forward to posting more items on Specific Learning Needs.
Toby Lee Dyslexia  © Follow us on facebook at dyslexia dublin

Anger Management continued part two gaining an insight into the frustrated mind
By Dyslexia Toby © 2014

Weak Cognitive Connections: Children with Processing disorders and other specific cognitive impairments ADHD Asperger’s/Autism may not understand events in the same way others do or indeed the way they tend to react to commands and some portrayed moments are quite different to their able peers. We who have an immediate responsibility and indeed onlookers need to determine to gain strong understanding of the child or adults thought process before and during any (melt down) uncomfortable event. Many less able might not even show outward signs of distress and this needs to be closely monitored but may still leave them with an inward feeling of discomfort. Quite often the situation leads the child to believe it is a fight or flight situation…this is the opposite of where we appear to be most of the time (Parasympathetic) certainly in the main with able children/adults …in most cases children do not sense they are moving into the Sympathetic nervous state…we adults always see this first and its often the way we react that can infuse or defuse the situation.
Children and some Adults might mirror your reaction taken from a previous outburst (monkey see monkey do)used in a previous/similar situation…they don’t always understand how they should respond at their own age range and in turn can be colourful and graphical and use swear words they don’t fully understand and they will struggle to understand an Adult reaction and comment on their behaviour (if met with an adult response from a child…don’t react by giving an adult response)?.

Talking through anything needs to be specific, but put over in a very simple way; quite often a graphical approach will be the way forward as it is very often difficult for the child to understand the spoken word (flashcards are good) also emotions cards. We need to filter what images and words are within the auditory or visual reach of our children as most things are taken quite literally. If they witness a plane crash in the paper or on the news they might be reluctant to go on holidays if a plane is part of the travel arrangements.

Students with learning needs might be able to well require a different type of approach/supports to maybe their able siblings; this will largely depend on the individual’s level of maturity. Many students are able to process discipline, while others have specific deficits in this area. Some will take what you say to the letter even if you are only trying to get your point across with some degree of exaggeration.
Be careful when giving traumatic news to children with learning needs and also explain events they might witness (car accident etc.) in away appertain to the child’s age or level of maturity as this might be a degree below their chronological age...

Many children have difficulties with their level of social prowess, and may need far greater instruction anger management…levels of tolerance to movement, noise etc. will vary hugely and good communication is paramount as in all cases of managing anger and tolerance of things that are initially out of the control of the individual concerned. It is so important to take the approach as Rome was not built in a day and all this will take considerably longer…also be careful when looking back to the way you where parented as communications amongst many things has changes so much.

Our posts are for guidance purposes only and professional advice should also be sought .

Anger Management and specific leaning needs by  Dyslexia Toby  Part one 2014 ©

It is quite difficult for those who are fully abled to react to change, so how can we expect our children with known learning difficulties be the ...same as us?… we can’t is the short answer.
They struggle, as we are aware, to deal with or learn most everyday tasks.
So what causes the anxiety that quickly becomes frustration and, if not tempered, a meltdown?
Our children are constantly watching us, even though we rarely realise this is happening…it’s almost a subconscious act…so possible issues that may cause initial anxiety are:
Economically related (changes in routine due to tightening of funds) different supermarket…reducing happy time out…Mc Donalds, Cinema, etc.
You could be pre-occupied with issues – money, bills, separation, loss, for example.
Changing the car…and even the different colour of new purchase.
Changes to routine… eg. bed time or getting up early due to changes in logistics.
Change of environment…eg. bedroom…furniture being moved…places at dinner table…changing colour schemes…lighting colour…room fresheners…perfume…tooth brush. Yes, even a tooth brush can change moods.
Hairdresser…swimming pool…holiday destination.
Changes at school…new teachers…new classroom and new lesson content or subjects.
Children pick up far more than we realise and react to far more too…they can have a variation of triggers that can tip the scales, like aggressive sounding words, images stored from a previous incident (rather like deja vu), sounds, weather (icy, slippery), that can signal raised levels of anxiety or a rapid change to their feelings of being safe and feeling secure. These can be completely individual and not all of the above will have the same outcome/effect on each child. They will harbour some of these from past events and personal experience and they can also be associated with traumatic events in the past. Also, seeing fear in adults can make them link back through stored feelings and images (not unlike a nightmare in our sub conscious).
Children tend to present us with advanced warning of their unease in regard to these trigger events, warning signals that adults should realise are a precursor to understanding the child might be struggling or finding something very hard to come to terms with. These cues may include facial expressions or nervous tics (mild self-harm) pinching flesh, changes in speech patterns (incoherent or alterations in volume), hot when you are cold…sweating, feeling ill (stomach aches), becoming quiet or withdrawn (introvert…staying in one room), complaining or getting irritable, exhibiting lack of interest in going places, fear avoidance tactics, ie. negative responses when they were normally acceptable (shopping…swimming…Cinema). I recently witnessed a child being very uncomfortable with the noise of the ice crunching machine in a coffee shop…did the parent/carer spot the unease of the child....?
All of our posts are based on personal…family and research sourced in many places…and is for reading and guidance purposes. Part two to follow soon!


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‘When Is The Right Time To Tell Your Child They Have A Specific Learning Need?’ by  DyslexiaToby © 2014

Is there ever going to be a right time?  Well, you will always blame yourself for telling your child or indeed not as the case may be.  I can say from my own experience I would have loved to have known that I had a learning need, but back in the fifties and sixties there was no such diagnosis.  With dyspraxia, however, the first mention in the medical journals was as far back as 1962, although there was little heed paid to this and many other learning needs.  I spent my early life being very confused and angry at my lack of academic and sporting ability, I was constantly measured against my more able siblings and called many horrible things, including a word I despise to this day (‘spa’ or ‘spastic’).  I am far happier now that I had a reason for the problems I continually came across in the early years and it was out of my control and was deemed to be the way I would go on through life from birth.

Genetics sets the seed with most specific learning needs and this is the case for so many others… I am not alone!

You may have had a diagnosis, or be in the very early stages of wondering why your child is behaving or learning differently to others and you may be starting to suspect something is not quite right.  They may well be slow at hitting milestones and you may have also spotted the early signs of a specific learning difficulty.  I will say at this point, having dyspraxia myself and also for children with dyspraxia, I wouldn’t despair, as we go on to achieve great things and, if shown the right way, excel both physically and academically… we are great social animals too!

 What about those that are just late starters?  Many children find a variation in both physical and visual stimuli.  Some like to watch you, or programmes, also some watch and listen to conversations… these are usually the early readers.  Some like to construct and by this I mean those who show a preference to play with toys and build things… these are for the most part late/later readers.  As mentioned, it’s what pushes our buttons that drives us from the start.

You can never be too early to encourage both forms of stimuli and your engagement in this process will lead to your child joining in.

It is so important to work with the school or college on this, the more eyes the better.  You need to keep a very close eye on their academic work… teachers are being forced to teach ever larger class sizes than ever before and don’t always get chance to check every piece of homework and quite often the students will cross mark each other’s work… this can result in them falling behind.  Don’t forget the square of over teaching - those with a learning need may require a more graphical description of what has to be learnt compared to a child who has no SPLD… quite often 2-3 or 4 times longer.

Make sure you keep your concerns written down with times and dates… this comes in really handy to monitor progress, take to open days, parents evenings and IEP meetings (individual education plan). Never discard this information as you can use it when your child steps up in that, or a new, school… not all teachers inform each other of someone leaving their class to move to another, even though you might take this for granted.

Always check school reports and note discrepancies from teacher to teacher and subject to subject… the problem more often than not is in the core and language subjects.  Be positive, proactive and constructive with your child’s school/teacher, aggression often meets aggression… suggestions and inducing suggestions from others tends to yield positive results.

If you have no diagnosis, ask the school or college as they have funds for this, although I will say they are extremely limited and have to be used wisely.

Try and benchmark progress and always leave a meeting with a date for the next review, this leaves nothing to chance which is important because, as we all know, the years flow quickly by.

Keep your child informed, they often resent going to resource when they are older, especially boys.  Try and keep their confidence high by talking about their great efforts in other areas.

Kinesthetic learning is so often the way forward and it’s important to work at the point where the wheels fell of rather that at the coal face.  By the time the school and maybe your concerns are heard, the child will be at least eighteen months behind… so imagine putting a second class student into fourth class, how would they feel?  That is the way your child feels every day.

Look for tell-tale signs like stammer/stutters, keeping themselves isolated during school and maybe they have no interest in inviting friends over, they avoid the competitive aspects of school (sports, etc.).  Maybe they have moved up a year and the new teacher gets them to read aloud to the class and this is bothering them, the dreaded Friday spelling test or other tests like the STEN, SATS or Drumcondra… maybe you can reflect after reading this and remember episodes of reluctance or faking a day off and see a common link.

Above all, support from all moves this forward and if you haven’t told your child about your worries, there is a good chance school friends or even a teacher might have… not always directly, but your child will read between the lines.

If you have a diagnosis and a statement you are entitled to an IEP, ask your SENCO/SNA or the principal and if you haven’t had one, drive it forward… I have written articles on the IEP which you can read either on Facebook or on my blog (www.dyslexiadublin.blogspot.ie).

Some may try to convince you that you should be under a recognised group/umbrella group, either independent or recognised by the government, to obtain resource… this is not the case, all you need is a statement.  Whilst some will be happy to kick the problem down the road, many will go the extra mile… I know several schools that support struggling learners through extra resource and they don’t have a statement.

When you are doing homework, start as soon as they are home from school and make sure they drink plenty of water, hydration is a key to focus and, whilst on the subject, check that they can drink fresh water whilst in class too.  Frontload all study and taper down towards the end of the session, leave plenty of time to relax and help the processing… remember the rule of four!

 It’s worth focussing on the positive sides of your child in or out of school… this alone will move them forward and they will find their plateau.  You as a parent will get your reward from seeing that happy child you always knew you had!  They are not lazy, clumsy or stupid… we just process in a very different way and we all get there in the end!  We just need to reinforce this constantly as low self-esteem and confidence is a peril we would rather avoid.

Have a read of another article of mine related to this subject –

The Why’s and How’s of the IEP:

http://www.dyslexiadublin.blogspot.ie/2013/04/the-whys-and-hows-of-iep-individual.html

 NB. This information is from our personal experience and research of our extensive team and also partly sourced through the work of others. It is purely for improving the understanding of dyslexia and other specific learning needs and to offer help and advice only. Dyslexia Toby © 2014 

Contact us at www.dublin-cetc.com or through twitter dyslexiadublin 

Fine & Gross Motor Skills (Dyspraxia, Balance Co-Ordination) by  Dyslexia Toby ©2014

The co-ordination of the skeletal, muscular and neurological body functions combine to perform fine motor skills.  Fine motor control is the ability to make small, precise movements, such as picking up a tiny object with your thumb and index finger.  There are several things you can do to improve fine motor, such as working with a soft ball… making sure you get your child to squeeze the ball, stretching the fingers and pull the ball in by using mainly the finger tips. Rolling up a tea towel from flat is also good.

Use of manipulative materials is great, such as jigsaw puzzles and Lego… Plasticine is also very good.

Marbles is a great game for improving fine motor skill and children love to play it.  Set up a marbles game and play it for 15 to 20 minutes several times a day.  To shoot marbles, set up a small box on its side either on a table, on a carpet or on the floor. Pick up a marble between the tip of your index finger and thumb and place on the ground.  Flick it with your index finger (and other fingers) off your thumb to shoot it towards the box, trying to get it inside. Start close to the box and as co-ordination improves move the box further away, which will also continue to develop more accuracy.

Encourage the use of a pencil from as early as possible, even scribbling helps to improve fine motor skill… point this out to your child’s teacher, as they might not understand how this causes them to struggle and fatigue can also be monitored.  It’s always a good idea to get them to tell you what they have sketched, rather than embarrass them by second guessing their subject.

Another exercise to strengthen the fingers and improve fine motor is to get an elastic band and thread it around the fingers and try to spread the fingers as wide as you can and return to normal position. Repeat this (a few minutes at each end of the day) every day.

It’s also important to help your child with adequate support and stability.  Rather like we rest our wrists on a laptop, the wrist plays an important part in writing and hand/eye co-ordination is also very important.

The same can be said for the feet… it’s so important for stability as our feet and toes are our anchors to the ground.  Many dyspraxic children tend to have fallen arches (flat footed) and this, like many of the above, is caused by lack of or poor muscle tone.  I can remember one occasion during my early years as a teacher, when my balance caused others to think that I took a drink and my wobbling was down to this.  I can remember explaining to someone in our Human Resource Department that this was a part of my dyspraxia and he hadn’t a clue about the daily struggles and high levels of concentration required to get by day on day.  These thingsdo improve because we learn ways to compensate, but they never leave us for good. 

I am going to explain this a little deeper, as many believe it has no relevance to us with balance and co-ordination issues, but believe me it does.  If we go as far back as primal times, our feet played an equal part in our ability to climb, just like some animals do to this day.  You only have to look at a ballerina and see how they use their whole foot from heel to toe.  We have 26 bones in our foot and it is far from the most complex bone structure in the entire body… the metatarsals link to the midfoot and hind.  If we think of a shoe and its widest and narrowest points front to back, this is triangular shaped and we use this to great effect when balancing.  Try and balance whilst lifting your toes and see how hard it is!  It’s no shock to see top athletes taking a long time to recover when they have a broken metatarsal, as this is the backbone of our foot and responsible for most of our ability to balance.

 Try to get your child to stand on tip toes for very short periods, this will help strengthen this area… also, stand facing a wall with hands against the wall for stability, keep one foot flat and lift the heel of the other so on the ball of the foot…. repeat around six times per foot and repeat twice a day.  Arching the feet and then flattening again can help improve and strengthen arches, you can also buy orthotics which support the collapsed or weak arch and this will also help stability.  Always demonstrate and supervise any exercise routine and don’t forget the rule of ‘times four’ for those with specific learning needs (show them the routine four times).

Facial muscle tone is very similar and we rely heavily on this to do many things such as talk, eat, smile, frown, lick, blink, etc.  It is again important to exercise this area… encourage laughter as it works more facial muscles than any other activity, encourage games like blowing bubbles and also sucking drinks through a small straw… anything that gets the muscles working will improve many things, including verbal dyspraxia.

We require fine motor skill for many things including dressing… many will struggle with zips, buttons, belts and shoelaces.  Until they have sufficient strength avoid these, especially at school…you can buy special belts, Velcro shoes are great and jackets too.

This information is for guidance purposes only and we always recommend that you seek the relevant professional advice.

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Schooldays Were Not My Best Days by , Dyslexia Toby © 2014

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School was difficult for me from a very early age… what my peers took in in seconds it took me minutes and this left me in a position where I fell way behind.  I just didn’t get the complete academic picture and I got the feeling from day one that the teachers held me in far from high regard.  I tried to tell them how it was one big struggle but they never listened.

I do have to admit though that I did find some subjects interesting and others that were taught by teachers with interest… geography, history and music… art was okay too!

I also knew there was no way out… I had to attend school, even if it meant just going through the motions most of the time.  With dyspraxia and also at that point having a distinct difference from almost all of the students in the school and not having the benefit of diagnosis, it was hard most of the time.

We were a big family, at the time there were 4 boys and 2 girls, so we had to be independent and being ready for school meant just that… no help from anyone but myself… school bag, polished shoes and gleaming white teeth and scrubbed hands, as these were checked by the teacher and, guess what, I would always forget something… pencil, rubber, ruler and that would get the teachers back up straight away.  Although dyspraxia was unheard of, we would have been known as clumsy children (clumsy child syndrome), tripping over the slightest thing or spilling water during art or lunch.

I went to the same school for the first few years and that brought about security and routine which are so very important to dyspraxics… we need to know what is happening from day to day.  Mum worked from home so we had that level of stability, but we used to walk to school and that had its own perils, especially in winter… it was downhill all the way and there was a main road to cross at the bottom.

I can remember physical education and going into the gym… I just couldn’t roll or do hand stands like the other kids… even balancing on one leg was hard and, on occasions, still is!  It made me feel different, very different.  We had swimming lessons which came about 3 years after I had been thrown in a swimming pool and nearly drowned!  Again, technique was against me… I could just about master the breast stroke, the front crawl and butterfly was never within my grasp… far too much to remember and co-ordinate.  This all led me to have very low self-esteem.

 How can we be wiser after the event?   We can help those through the things that we struggled with.

Many of the specific learning needs  would be a life time condition and dyspraxia would be no different, but there are many things we can do to improve our life and by practising certain skill sets, we see the effects of dyspraxia mellowing with age and so many of us going on to achieve great things.

 Do look out for missed milestones and work to close any gaps as soon as possible.

 I was recently talking to my father and he said if only he had realised how hard life was for me back then, he would have done so much more.  Get your child into clubs and, if funds permit, get one to one tuition for certain important things like swimming.  The rule with specific learning needs is to give four times longer to grasp instruction and demonstrations are the best way to explain, as we learn visually as most of us would be right brained.

If you have concerns, it’s worth talking to your school and GP about getting help as early as possible and this will minimise frustration and meltdowns and, of course, isolation if left until the teen years kick in.

Work with your child on reinforcing routines through play and role play… this will also create a huge bond.  Memory games are also great, as short term rather than long term memory is an area of weakness (long term is always strong)… it won’t be long before you start to see improvements and allow for small hiccups as concentration has to be at 120%. Make sure you discipline yourself to keep to the routine… your child will be depending on you and it will be well worth all the effort on both parts.

Exercise is a great thing and certainly helps with developing core muscles which in turn reduces fatigue, something us dyspraxics suffer with.

It’s important when teaching them a new skill to be verbally and visually repetitive and practice truly makes progress.

Because we tend to be slightly less mature age for age with our peers (around two or three years), social interaction and our social skill sets are generally less mature than our chronological peers. This at times lead me into the hands of bullies.  We all feel the need to belong and older children can see us as easy targets and can also use us as a tool in school (getting us to do things they wouldn’t so we get into trouble), etc. and this is something parents should be aware of, as many schools don’t see this vulnerability and we get blamed for causing disruption/trouble.  It was a problem for me throughout school and being tall for my age made things worse again.

 We can also present with lack of volume control and also spatial awareness and many feel uncomfortable with us being in their space… it is necessary to persevere with building our social circle and this can be eased by talking to parents of our friends.  A good book on this is ‘My Friend Has Dyspraxia’ by Nicola Edwards.  It is currently out of print but worth getting hold of a secondhand copy.

How can we steer others to help with our children (schools and family members)?

We tend to confuse our close family members… we can keep things together when we are in company for short periods and many would tell parents of children with dyspraxia that they are imagining it.  It’s only when they look after our children for prolonged periods that they see the problems that we face day to day.

We need to take things much slower and, as mentioned, we need far higher levels of concentration and we should refrain from trying to multi-task until we are happy that we have mastered a task.

Supervision needs to be tight around areas of possible danger and we should almost take it for granted that our maturity levels are around 2-3 years below our chronological age… so if you have a 13 year old, allow them to do tasks that a 10 year old without dyspraxia would do.

Don’t underestimate our strengths as we will succeed in the end… it just takes us a little longer. Resource them where necessary… a means to anchor their feet when sitting is a good idea, a rung across underneath the table/desk for example.   Writing slopes also help as they can view the board and their workbook… allow them to do warm up exercises with their fingers to help with hand writing, allow breaks in writing to avoid tired hands, allow water bottles in class to prevent dehydration and cramps and allow them to get up and stretch.

It’s also important to seat children with dyspraxia away from distractions, students or windows… if they appear to be distracted it’s not deliberate, it’s dyspraxia!

Always explain what you want them to do and build a comfortable relationship that allows them to tell you when they are struggling.  Make sure that their resource time is taken when they are doing lessons that they are exempt from, such as languages and not during important lessons like Maths or English.  Get the SNA to help diarise and plan homework and projects.

If you find it hard to get your head round what dyspraxia means to each and every one of us, do read ‘Caged in Chaos’ - an account by a teenage girl who battled those early years and came good.

And always remember give lots of praise, be constructive in anything that concerns you and always remember… praxis makes perfect.

N.b.All our articles are for information purposes only, we use research and the work of others within the team and in the area of specific learning needs and we always advise parents to seek professional advice on any issue that may concern them.

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Troubled Sleep in Children with Specific Learning Needs by  Dyslexia Toby © 2014

A sleep disorder can be temporary or more long term/habitual.  This can be known as somnipathy, which is a medical disorder that affects our sleep patterns.

Disturbed sleep can cause the same problems if it persists and this can lead to somnipathy and it may be severe enough to interfere with a person’s normal physical, mental and emotional functioning! Meltdowns/tantrums could well be the result of lack of sleep.

http://dyslexiadublin.mygostore.co.uk/mindfulness-matters-cd.html

There are very strong links between childhood sleep disorders and behaviour, lack of concentration and mood swings. Sleep disorders that are directly caused by behavioural factors (eg. sleep-onset association disorder) can present in some children with specific learning needs. Invariably, sleep deprivation increases the chances of  meltdowns and this can have a significant impact on families.

Some sleep disorders are serious enough and known to interfere with physical, mental and emotional routines.  In cases that are causing noticeable problems, a sleep study/test (Polysomnography Test) can be recommended by your GP/Consultant.

Insomnia can also cause problems, due to falling asleep at times when you are relaxed (symptoms need to go beyond 4 weeks before the GP will intervene) and then at the allotted time you cannot sleep due to things flooding the mind. This, however, is more apparent in adults.

What is a reasonable amount of sleep required to carry out normal routines in childhood? Children of 5–13 years require about 10 hours sleep, and those aged 14–18 years need about 8 hours. These levels are the minimum required and if involved in physical exercise, they should take more rest.

The amount of sleep a person needs will vary from individual to individual, but most people require around eight hours.

We don’t fully understand how we came to require around seven to eight hours of rest per night (just to add, catching up is a bit of a fallacy). It is thought by many professionals in this field that it is down to build, muscle size and fat stores. We tend to go into partial hibernation in the winter months and spend longer sleeping. A lot takes place in these hours of rest, children’s growth hormones become very active, as do our repair and replenishment function (skin replacement and general healing).

So, what causes our sleep to be disturbed? Not winding down is one and this can be caused by the run up to bed time…home work should be well finished by tea time, any revision after this point will lead to the mind being occupied and the chance of a good night’s rest will be compromised, making the following day more challenging.

SPD (teeth grinding) is another possibility, along with dehydration and lack of air…many children with dyspraxia tend to breathe through their mouths which dries the mouth out and can also cause snoring. This may also result in headaches (drink a good few glasses of water a day).

Sugar is another cause of hyper activity and lack of sleep. Caffeine (stimulants) should not be consumed after 17.00.

Children, like adults, need to unwind and creating a relaxed, noise free atmosphere is a must. Let them chat about their day and also encourage them to keep a reflective diary, as this will dump information into their long term memory. Try to avoid giving them information about special occasions until the day…how many children have trouble sleeping before a birthday or Christmas?!

Sleep could be, and often is, thrown out of sync due to lack of a stable routine and the body clock being altered through certain habits, such as allowing  a child to routinely fall asleep watching telly during the day (with exceptions like illness).  For example, a parent might be working night shifts and nods off and the child relaxes and does likewise (eg. on the couch with the parent). Also, getting up late in the day becomes self-perpetuating, this will lead to difficulties in getting to wind down and sleep in the evening or can even cause problems due to being in a light sleep and waking during the night. Even during school holidays the routine should still be in place, stability and regularity are one thing that are needed to correct and maintain good sleep patterns.

By around the age of two, if a child wakes in the night it should have the ability to be self-soothing and able to settle again. Separation anxiety can also lead to sleep disorders and it is always a good idea not to share your child’s bed or let them share yours. You can wean a child off this and one good way is to substitute you with a favourite teddy or doll…allow the surrogate to share the meal table, watch TV with you and even go out on family trips. A trust will build very quickly and when the child has to separate from you for socialising or sleep, it will bring a great feeling of security. This will also help with children that have recurring bad dreams…it’s no harm to record dates and details of the bad dreams or broken sleep patterns and try to identify triggers or see if a pattern emerges…watching adult TV/movies is a big factor.

All this has a knock-on effect on the ability to maintain concentration and discipline during school time…this is something the school might not pick up on as they may only notice lethargy or bad behaviour and not lack of sleep. 

Teenagers have a greater problem in this area and their lifestyle so often exacerbates poor sleep routines. Social networking means that teens can communicate with their friends well into the night and many would never see this as the cause of their lack of motivation during school times and even the weekends.

The problems tend to increase in the summer due to the bright evenings and increased noise which travels greater distances through the thinner air.

Conditions have to be right for all children to sleep… young children don’t have the ability to regulate temperature until they are around eight years of age, so room/body temperature can be a problem.

Maintain a good sleep routine, even during holidays.

Keep your children hydrated during the day and reduce sugars and caffeines.

Make sure the bedroom has plenty of air and is noise free.

Use blackout curtains and, if needs be, acquire a soothing night light.

Wind your children down…don’t let them play with gaming machines just before bed.

Avoid homework in the evening, this should all be finished by tea time.

If they are young, read a story and one that will relax them.

Don’t share their bed, sit on the edge or in a chair.

You can also use specialist relaxation CD’s.

Record disturbed sleep patterns and try to see if there is a trigger.

Don’t let them share your bed…if they can’t settle, stay in their room until they do.

If you want to reduce tantrums/meltdowns, etc. persevere and they will very soon get back into a settled sleep pattern.

Don’t be fooled by a child that has his or her eyes shut, they could be sat up the second they think the coast is clear!

Sleep is vital for restoring mental energy. We spend all day learning, thinking and creating, this all helps to deplete our energy reserves. And during our hours of sleep we process this information, for the most part in a harmless way (dreams) and sometimes the opposite…(nightmares).

You and your children’s bodies are like a well-oiled machine and rest is required by each and every one of us. We don’t know for sure exactly how much sleep we all need, but we sure know the consequences if we, or our children, have too little.

 This article was written for guidance purpose only and, as with all things that cause concern professional advice should always be sought.

‘Why Dyslexia and not Visual Stress?’ by Dyslexia  © 2014

The strength of good literacy skills is built from firm foundations, early letter and sound association (phonics, phonemes)… we all remember our phonetic alphabet.  What is a phoneme?...  a phoneme is a basic unit of a language's phonology, which is combined with other phonemes to form a meaningful unit. We can change a word by simply changing the phoneme, like kill and kiss (ll), (ss).

DYSLEXIA  -  How can we tell if someone is Dyslexic?

They can have problems with constructing words, although they are generally ok with mono syllabic words.  They can also suffer with letter reversals (using the correct letters but in the wrong sequence) and logical reasoning (not being able to form pairs of letters into sounds like ‘ch’ or ‘ur’ as in ch-ur-ch or church). Short term memory is also a problem as they are not stimulated as they would be through the visual channel.

What causes Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is caused primarily by the part of our brain (brain is made up of several component parts) that decodes the written and sometimes the spoken word. Two strongly held beliefs about dyslexia are that children/adults with it are prone to seeing letters or words in a reversed format, and also that the problem is linked to intelligence. Both ideals are incorrect. The problem is actually a linguistic one, not a visual one, in dyslexia. And dyslexia in no way stems from any lack of intelligence. People with severe dyslexia can be brilliant… however due to being dyslexic we have a huge problem.

When someone writes something for us to copy or dictates words to copy, the information enters the left side of our brain via the audio or visual tract… most dyslexics would find great difficulty in processing information in this way due to poor or limited function of the left side of the brain (left lobe) that forms whole words and letter sounds.  There are three areas - the Broca’s  that works on articulation and word analyses… the Parietal/temporal that also helps to analyse words (includes sensory processing along with the cerebellum ) and the Occipital that helps to form our words. Dyslexics have an impaired Occipital and rely more on the Broca’s area when trying to structure whole words. This is not the last port of call, as we then search in our right side for a stored image of the given word.  This however shows a lack of reading fluency in the child or adult that has not had intervention. It is easy to see why so many children and adults with dyspraxia have problems with reading/spelling and they make up the greater proportion of dyslexics.

VISUAL STRESS  -  How can we tell if someone has Visual stress?  (we now have a great home test kit) @ http://dyslexiadublin.mygostore.co.uk/visual-stress-self-test-kit.html

Moving closer to or away from page.

Becoming fidgety whilst reading.

Using their finger to track words.

Missing out words and dropping down to another line (eye tracking) is also a possibility here.

Rubbing or rinsing eyes and neck, gulping (drawing in air) and yawning whilst reading and blinking excessively to re-focus.

Self-confidence and associated behaviour which can be hidden.

What causes Visual stress?

 It is a condition that will contribute unaided to reading and writing problems, eye strain and possibly headaches/migraine brought on by prolonged reading. It can affect and be more noticeable in those with light sensitivity, with the appearance of patterns in text and glare effect that can cause letter to appear bunched up and can lead to letter movement. There is a low tolerance to the amount of white light/glare compared to that of a person that doesn’t have visual stress.

The Wilkins Rate of Reading Test will help test for visual stress, it’s a simple test that does not check for dyslexia (cognitive ability) or IQ/intelligence, but that of fluency of reading, speed, etc.

How is this test conducted?  The test uses simple words, familiar to children/adults. The words appear in each line of a block of text but in a random order (we with old hill, etc.) as we are not assessing the child’s comprehension skills but purely the reading speed.

Dyslexia… Help is at hand

How can we help/intervene with dyslexia?  We can get teachers to use visual stimulus to help transfer information to the Occipital area of the brain, this will also strengthen the visual memory bank. The STEPS Programme used in our centre works on these key areas with a multi-sensory approach through structured reading exercises, sight vocabulary games, a word flash session and targeted reading practice( fluency). This can make huge improvements as it stimulates the brain with variety and is also very visual.

 Visual stress… Help is at hand

As visual stress is caused by intensity of light (white), we can reduce/defuse this by using filters. For the most part this can be extremely low cost, with the use of academic resources like a Reading Ruler or coloured Overlays and, in addition, the use of coloured Work Books.

You can if you wish get specialist lenses prescribed through an optician… however many will feel a little uncomfortable with, this especially older children. An inexpensive pack of filters can help with all academic study and can be supplied for under €12 or £10.

We can see from both visual stress and dyslexia that the two are not directly connected, although through pure averages, around 2-4% of dyslexics will also present with visual stress.

There are two more in depth articles written by us on both these areas, however I felt that many confuse the two so a short comparison was called for.